The 2015 Sun Belt Conference football season was the 15th college football season for the Sun Belt Conference. During the 2015 season, eleven schools competed in Sun Belt football: Appalachian State, Arkansas State, Georgia State, Georgia Southern, Idaho, Louisiana–Lafayette, Louisiana–Monroe, New Mexico State, South Alabama, Texas State and Troy.
On September 1, 2015, it was announced that Coastal Carolina will join the Sun Belt Conference, moving up from the FCS Big South Conference. They began competing in Sun Belt football starting in 2017.
Previous season The conference title was won by Georgia Southern, in its first year as both a Sun Belt member and an FBS program. The Eagles became only the third team to win a conference championship in their first FBS season. The other two schools to accomplish this feat were Nevada, Big West Conference champions in 1992, and Marshall, which won the Mid-American Conference crown in 1997. Georgia Southern also became the first team ever to go unbeaten in conference play in its first FBS season (both the 1992 Nevada and 1997 Marshall teams lost once in conference play).
Louisiana–Lafayette, South Alabama, and Arkansas State were all invited to bowl games. The SBC went 1–2 in bowls with the Ragin' Cajuns winning their 4th straight R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl.
Preseason The following preseason awards and honors were announced
Award watch lists The following Sun Belt players were named to preseason award watch lists:
Walter Camp Award: Elijah McGuire – Louisiana-Lafayette
Lou Groza Award: Aleem Sunanon - South Alabama
Davey O'Brien Award: Fredi Knighten – Arkansas State
Mackey Award: Darion Griswold - Arkansas State Joel Ruiz - Georgia State
Ray Guy Award: Luke Ferguson - Arkansas State Austin Rehkow - Idaho
Rimington Trophy: Dalton Bennett - Troy Jesse Chapman - Appalachian State Joseph Scelfo - South Alabama
Manning Award: Fredi Knighten - Arkansas State Kevin Ellison – Georgia Southern
Thorpe Award: Doug Middleton – Appalachian State Mitch Lane – UL Monroe Montres Kitchens – Troy David Mims II – Texas State
Paul Hornung Award: Elijah McGuire - Louisiana-Lafayette Rashon Ceaser - UL Monroe Teldrick Morgan - New Mexico State
Lombardi Award: Ronald Blair - Appalachian State John Law - Appalachian State Ja’Von Rolland–Jones - Arkansas State Chris Stone - Arkansas State Darien Foreman - Georgia Southern Joseph Peterson - Georgia State Marc Millan - Idaho Mykhael Quave - Louisiana-Lafayettee Dominique Tovell - Louisiana-Lafayette Gerrand Johnson - UL Monroe Hunter Kissinger - UL Monroe Isaiah Folasa-Lutui - New Mexico State Chris May - South Alabama Joseph Scelfo - South Alabama Adrian Bellard - Texas State Dalton Bennett - Troy Tyler Roberts - Troy
Doak Walker Award: Marcus Cox - Appalachian State Michael Gordon – Arkansas State Matt Breida – Georgia Southern Elijah McGuire – Louisiana-Lafayette Robert Lowe – Texas State Brandon Burks – Troy
Biletnikoff Award: Donovan Harden – Georgia State Teldrick Morgan – New Mexico State Rashon Ceaser – UL Monroe Ajalen Holley – UL Monroe
Sun Belt Media Day Sun Belt Conference Media Day was held on July 20, 2015 in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Preseason Offensive Player of the Year - Elijah McGuire (RB, Louisiana-Lafayette) Preseason Defensive Player of the Year - David Mims (DB, Texas State)
Coaches Poll Georgia Southern - 110 (6) Louisiana-Lafayette - 108 (3) Arkansas State - 96 (1) Appalachian State - 82 Texas State - 78 South Alabama - 68 (1) UL Monroe - 59 Troy - 39 Georgia State - 32 New Mexico State - 30 Idaho - 24
Preseason All–Conference Team
Offense QB Fredi Knighten (Arkansas State) RB Matt Breida (Georgia Southern) RB Elijah McGuire (Louisiana-Lafayette) WR J. D. McKissic (Arkansas State) WR Donovan Harden (Georgia State) WR Rashon Ceaser (UL Monroe) TE Joel Ruiz (Georgia State) OL Jesse Chapman (Appalachian State) OL Darien Foreman (Georgia Southern) OL Chris May (South Alabama) OL Joseph Scelfo (South Alabama) OL Adrian Bellard (Texas State)
Defense DL Chris Stone (Arkansas State) DL Ronald Blair (Appalachian State) DL Gerrand Johnson (UL Monroe) DL Ja'Von Rolland-Jones (Arkansas State) LB John Law (Appalachian State) LB Xavier Woodson (Arkansas State) LB Joseph Peterson (Georgia State) DB Doug Middleton (Appalachian State) DB Mitch Lane (UL Monroe) DB David Mims II (Texas State) DB Montres Kitchens (Troy)
Specialists PK Aleem Sunanon (South Alabama) P Austin Rehkow (Idaho) RS Blaise Taylor (Arkansas State)
Coaches Note: Stats shown are before the beginning of the season Team Head coach Years at school Overall record Record at school Sun Belt record Appalachian State Scott Satterfield 3 11-13 11-13 6-2 Arkansas State Blake Anderson 2 14-9 14-9 11-3 Georgia Southern Willie Fritz 2 146–65 9-3 8–0 Georgia State Trent Miles 3 21-59 1-23 0–15 Idaho Paul Petrino 3 2-21 2-21 1-7 Louisiana–Lafayette Mark Hudspeth 5 102-37 36-16 24-7 Louisiana–Monroe Todd Berry 6 56-93 27-34 20-19 New Mexico State Doug Martin 3 33-73 4-20 1-7 South Alabama Joey Jones 7 40-35 37-28 10-13 Troy Neal Brown 1 0-0 0-0 0-0 Texas State Dennis Franchione 7 210–126–2 36-34 7-8
Sun Belt vs. Power Five Conference matchups Date Visitor Home Conference Score Notes September 5 UL Monroe #9 Georgia SEC L 14–51 September 5 Troy NC State ACC L 21–49 September 5 Louisiana-Lafayette Kentucky SEC L 33–40 September 5 Georgia Southern West Virginia Big XII L 0–44 September 5 New Mexico State Florida SEC L 13–61 September 5 Texas State #10 Florida State ACC L 16–59 September 5 Arkansas State #8 USC Pac-12 L 6–55 September 12 Appalachian State #11 Clemson ACC L 10–41 September 12 #22 Missouri Arkansas State SEC L 20–27 September 12 South Alabama Nebraska Big Ten L 9–48 September 12 Idaho #8 USC Pac-12 L 9–59 September 19 Troy #24 Wisconsin Big Ten L 3–28 September 19 Georgia State #12 Oregon Pac-12 L 28–61 September 26 NC State South Alabama ACC L 13–63 September 26 UL Monroe #12 Alabama SEC L 0–34 October 10 Troy Mississippi State SEC L 17–45 October 10 New Mexico State Ole Miss SEC L 3–52 November 21 Idaho Auburn SEC L 34–56 November 21 Georgia Southern Georgia SEC L 17–23 OT
Regular season Index to colors and formattingSun Belt member wonSun Belt member lostSun Belt teams in bold
All dates, times, and TV are tentative and subject to change.
Start times are listed as Central Time Zone
Rankings reflect that of the AP poll for that week until Week 10 when the first CFP Poll is released.
Week 1 Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance September 3 8:00 p.m. Ohio Idaho Kibbie Dome • Moscow, ID ESPN3 L 28–48 11,587 September 4 2:30 p.m. Charlotte Georgia State Georgia Dome • Atlanta, GA ESPNU L 20–23 10,252 September 5 11:00 a.m. UL Monroe #9 Georgia Sanford Stadium • Athens, GA ESPN3 L 14–51 92,746 September 5 2:30 p.m. Howard Appalachian State Kidd Brewer Stadium • Boone, NC ESPN3 W 49–0 24,314 September 5 5:00 p.m. Troy NC State Carter–Finley Stadium • Raleigh, NC ESPN3 L 21–49 57,451 September 5 5:00 p.m. Gardner-Webb South Alabama Ladd–Peebles Stadium • Mobile, AL ESPN3 W 33–23 12,289 September 5 6:00 p.m. Louisiana-Lafayette Kentucky Commonwealth Stadium • Lexington, KY ESPNU L 33–40 62,933 September 5 6:30 p.m. Georgia Southern West Virginia Mountaineer Field • Morgantown, WV FSN L 0–44 55,182 September 5 6:30 p.m. New Mexico State Florida Ben Hill Griffin Stadium • Gainesville, FL SEC Network L 13–61 90,227 September 5 7:00 p.m. Texas State #10 Florida State Doak Campbell Stadium • Tallahassee, FL ESPNews L 16–59 80,917 September 5 10:00 p.m. Arkansas State #8 USC Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum • Los Angeles, CA Pac-12 Network L 6–55 79,809
Players of the week: Offensive Defensive Special teams Player Team Player Team Player Team Rashon Ceaser UL Monroe Bobby Baker Georgia State Aleem Sunanon South Alabama
Week 2 Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance September 12 11:30 a.m. Appalachian State #11 Clemson Memorial Stadium • Clemson, SC ESPN3 L 10–41 81,467 September 12 5:00 p.m. Western Michigan Georgia Southern Paulson Stadium • Statesboro, GA ESPN3 W 43–17 23,520 September 12 6:00 p.m. Northwestern State Louisiana-Lafayette Cajun Field • Lafayette, LA ESPN3 W 44–17 26,824 September 12 6:00 p.m. Prairie View A&M Texas State Bobcat Stadium • San Marcos, TX ESPN3 W 63–24 24,561 September 12 6:00 p.m. Charleston Southern Troy Veterans Memorial Stadium • Troy, AL ESPN3 W 44–16 17,517 September 12 6:00 p.m. #22 Missouri Arkansas State Centennial Bank Stadium • Jonesboro, AR ESPN3 L 20–27 29,143 September 12 6:00 p.m. Nicholls State UL Monroe Malone Stadium • Monroe, LA ESPN3 W 47–0 20,397 September 12 7:00 p.m. South Alabama Nebraska Memorial Stadium • Lincoln, NE Big Ten Network L 9–48 89,822 September 12 7:00 p.m. Georgia State New Mexico State Aggie Memorial Stadium • Las Cruces, NM ESPN3 GAST 34–32 27,201 September 12 7:00 p.m. Idaho #8 USC Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum • Los Angeles, CA Pac-12 Network L 9–59 72,422
Players of the week: Offensive Defensive Special teams Player Team Player Team Player Team Matt Breida Georgia Southern Jaden Wright New Mexico State Teddy Ruben Troy
Week 3 Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance September 19 1:00 p.m. Georgia State #12 Oregon Autzen Stadium • Eugene, OR Pac-12 Network L 28–61 56,859 September 19 2:30 p.m. Troy #24 Wisconsin Camp Randall Stadium • Madison, WI Big Ten Network L 3–28 77,157 September 19 4:00 p.m. Wofford Idaho Kibbie Dome • Moscow, ID ESPN3 W 41–38 11,633 September 19 5:00 p.m. The Citadel Georgia Southern Paulson Stadium • Statesboro, GA ESPN3 W 48–13 24,872 September 19 6:00 p.m. Missouri State Arkansas State Centennial Bank Stadium • Jonesboro, AR ESPN3 W 70–7 26,634 September 19 6:00 p.m. Southern Miss Texas State Bobcat Stadium • San Marcos, TX ESPN3 L 50–56 27,252 September 19 7:00 p.m. South Alabama San Diego State Qualcomm Stadium • San Diego, CA ESPN3 W 34–27 OT 18,194 September 19 7:00 p.m. UTEP New Mexico State Aggie Memorial Stadium • Las Cruces, NM Mountain West Network L 47–50 OT 17,210
Open Week: Appalachian State, Louisiana-Lafayette, UL Monroe
Players of the week: Offensive Defensive Special teams Player Team Player Team Player Team Tyler Jones Texas State Jeremy Reaves South Alabama Aleem Sunanon (2) South Alabama
Week 4 Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance September 26 2:30 p.m. Appalachian State Old Dominion Foreman Field • Norfolk, VA ASN W 49–0 20,118 September 26 3:00 p.m. UL Monroe #12 Alabama Bryant–Denny Stadium • Tuscaloosa, AL SEC Network L 0–34 101,823 September 26 6:00 p.m. Akron Louisiana-Lafayette Cajun Field • Lafayette, LA ESPN3 L 14–35 24,679 September 26 6:00 p.m. Arkansas State Toledo Glass Bowl • Toledo, OH ESPN3 L 7–37 21,385 September 26 7:00 p.m. Texas State Houston TDECU Stadium • Houston, TX ESPN3 L 14–59 35,257 September 26 7:00 p.m. NC State South Alabama Ladd–Peebles Stadium • Mobile, AL ESPNews L 13–63 21,314 September 26 8:00 p.m. Georgia Southern Idaho Kibbie Dome • Moscow, ID ESPN3 GASO 44–20 14,441
Open Week: Georgia State, New Mexico State, Troy
Players of the week: Offensive Defensive Special teams Player Team Player Team Player Team Taylor Lamb Appalachian State John Law Appalachian State J. D. McKissic Arkansas State
Week 5