The 2013 Sun Belt Conference football season was the 13th college football season for the Sun Belt Conference. During the 2013 season, Sun Belt football consisted of eight members: Arkansas State, Georgia State, Louisiana–Lafayette, Louisiana–Monroe, South Alabama, Texas State, Troy, and Western Kentucky.
The departure of Florida Atlantic and Florida International left the league at 8 teams for the first time since 2008, although the league would be back up to 11 teams by the next season.
This was the first season for two teams in Sun Belt football; and the final season of Sun Belt play for a third. Georgia State was one of the six charter members of the Sun Belt Conference in 1976, but left the league in 1981, 20 years before the conference began sponsoring football in 2001 and nearly 30 years before the school started its football program in 2010. The Panthers returned to the Sun Belt in 2013 during a major wave of realignment that dramatically affected the conference. Also joining the Sun Belt in 2013 was Texas State, which left the WAC after only one season in that league. WKU was in its last season of Sun Belt play, as it joined Conference USA in 2014.
Due to NCAA transitional rules, Georgia State, coming from the FCS Colonial Athletic Association, was not eligible for a conference championship or postseason play. South Alabama and Texas State, which both began transitions from FCS in 2011, were now eligible for postseason play and a conference championship.
Preseason
Award watch lists The following Sun Belt players were named to preseason award watch lists:
Walter Camp Award: Antonio Andrews – WKU Kolton Browning – Louisiana-Monroe
Doak Walker Award: Antonio Andrews – WKU David Oku – Arkansas State
Davey O'Brien Award: Kolton Browning – Louisiana-Monroe Terrance Broadway – Louisiana–Lafayette
Outland Trophy: Ryan Carrethers – Arkansas State
Bronko Nagurski Trophy: Andrew Jackson – Western Kentucky
Lou Groza Award: Brian Davis – Arkansas State Will Scott – Troy
Rimington Trophy: Andre Huval – Louisiana-Lafayette Bryce Giddens – Arkansas State Sean Conway – WKU
Bednarik Award: Ryan Carrethers – Arkansas State Andrew Jackson – WKU
Paul Hornung Award: Antonio Andrews – WKU
Sun Belt Media Day Sun Belt Conference Media Days was held on July 15, 2013 in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana. Pre-Season Offensive Player of the Year - Kolton Browning (QB, Louisiana-Monroe) Pre-Season Defensive Player of the Year - Andrew Jackson (LB, WKU)
Coaches Poll Louisiana-Lafayette - 57 (4) Louisiana-Monroe - 57 (2) Arkansas State - 45 (2) WKU - 44 Troy - 35 Texas State - 23 South Alabama - 19 Georgia State -8
Louisiana-Lafayette & ULM tied for conference pre-season champions. Louisiana-Lafayette is listed as #1 because of 1st place votes.
Preseason All–Conference Team
Offense QB Kolton Browning (Louisiana-Monroe) RB David Oku (Arkansas State) RB Antonio Andrews (WKU) WR J. D. McKissic (Arkansas State) WR Je’Ron Hamm (Louisiana-Monroe) WR Eric Thomas (Troy) TE Wes Saxton (South Alabama) OL Bryce Giddens (Arkansas State) OL Andre Huval (Louisiana-Lafayette) OL Josh Allen (Louisiana-Monroe) OL Terrence Jones (Troy) OL Sean Conway (WKU)
Defense DL Ryan Carrethers (Arkansas State) DL Christian Ringo (Louisiana-Lafayette) DL Kentarius Caldwell (Louisiana-Monroe) DL Alex Page (South Alabama) LB Qushaun Lee (Arkansas State) LB Justin Anderson (Louisiana-Lafayette) LB Andrew Jackson (WKU) DB Sterling Young (Arkansas State) DB Isaiah Newsome (Louisiana-Monroe) DB Tyrell Pearson (South Alabama) DB Jonathan Dowling (WKU)
Specialists K Brian Davis (Arkansas State) P Will Scott (Troy) RS Antonio Andrews (WKU)
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 Arkansas State Bryan Harsin 1 0–0 0–0 0–0 Georgia State Trent Miles 1 20–36 0–0 0–0 Louisiana–Lafayette Mark Hudspeth 3 84–29 18-8 12-4 Louisiana–Monroe Todd Berry 4 46–79 17-20 13-11 South Alabama Joey Jones 4 28–21 25–14 1-7 Troy Larry Blakeney 24 168-99-1 168-99-1 45-22 Texas State Dennis Franchione 5 197-115-2 23-23 0-0 WKU Bobby Petrino 1 75-26 0-0 0-0
Sun Belt vs. BCS AQ Conference matchups Date Visitor Home Conference Score Notes August 31 Louisiana-Monroe #16 Oklahoma Big 12 L 0-34 August 31 Louisiana-Lafayette Arkansas SEC L 14-34 August 31 Kentucky Western Kentucky SEC W 35-26 Game played at LP Field in Nashville September 7 Arkansas State Auburn SEC L 9-38 September 7 Louisiana-Lafayette Kansas State Big 12 L 27-48 September 7 Western Kentucky Tennessee SEC L 20-52 September 14 Georgia State West Virginia Big 12 L 7-41 September 14 Louisiana-Monroe Wake Forest ACC W 21-19 September 21 Arkansas State Memphis American L 7-31 September 21 Louisiana-Monroe #20 Baylor Big 12 L 7-70 September 21 Texas State #25 Texas Tech Big 12 L 7-33 September 21 Troy Mississippi State SEC L 7-62 September 28 Arkansas State Missouri SEC L 19-41 September 28 South Alabama Tennessee SEC L 24-31 September 28 Troy Duke ACC L 31-38 October 1 Georgia State Alabama SEC L 3-45 November 6 Troy Ole Miss SEC L 21-51
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.
All Sun Belt teams are located in the Central Time Zone except for Georgia State, which is in the Eastern Time Zone. Start times for non-conference games are local for the Sun Belt team; for conference games, starting times are local for the home team.
Rankings reflect that of the USA Today Coaches poll for that week until week eight when the BCS poll will be used.
Week 1 Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance August 29 6:30 p.m. Southern Utah South Alabama Ladd–Peebles Stadium • Mobile, AL ESPN3 L 21–22 15,240 August 30 6:00 p.m. Samford Georgia State Georgia Dome • Atlanta, GA ESPN3 L 21–31 17,606 August 31 3:00 p.m. Louisiana-Lafayette Arkansas Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium • Fayetteville, AR FSN L 14–34 69,801 August 31 6:00 p.m. Texas State Southern Miss M.M. Roberts Stadium • Hattiesburg, MS W 22–15 25,729 August 31 6:00 p.m. UAB Troy Veterans Memorial Stadium • Troy, AL ESPN3 W 34–31 (OT) 21,398 August 31 6:00 p.m. Louisiana-Monroe #16 Oklahoma Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium • Norman, OK FSN PPV L 0–34 84,991 August 31 6:00 p.m. Kentucky Western Kentucky LP Field • Nashville, TN ESPNews W 35–26 46,723 August 31 6:00 p.m. Arkansas-Pine Bluff Arkansas State Liberty Bank Stadium • Jonesboro, AR ESPN3 W 62–11 30,451
Players of the WeekWith Season Openers in the Books Second Week Next for Sun Belt Football Offensive Defensive Special teams Player Team Player Team Player Team Corey Robinson Troy David Mayo Texas State Will Scott Troy
Week 2 Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance September 7 11:21 a.m. Western Kentucky Tennessee Neyland Stadium • Knoxville, TN SEC Network L 20-52 86,783 September 7 1:00 p.m. Chattanooga Georgia State Georgia Dome • Atlanta, GA ESPN3 L 14-42 14,952 September 7 2:30 p.m. South Alabama Tulane Mercedes-Benz Superdome • New Orleans, LA CST W 41-39 19,414 September 7 5:30 p.m. Louisiana-Lafayette Kansas State Bill Snyder Family Football Stadium • Manhattan, KS FS1 L 27-48 53,073 September 7 6:00 p.m. Prairie View A&M Texas State Bobcat Stadium • San Marcos, TX ESPN3 W 28-3 20,136 September 7 6:00 p.m. Grambling State Louisiana-Monroe Malone Stadium • Monroe, LA ESPN3 W 48-14 23,600 September 7 6:00 p.m. Savannah State Troy Veterans Memorial Stadium • Troy, AL ESPN3 W 66-3 20,021 September 7 6:30 p.m. Arkansas State Auburn Jordan–Hare Stadium • Auburn, AL FSN L 9-38 83,246
Players of the WeekUSA Tops Tulane Four SBC Teams Win Saturday ASU Troy Face off Thursday Offensive Defensive Special teams Player Team Player Team Player Team Ross Metheny South Alabama Jadarius Garner Troy Darryl Surgent Louisiana-Lafayette
Week 3 Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance September 12 6:30 p.m. Troy Arkansas State Liberty Bank Stadium • Jonesboro, AR ESPNU ASU 41-34 26,012 September 14 11:00 a.m. Georgia State West Virginia Mountaineer Field • Morgantown, WV Mountaineers Network L 7-41 57,440 September 14 11:30 p.m. Louisiana-Monroe Wake Forest BB&T Field • Winston-Salem, NC ACC Network/ESPN3 W 21-19 26,505 September 14 6:00 p.m. Nicholls State Louisiana-Lafayette Cajun Field • Lafayette, LA ESPN3 W 70-7 28,871 September 14 6:30 p.m. Western Kentucky South Alabama Ladd–Peebles Stadium • Mobile, AL ESPN3 USA 31-24 17,721 Open this week: Texas State Players of the WeekULM Takes Out Wake Forest USA and ASU Start Conference Play with Wins Offensive Defensive Special teams Player Team Player Team Player Team Kolton Browning Louisiana-Monroe Tyrell Pearson South Alabama Aleem Sunanon South Alabama
Week 4 Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance September 21 1:00 p.m. Jacksonville State Georgia State Georgia Dome • Atlanta, GA ESPN3 L 26-32 15,425 September 21 3:00 p.m. Louisiana-Monroe #20 Baylor Floyd Casey Stadium • Waco, TX FS1 L 7-70 42,976 September 21 3:30 p.m. Arkansas State Memphis Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium • Memphis, TN ESPN3 L 7-31 36,279 September 21 5:00 p.m. Louisiana-Lafayette Akron InfoCision Stadium-Summa Field • Akron, OH ESPN3 W 35-30 18,809 September 21 6:00 p.m. Texas State #25 Texas Tech Jones AT&T Stadium • Lubbock, TX FSN L 7-33 60,997 September 21 6:00 p.m. Morgan State Western Kentucky Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith Stadium • Bowling Green, KY ESPN3 W 58-17 20,973 September 21 6:30 p.m. Troy Mississippi State Davis Wade Stadium • Starkville, MS FSN/ESPN3 L 7-62 55,096 Open this week: South Alabama
Players of the Week Offensive Defensive Special teams Player Team Player Team Player Team Terrance Broadway Louisiana-Lafayette Xavius Boyd Western Kentucky Jonathan Dowling Western Kentucky
Week 5 Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance September 28 11:21 a.m. South Alabama Tennessee Neyland Stadium • Knoxville, TN SEC Network L 24-31 87,266 September 28 1:00 p.m. Navy Western Kentucky Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith Stadium • Bowling Green, KY ESPNews W 19-7 19,813 September 28 2:00 p.m. Troy Duke Wallace Wade Stadium • Durham, NC ESPN3 L 31-38 30,126 September 28 6:00 p.m. Tulane Louisiana-Monroe Malone Stadium • Monroe, LA ESPN3 L 14-31 20,476 September 28 6:00 p.m. Wyoming Texas State Bobcat Stadium • San Marcos, TX Longhorn Network W 42-21 22,150 September 28 6:30 p.m. Arkansas State Missouri Faurot Field • Columbia, MO CSS/ESPN3 L 19-41 62,468 Open this week: Georgia State, Louisiana-Lafayette
Players of the Week Offensive Defensive Special teams Player Team Player Team Player Team Antonio Andrews Western Kentucky Xavius Boyd (2) Western Kentucky Zach Robinson Texas State
Week 6 Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance October 3 6:30 p.m. Western Kentucky Louisiana-Monroe Malone Stadium • Monroe, LA ESPNU WKU 31-10 16,317 October 5 12:00 p.m. South Alabama Troy Veterans Memorial Stadium • Troy, AL Sun Belt Network Troy 34-33 23,024 October 5 12:21 p.m. Georgia State Alabama Bryant–Denny Stadium • Tuscaloosa, AL SEC TV L 3-45 101,254 October 5 6:00 p.m. Texas State Louisiana-Lafayette Cajun Field • Lafayette, LA Cox4/ESPN3 ULL 48-24 23,108 Open this week: Arkansas State
Players of the Week Offensive Defensive Special teams Player Team Player Team Player Team Eric Thomas Troy Xavius Boyd (3) Western Kentucky Brandon Smith Texas State
Week 7 Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance October 12 2:30 p.m. Troy Georgia State Georgia Dome • Atlanta, GA Sun Belt Network Troy 35-28 17,732 October 12 6:00 p.m. Louisiana-Monroe Texas State Bobcat Stadium • San Marcos, TX LHN ULM 21-14 15,210 October 12 6:00 p.m. Idaho Arkansas State Liberty Bank Stadium • Jonesboro, AR ESPN3 W 48-24 26,781