# 2016 Sun Belt Conference football season

The 2016 Sun Belt Conference football season was the 16th season in which the Sun Belt Conference operated a football league, and was part of the 2016 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The season began on September 1 with Appalachian State facing Tennessee. This was the third season for the Sun Belt since realignment that took effect in 2014, which added the tenth and eleventh members — Idaho and New Mexico State. Both teams were previously independents before joining the conference. The Sun Belt Conference is a "Group of Five" conference under the College Football Playoff format along with the American Athletic Conference, Conference USA, the Mid-American Conference, and the Mountain West Conference.
In this season, the Sun Belt football conference included 11 members: Appalachian State, Arkansas State, Georgia Southern, Georgia State, Idaho, Louisiana–Lafayette, Louisiana–Monroe, New Mexico State, South Alabama, Texas State, and Troy. The conference championship was determined by win–loss record within the conference.
Arkansas State entered the season as defending Sun Belt champions, as they went undefeated in 2015 conference play. The Red Wolves went on to lose to Louisiana Tech in the New Orleans Bowl 28–47.

## Preseason
### 2016 predictions

The 2016 preseason coaches predictions were released on July 21, 2016, with the vote conducted by the head football coaches of each conference school. Appalachian State was picked to win the conference for the first time in school history. After coming second in the conference last year which resulted a trip to the Camellia Bowl, the Mountaineers returned 22 starters on the field for the upcoming season. Arkansas State, which had won at least a share of the conference title in four of the previous five seasons and was returning 13 starters (6 on offense, 7 on defense), was tapped to finish second.
Below are the results of the coaches poll with total points received next to each school and first-place votes in parentheses.
* 1. Appalachian State – 114 (5)
* 2. Arkansas State – 110 (5)
* 3. Georgia Southern – 98 (1)
* 4. Georgia State – 73
* 5. Louisiana–Lafayette – 70
* 6. Troy – 70
* 7. South Alabama – 62
* 8. Idaho – 48
* 9. New Mexico State – 37
* 10. Texas State – 30
* 11. Louisiana–Monroe – 14
References:

## Season

For the first time in the 16-year history of Sun Belt football, a team from the conference was ranked in the top 25 of the AP Poll. In Week 11, the Troy Trojans, with a record of 8-1, received the #25 spot in the AP Poll. The Trojans lost their next game, to Arkansas State, to drop back out of the rankings.

## Sun Belt vs other Conferences
### Sun Belt vs Power Conference matchups

This is a list of the power conference teams (ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12, SEC) Sun Belt played in non-conference play. (Rankings from the AP Poll):
| Date | Visitor | Home | Site | Score |
| September 1 | Appalachian State | #9 Tennessee (SEC) | Neyland Stadium • Knoxville, Tennessee | L 13–20 $^{OT}$ |
| September 3 | South Alabama | Mississippi State (SEC) | Davis Wade Stadium • Starkville, Mississippi | W 21–20 |
| September 10 | Arkansas State | Auburn (SEC) | Jordan–Hare Stadium • Auburn, Alabama | L 14–51 |
| September 10 | Idaho | #8 Washington (Pac-12) | Husky Stadium • Seattle | L 14–59 |
| September 10 | Troy | #2 Clemson (ACC) | Memorial Stadium • Clemson, South Carolina | L 24–30 |
| September 10 | Louisiana–Monroe | #14 Oklahoma (Big 12) | Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium • Norman, Oklahoma | L 17–59 |
| September 17 | Miami (ACC) | Appalachian State | Kidd Brewer Stadium • Boone, North Carolina | L 45-10 |
| September 17 | Georgia State | Wisconsin (Big Ten) | Camp Randall Stadium • Madison, Wisconsin | L 17–23 |
| September 17 | Idaho | Washington State (Pac-12) | Martin Stadium • Pullman, Washington | L 6–56 |
| September 17 | New Mexico State | Kentucky (SEC) | Commonwealth Stadium • Lexington, Kentucky | L 42–62 |
| September 17 | Texas State | Arkansas (SEC) | Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium • Fayetteville, Arkansas | L 3–42 |
| October 1 | Louisiana–Monroe | Auburn (SEC) | Jordan–Hare Stadium • Auburn, Alabama | L 7–58 |
| October 15 | Georgia Southern | Georgia Tech (ACC) | Bobby Dodd Stadium • Atlanta | L 24–35 |
| October 29 | New Mexico State | Texas A&M (SEC) | Kyle Field • College Station, Texas | L 10–52 |
| November 5 | Georgia Southern | Ole Miss (SEC) | Vaught–Hemingway Stadium • Oxford, Mississippi | L 27–37 |
| November 19 | South Alabama | LSU (SEC) | Tiger Stadium • Baton Rouge, Louisiana | Canceled due to Hurricane Matthew |
| November 19 | Louisiana–Lafayette | Georgia (SEC) | Sanford Stadium • Athens, Georgia | L 21–35 |

### 2016 records against non-conference opponents

| Power 5 Conferences | Record |
| ACC | 0–3 |
| Big Ten | 0–0 |
| Big 12 | 0–1 |
| Pac-12 | 0–2 |
| SEC | 1–8 |
| Power 5 Total | 1–14 |
| Other FBS Conferences | Record |
| American | 0–2 |
| Conference USA | 2–1 |
| Independents | 1–0 |
| MAC | 2–3 |
| Mountain West | 3–4 |
| Other FBS Total | 8–12 |
| FCS Opponents | Record |
| Football Championship Subdivision | 11–1 |
| Total Non-Conference Record | 20–27 |
| Power 5 Conferences | Record |
| ACC | 0–0 |
| Big Ten | 0–0 |
| Big 12 | 0–0 |
| Pac-12 | 0–0 |
| SEC | 0–0 |
| Power 5 Total | 0–0 |
| Other FBS Conferences | Record |
| American | 1–0 |
| Conference USA | 0–1 |
| Independents | 0–0 |
| MAC | 2–0 |
| Mountain West | 1–1 |
| Other FBS Total | 4–2 |
| Total Bowl Record | 4–2 |

## Players of the Year

2016 Sun Belt Player of the Year awards
| Award | Player | School |
| Player of the Year | Ja'Von Rolland-Jones | Arkansas State |
| Offensive Player of the Year | Jalin Moore | Appalachian State |
| Defensive Player of the Year | Rashad Dillard | Troy |
| Freshman of the Year | Clifton Duck | Appalachian State |
| Newcomer of the Year | Aikeem Coleman | Idaho |
| Coach of the Year | Paul Petrino | Idaho |

## All-Sun BeltTeam

Coaches All-Conference Selections
| Position | Player | Class | Team |
| First Team Offense ||||
| QB | Brandon Silvers | JR | Troy |
| RB | Jalin Moore | SO | Appalachian State |
| RB | Jordan Chunn | JR | Troy |
| WR | Robert Davis | SR | Georgia State |
| WR | Al Riles | SR | Louisiana-Lafayette |
| WR | Emanuel Thompson | JR | Troy |
| TE | Gerald Everett | SR | South Alabama |
| OL | Parker Collins | SR | Appalachian State |
| OL | Colby Gossett | JR | Appalachian State |
| OL | Jemar Clark | SR | Arkansas State |
| OL | Andy Kwon | SR | Georgia Southern |
| OL | Antonio Garcia | SR | Troy |
| First Team Defense ||||
| DL | Chris Odom | SR | Arkansas State |
| DL | Ja'Von Rolland-Jones | JR | Arkansas State |
| DL | Randy Allen | SR | South Alabama |
| DL | Rashad Dillard | SR | Troy |
| LB | Ironhead Gallon | SR | Georgia Southern |
| LB | Otha Peters | SR | Louisiana-Lafayette |
| LB | Rodney Butler | SR | New Mexico State |
| DB | Clifton Duck | FR | Appalachian State |
| DB | Mondo Williams | SR | Appalachian State |
| DB | Monshadrik Hunter | SR | Arkansas State |
| DB | Bobby Baker | SR | Georgia State |
| DB | Jeremy Reaves | JR | South Alabama |
| First Team Special Teams ||||
| PK | Younghoe Koo | SR | Georgia Southern |
| P | Austin Rehkow | SR | Idaho |
| RS | Jabir Frye | FR | Troy |
| AP | Jordan Chunn | JR | Troy |
| Position | Player | Class | Team |
| Second Team Offense ||||
| QB | Matt Linehan | JR | Idaho |
| RB | Marcus Cox | SR | Appalachian State |
| RB | Elijah McGuire | SR | Louisiana-Lafayette |
| WR | Shaedon Meadors | JR | Appalachian State |
| WR | Josh Magee | SR | South Alabama |
| WR | Deondre Douglas | SO | Troy |
| TE | Blake Mack | JR | Arkansas State |
| OL | Beau Nunn | SR | Appalachian State |
| OL | Colton Jackson | SR | Arkansas State |
| OL | Steve Matlock | SR | Idaho |
| OL | Jeff Savage | SR | Louisiana-Monroe |
| OL | Tyler Lassiter | SR | Troy |
| Second Team Defense ||||
| DL | Tyler Lassiter | SR | Appalachian State |
| DL | Tee Sims | JR | Appalachian State |
| DL | Aikeem Coleman | JR | Idaho |
| DL | Tueni Lupeamanu | SR | Idaho |
| LB | Joe Dillon | FR | Louisiana-Lafayette |
| LB | Eric Boggs | JR | Appalachian State |
| LB | Kennan Gilchrist | SR | Appalachian State |
| LB | Xavier Woodson-Luster | SR | Arkansas State |
| DB | Cody Brown | SR | Arkansas State |
| DB | Justin Clifton | SO | Arkansas State |
| DB | Jaden Wright | JR | New Mexico State |
| DB | Jalen Rountree | SR | Troy |
| Second Team Special Teams ||||
| PK | Austin Rehkow | SR | Idaho |
| P | Brandon McKee | SR | South Alabama |
| RS | Blaise Taylor | JR | Arkansas State |
| AP | Warren Wand | SO | Arkansas State |
Honorable Mention: Appalachian State: Barrett Burns, A. J. Howard, Taylor Lamb, Myquon Stout; Arkansas State: Justice Hansen, Chris Humes, Waylon Roberson, Kendall Sanders; Georgia Southern: Kevin Ellison, Darius Jones, Jr., Ukeme Eligwe, B. J. Johnson III; Georgia State: Shawanye Lawrence, Alonzo McGee, Keith Rucker, Chandon Sullivan; Idaho: Trent Cowan, Kaden Elliss, Tony Lashley, Jordan Rose; Louisiana-Lafayette: Keenan Barnes, Karmichael Dunbar, Eddie Gordon, Tre'maine Lightfoot; Louisiana-Monroe: Justin Backus, David Griffith, Ajalen Holley, Frank Sutton, Jr.; New Mexico State: Kourtland Busby, Greg Hogan, Anthony McMeans, Tyler Rogers; South Alabama Roman Buchanan, Kalen Jackson, Xavier Johnson, Kevin Kutchera; Troy: Ryan Kay, William Lloyd, Kamryn Melton, Baron Poole; Texas State: Aaron Brewer, Bryan London, Gabe Loyd , Jordan Mittie.

## Home attendance

| Team | Stadium (Capacity) | Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3 | Game 4 | Game 5 | Game 6 | Game 7 | Total | Average | % of Capacity |
| Appalachian State | Kidd Brewer Stadium (24,050) | 23,374 | 34,658 | 24,782 | 26,931 | 28,472 | 18,699 | — | 156,916 | 26,152 | 108.74% |
| Arkansas State | Centennial Bank Stadium (30,382) | 26,182 | 28,012 | 19,381 | 22,277 | 20,170 | 20,178 | — | 136,200 | 22,700 | 74.72% |
| Georgia Southern | Paulson Stadium (25,000) | 21,250 | 25,735 | 23,474 | 16,786 | 16,850 | — | — | 104,095 | 20,819 | 83.28% |
| Georgia State | Georgia Dome (28,155) | 12,233 | 13,179 | 15,223 | 13,363 | 13,106 | 23,513 | — | 90,617 | 15,102 | 53.64% |
| Idaho | Kibbie Dome (16,000) | 11,987 | 13,392 | 10,278 | 9,049 | 11,242 | — | — | 55,948 | 11,190 | 69.94% |
| Louisiana–Lafayette | Cajun Field (36,900) | 22,661 | 26,891 | 19,208 | 16,960 | 21,367 | 14,259 | — | 121,346 | 20,224 | 54.81% |
| Louisiana–Monroe | Malone Stadium (30,427) | 24,718 | 9,524 | 12,735 | 16,073 | | — | — | 63,050 | 15,762 | 51.8% |
| New Mexico State | Aggie Memorial Stadium (30,343) | 17,852 | 8,142 | 10,085 | 6,280 | 5,366 | — | — | 47,725 | 9,545 | 31.46% |
| South Alabama | Ladd–Peebles Stadium (33,471) | 17,691 | 13,086 | 14,741 | 30,837 | 11,565 | 11,017 | | 98,937 | 16,489 | 49.26% |
| Texas State | Bobcat Stadium (30,000) | 33,133 | 22,845 | 18,278 | 15,314 | 8,010 | | — | 97,580 | 19,560 | 65.05% |
| Troy | Veterans Memorial Stadium (30,000) | 18,885 | 21,146 | 23,913 | 21,763 | 25,782 | 23,764 | — | 135,253 | 22,542 | 75.14% |
Bold – Exceed capacity †Season High