| 2018 Sun Belt Conference football season | |
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| League: | NCAA Division I FBS |
| Sport: | Football |
| Pixels: | 170 |
| Duration: | August 30, 2018 through January 2019 |
| No Of Teams: | 10 |
| Tv: | ESPN, ESPN3, ESPN+, Cox Sports Television |
| Draft: | 2019 NFL Draft |
| Draft Link: | 2019 NFL Draft |
| Top Pick: | WR Marcus Green, Louisiana-Monroe |
| Picked By: | Atlanta Falcons, 203rd overall |
| Season: | Regular Season |
| Conf1: | East |
| Conf1 Champ: | Appalachian State Troy |
| Conf2: | West |
| Conf2 Champ: | Louisiana Arkansas State |
| Finals: | Championship Game |
| Finals Link: | 2018 Sun Belt Conference Football Championship Game |
| Finals Champ: | Appalachian State |
| Finals Runner-Up: | Louisiana |
| Finals Mvp: | RB Darrynton Evans, App State |
| Seasonslistnames: | Football |
| Prevseason Year: | 2017 |
| Nextseason Year: | 2019 |
The 2018 Sun Belt conference football season began on August 30, 2018, and ended on November 24, 2018. It was a part of the 2018 season of the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), the top level of NCAA Division I football. The Sun Belt Conference Football Championship Game was played on December 1, 2018, with Appalachian State winning the inaugural game. The entire schedule was released on February 27.[1]
The 2018 preseason coaches football poll was released on July 19, voted from the 10 coaches of the conference.[2] Appalachian State and Arkansas State were chosen to be the finalist for their division, with the Red Wolves predicted to win the first ever Sun Belt Championship Game.East Division
West Division
This will be the first season with 10 teams as the New Mexico State left the conference to become independent and Idaho downgraded to FCS and compete in the Big Sky Conference.[3] The scheduling format for the ten members were reset for the 2018 season. Each member will play eight other members in the conference with four at home and four away. The conference was split up with five teams representing the east and the other five representing the west division. A team will play each team within their division (4 teams) and four from the other division (two at home and two away).[4] South Alabama (west division) and Troy (east) will be the only two teams to play each other every year due to their rivalry and proximity to each other.
| Index to colors and formatting | |
|---|---|
| Sun Belt member won | |
| Sun Belt member lost | |
| Sun Belt teams in bold |
Players of the week:[5]
Players of the week:[6]
Players of the week:[7]
Players of the week:[8]
Players of the week:[9]
Players of the week:[10]
Players of the week:[11]
Players of the week:[12]
Players of the week:[13]
Players of the week:[14]
Players of the week:[15]
Players of the week:[16]
Players of the week:[17]
See also: 2018 Sun Belt Conference Football Championship Game.
| Legend | ||
|---|---|---|
| Sun Belt win | ||
| Sun Belt loss | ||
See also: 2018–19 NCAA football bowl games.
Bowls based on contractual tie-ins. Actual bowls attended by Sun Belt members may vary and will be announced following the regular season.
| Bowl game | Date | Site | Television | Time (CST) | Sun Belt team | Opponent | Score | Attendance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cure Bowl | December 15 | Camping World Stadium • Orlando, FL | CBSSN | 1:30 p.m. | Louisiana | Tulane | 24–41 | 19,066 | |
| Camellia Bowl | December 15 | Cramton Bowl • Montgomery, AL | ESPN | 4:30 p.m. | Georgia Southern | Eastern Michigan | 23–21 | 17,710 | |
| New Orleans Bowl | December 15 | Mercedes-Benz Superdome • New Orleans, LA | ESPN | 8:00 p.m. | Appalachian State | Middle Tennessee | 45–13 | 23,942 | |
| Dollar General Bowl | December 22 | Ladd–Peebles Stadium • Mobile, AL | ESPN | 6:00 p.m. | Troy | Buffalo | 42–32 | 31,818 | |
| Arizona Bowl | December 29 | Arizona Stadium • Tucson, AZ | CBSSN | 8:00 p.m. | Arkansas State | Nevada | 13–16 | 32,368 |
Offense:
| Pos. | Name | Yr. | School | Pos. | Name | Yr. | School | Pos. | Name | Yr. | School | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First Team | Second Team | Third Team | ||||||||||
| QB | Justice Hansen | R-Sr. | Arkansas State | QB | Zac Thomas | So. | Appalachian State | QB | Caleb Evans | Jr. | Louisiana–Monroe | |
| RB | Darrynton Evans | So. | Appalachian State | RB | Elijah Mitchell | So. | Louisiana | RB | Marcel Murray | Fr. | Arkansas State | |
| RB | B.J. Smith | Jr. | Troy | RB | Wesley Fields | Sr. | Georgia Southern | RB | Trey Ragas | So. | Louisiana | |
| WR | Kirk Merritt | Jr. | Arkansas State | WR | Corey Sutton | So. | Appalachian State | WR | Penny Hart | Jr. | Georgia State | |
| WR | Marcus Green | Sr. | Louisiana–Monroe | WR | Justin McInnis | Sr. | Arkansas State | WR | Ja'Marcus Bradley | Jr. | Louisiana | |
| WR | Damion Willis | Sr. | Troy | WR | Jamarius Way | Sr. | South Alabama | WR | Deondre Douglas | Sr. | Troy | |
| TE | Keenen Brown | Sr. | Texas State | TE | Javonis Isaac | So. | Arkansas State | TE | Collin Reed | Jr. | Appalachian State | |
| OL | Victor Johnson | Jr. | Appalachian State | OL | Chandler Greer | Sr. | Appalachian State | OL | Hunter Atkinson | Jr. | Georgia State | |
| OL | Lanard Bonner | Sr. | Arkansas State | OL | Noah Hannon | So. | Appalachian State | OL | T.J. Fiailoa | So. | Louisiana–Monroe | |
| OL | Curtis Rainey | SR. | Georgia Southern | OL | Jeremiah Culbreth | Sr. | Georgia Southern | OL | Bobby Reynolds | Jr. | Louisiana–Monroe | |
| OL | Kevin Dotson | Jr. | Louisiana | OL | Robert Hunt | Jr. | Louisiana | OL | Tristan Crowder | Jr. | Troy | |
| OL | Kirk Kelley | Jr. | Troy | OL | Deontae Crumitie | Sr. | Troy | OL | J.L. Gaston | Jr. | Troy | |
Defense:
| Pos. | Name | Yr. | School | Pos. | Name | Yr. | School | Pos. | Name | Yr. | School | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First Team | Second Team | Third Team | ||||||||||
| DL | MyQuon Stout | Sr. | Appalachian State | DL | William Bradley-King | R-So. | Arkansas State | DL | Tarron Jackson | So. | Coastal Carolina | |
| DL | Ronheen Bingham | Sr.. | Arkansas State | DL | Forrest Merrill | Jr. | Arkansas State | DL | Logan Hunt | Sr. | Georgia Southern | |
| DL | Jeffrey Gunter | So. | Coastal Carolina | DL | Raymond Johnson III | So. | Georgia Southern | DL | Zi'Yon Hill | R-Fr. | Louisiana | |
| DL | Trevon Sanders | Sr. | Troy | DL | Tyree Turner | Jr. | South Alabama | DL | Antione Barker | Jr. | Troy | |
| LB | Jordan Fehr | Jr. | Appalachian State | LB | Akeem Davis-Gaither | Jr. | Appalachian State | LB | Anthony Flory | Sr. | Appalachian State | |
| LB | Bryan London II | Jr. | Texas State | LB | David Griffith | Sr. | Louisiana–Monroe | LB | Jacques Boudreaux | Jr. | Louisiana | |
| LB | Hunter Reese | Sr. | Troy | LB | Bull Barge | Sr. | South Alabama | LB | Nikolas Daniels | Jr. | Texas State | |
| DB | Clifton Duck | Jr. | Appalachian State | DB | Jerry Jacobs | So. | Arkansas State | DB | Tae Hayes | Sr. | Appalachian State | |
| DB | Desmond Franklin | Jr. | Appalachian State | DB | Monquavion Brinson | Jr. | Georgia Southern | DB | Darreon Jackson | R-Jr. | Arkansas State | |
| DB | Justin Clifton | Sr. | Arkansas State | DB | Nigel Lawrence | Sr. | South Alabama | DB | Blace Brown | Sr. | Troy | |
| DB | Kindle Vildor | Jr. | Georgia Southern | DB | Marcus Jones | So. | Troy | DB | Tyler Murray | So. | Troy | |
| DB | Cedarius Rookard | Sr. | Troy | |||||||||
Special Teams:
| Pos. | Name | Yr. | School | Pos. | Name | Yr. | School | Pos. | Name | Yr. | School | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First Team | Second Team | Third Team | ||||||||||
| PK | Tyler Bass | R-Jr. | Georgia Southern | PK | Tyler Sumpter | So. | Troy | PK | Massimo Biscardi | Fr. | Coastal Carolina | |
| P | Brandon Wright | R-Jr. | Georgia State | P | Cody Grace | Jr. | Arkansas State | P | Tyler Sumpter | So. | Troy | |
| RS | Marcus Jones | So. | Troy | RS | Tra Minter | Jr. | South Alabama | RS | Clifton Duck | Sr. | Appalachian State | |
| AP | Marcus Green | Sr. | Louisiana–Monroe | AP | Tra Minter | Jr. | South Alabama | AP | Darrynton Evans | So. | Appalachian State | |
Ref:[18]
| Power 5 Conferences | Record | |
|---|---|---|
| ACC | 0–2 | |
| Big Ten | 0–2 | |
| Big 12 | 1–1 | |
| Pac-12 | 0–0 | |
| SEC | 0–6 | |
| Power 5 Total | 1–11 |
| Group of 5 Conferences | Record | |
|---|---|---|
| American | 1–2 | |
| C-USA | 3–2 | |
| Mountain West | 1–1 | |
| MAC | 1–0 | |
| Group of 5 Total | 5–4 |
| Team | Stadium | Capacity | Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3 | Game 4 | Game 5 | Game 6 | Total | Average | % of Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Appalachian State | Kidd Brewer Stadium | 30,000 | 21,084 | 25,862 | 27,082 † | 22,315 | 20,410 | 116,753 | 23,351 | 77.8% | |
| Arkansas State | Centennial Bank Stadium | 30,382 | 20,184 | 18,537 | 21,421 † | 18,176 | 20,671 | 20,012 | 119,001 | 19,834 | 65.3% |
| Coastal Carolina | Brooks Stadium | 15,000 | 9,776 | 11,506 | 13,004 † | 8,141 | 9,886 | 52,313 | 10,463 | 69.8% | |
| Georgia State | Georgia State Stadium | 24,333 | 23,088 † | 15,264 | 14,368 | 15,648 | 11,312 | 20,011 | 99,691 | 16,615 | 68.3% |
| Georgia Southern | Paulson Stadium | 25,000 | 15,260 | 15,071 | 17,320 | 17,622 | 19,252 † | 16,289 | 100,814 | 16,802 | 67.2% |
| Louisiana | Cajun Field | 36,900 | 28,866 † | 17,125 | 18,131 | 17,068 | 14,945 | 15,168 | 111,303 | 18,551 | 50.3% |
| Louisiana–Monroe | Malone Stadium | 30,427 | 10,137 | 15,722 | 13,235 | 13,787 | 18,167 † | 71,048 | 14,210 | 46.7% | |
| South Alabama | Ladd–Peebles Stadium | 33,471 | 13,457 | 16,051 | 16,231 | 25,878 † | 14,096 | 10,670 | 96,383 | 16,064 | 48.0% |
| Texas State | Bobcat Stadium | 30,000 | 15,440 | 17,062 † | 9,545 | 15,045 | 11,482 | 10,115 | 78,689 | 13,115 | 43.7% |
| Troy | Veterans Memorial Stadium | 30,402 | 29,612 † | 25,767 | 23,810 | 22,903 | 24,631 | 20,437 | 147,160 | 24,527 | 80.7% |
Bold: Exceeded capacity
†Season High