The 2023 Sun Belt Conference football season was the 23rd season of college football play for the Sun Belt Conference (SBC). The season began on August 31, 2023, and ended with its conference championship game on December 2, 2023. It was part of the 2023 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The conference consists of 14 member schools split into two divisions. The conference released its full season schedule on February 24, 2023.
Preseason
Preseason Media Poll The SBC released its preseason poll on July 24. James Madison was named the favorite to win the East Division, while Troy was named the favorite to win the West Division.
East 1 James Madison 78 (4) 2 Appalachian State 75 (4) 3 Coastal Carolina 71 (3) 4 Marshall 68 (2) 5 Georgia Southern 52 (1) 6 Georgia State 31 7 Old Dominion 17 West 1 Troy 92 (10) 2 South Alabama 85 (4) 3 Louisiana 64 4 Southern Miss 62 5 Texas State 36 6 Arkansas State 33 7 Louisiana–Monroe 20
Preseason All-Conference teams Offensive Player of the Year: Grayson McCall (Redshirt Senior, Coastal Carolina quarterback) Defensive Player of the Year: Jason Henderson, (Junior, Old Dominion linebacker)
Position Player Team First Team Offense QB Grayson McCall Coastal Carolina RB La'Damian Webb South Alabama RB Frank Gore Jr. Southern Miss OL Isaiah Helms Appalachian State OL Khalil Crowder Georgia Southern OL Travis Glover Georgia State OL Nick Kidwell James Madison OL Logan Osburn Marshall TE Neal Johnson Louisiana WR Jared Brown Coastal Carolina WR Sam Pinckney Coastal Carolina WR Khaleb Hood Georgia Southern First Team Defense DL James Carpenter James Madison DL Owen Porter Marshall DL TJ Jackson Troy DL Richard Jibunor Troy LB JT Killen Coastal Carolina LB Marques Watson-Trent Georgia Southern LB Eli Neal Marshall LB Jason Henderson Old Dominion DB Micah Abraham Marshall DB Yam Banks South Alabama DB Jay Stanley South Alabama DB Reddy Steward Troy First Team Special Teams K Dominic Zvada Arkansas State P Ryan Hanson James Madison RS Milan Tucker Appalachian State AP Frank Gore Jr. Southern Miss
Position Player Team Second Team Offense QB Carter Bradley South Alabama RB Rasheen Ali Marshall RB Kimani Vidal Troy OL Damion Daley Appalachian State OL Will McDonald Coastal Carolina OL AJ Gillie Louisiana OL Ethan Driskell Marshall OL Daniel King Troy TE Jiay Mcafee Georgia Southern WR Tyrone Howell Louisiana–Monroe WR Caullin Lacy South Alabama WR Devin Voisin South Alabama Second Team Defense DL Javon Denis Georgia State DL Wy'Kevious Thomas South Alabama DL Jalen Williams Southern Miss DL Jordan Revels Texas State DL Javon Solomon Troy LB Jontrey Hunter Georgia State LB Jordan Veneziale Georgia State LB Taurus Jones James Madison DB Bryquice Brown Georgia State DB Keith Gallmon Jr. South Alabama DB Jaden Voisin South Alabama DB Dell Pettus Troy Second Team Special Teams K Diego Guajardo South Alabama P Ethan Duane Old Dominion RS Matthew McDoom Coastal Carolina AP Kimani Vidal Troy
Head coaches On November 27, 2022, Texas State announced that it had fired head coach Jake Spavital. Spavital had posted a record of 13–35 over four years at the school. On December 7, 2022, Texas State announced Incarnate Word's head coach G. J. Kinne would take over as the new head coach for the 2023 season. On December 4, 2022, Jamey Chadwell announced that he was leaving Coastal Carolina to take over the head coaching position at Liberty. Later on December 4, Coastal announced NC State offensive coordinator Tim Beck as the new head coach beginning in 2023.
Team Head coach Previous Job Years at school Overall record Sun Belt record Sun Belt titles Appalachian State Shawn Clark Appalachian State (Off. Line Coach) 4 0 Arkansas State Butch Jones Alabama (assistant coach) 3 0 Coastal Carolina Tim Beck NC State (Off. Coordinator) 1 0 Georgia Southern Clay Helton USC 2 0 Georgia State Shawn Elliott South Carolina (Off. Line Coach) 7 0 James Madison Curt Cignetti Elon 5 0 Louisiana Michael Desormeaux Louisiana (Co-Off. Coordinator) 2 0 Louisiana–Monroe Terry Bowden Clemson (Grad. Assistant) 3 0 Marshall Charles Huff Alabama (Associate Head Coach) 3 0 Old Dominion Ricky Rahne Penn State (Off. Coordinator) 4 0 South Alabama Kane Wommack Indiana (Def. Coordinator) 3 0 Southern Miss Will Hall Tulane (Off. Coordinator) 2 0 Texas State G. J. Kinne Incarnate Word 2 0 Troy Jon Sumrall Kentucky (Co-Def. Coordinator) 2 1
Postseason changes On November 26, Louisiana–Monroe announced that it had fired head coach Terry Bowden after 3 seasons with the team. On December 5, the school announced that former UAB head coach Bryant Vincent would take over as the new head coach for 2024. On November 30, James Madison head coach Curt Cignetti announced that he would leave the school to take the head coach position at Indiana for the 2024 season. Assistant head coach and offensive line coach Damian Wroblewski was named the acting head coach for James Madison's bowl game. On December 7, the school announced that Bob Chesney would become the new head coach for 2024. Chesney had previously been head coach at Holy Cross. On December 8, Troy head coach Jon Sumrall was announced as the new head coach of Tulane in the American Athletic Conference for the 2024 season. The school's defensive coordinator Greg Gasparato was named the interim head coach. On December 18, Troy announced Gerad Parker as the new head coach for 2024. Parker was previously the offensive coordinator at Notre Dame.
Rankings
Pre Wk1 Wk2 Wk3 Wk4 Wk5 Wk6 Wk7 Wk8 Wk9 Wk10 Wk11 Wk12 Wk13 Wk14 Final Appalachian State AP C CFP Not released Arkansas State AP C CFP Not released Coastal Carolina AP RV C CFP Not released Georgia Southern AP C CFP Not released Georgia State AP C RV CFP Not released James Madison AP RV RV RV RV RV RV 25 23 21 18 24 24 24 RVC RV RV RV RV RV RV RV RV 25 24 21 21 RV 25 25 RV CFP Not released Louisiana AP C CFP Not released Louisiana–Monroe AP C CFP Not released Marshall AP C RV RV CFP Not released Old Dominion AP C CFP Not released South Alabama AP RV C RV CFP Not released Southern Miss AP C CFP Not released Texas State AP RV C CFP Not released Troy AP RV RV RV RV RVC RV RV RV RV RV RV RV RV CFP Not released
Schedule The 2023 schedule was released on February 24, 2023. Index to colors and formattingSun Belt member wonSun Belt member lostSun Belt teams in bold
Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
Week 4
Week 5
Week 6
Week 7
Week 8
Week 9
Week 10
Week 11
Week 12
Week 13
Championship Game
Postseason
Bowl Games
Legend Sun Belt win Sun Belt loss
Bowl gameDateSiteTelevisionTime (CST)Sun Belt teamOpponentScoreAttendance Myrtle Beach Bowl December 16 Brooks Stadium • Conway, SC ESPN 10:00 a.m. Georgia Southern Ohio L 21–41 8,059 New Orleans Bowl December 16 Caesars Superdome • New Orleans, LA ESPN 1:15 p.m. Louisiana Jacksonville State L 31–34OT 14,485 Cure Bowl December 16 FBC Mortgage Stadium • Orlando, FL ABC 2:30 p.m. Appalachian State Miami (OH) W 13–9 11,121 Famous Toastery Bowl December 18 Jerry Richardson Stadium • Charlotte, NC ESPN 1:30 p.m. Old Dominion Western Kentucky L 35–38OT 5,632 Frisco Bowl December 19 Toyota Stadium • Frisco, TX ESPN 8:00 p.m. Marshall UTSA L 17–35 11,215 Birmingham Bowl December 23 Protective Stadium • Birmingham, AL ABC 11:00 a.m. Troy Duke L 10–17 20,023 Camellia Bowl December 23 Cramton Bowl • Montgomery, AL ESPN 11:00 a.m. Arkansas State Northern Illinois L 19–21 11,310 Armed Forces Bowl December 23 Amon G. Carter Stadium • Fort Worth, TX ABC 2:30 p.m. James Madison Air Force L 21–31 30,828 Famous Idaho Potato Bowl December 23 Albertsons Stadium • Boise, ID ESPN 2:30 p.m. Georgia State Utah State W 45–22 12,168 68 Ventures Bowl December 23 Hancock Whitney Stadium • Mobile, AL ESPN 6:00 p.m. South Alabama Eastern Michigan W 59–10 20,926 Hawaii Bowl December 23 Clarence T. C. Ching Athletics Complex • Honolulu, HI ESPN 9:30 p.m. Coastal Carolina San Jose State W 24–14 7,089 First Responder Bowl December 26 Gerald J. Ford Stadium • University Park, TX ESPN 4:30 p.m. Texas State Rice W 45–21 26,542
Rankings are from Final CFP rankings. All times Central Time Zone.
Selection of teams Bowl eligible (12): Appalachian State, Arkansas State, Coastal Carolina, Georgia Southern, Georgia State, James Madison, Louisiana, Marshall, Old Dominion, South Alabama, Texas State, Troy Bowl ineligible (2): Louisiana–Monroe, Southern Miss
Sun Belt records vs other conferences
2023–2024 records against non-conference foes:
Power Conferences 5RecordACC2–5Big Ten0–2Big 122–2Pac-120–1Notre Dame0–0SEC0–4Power 5 Total4–15Other FBS ConferencesRecordAmerican5–4C-USA2–1Independents (Excluding Notre Dame)5–1MAC2–1Mountain West2–1Other FBS Total16–8FCS OpponentsRecordFootball Championship Subdivision14–0Total Non-Conference Record34–22
Postseason
Power Five ConferencesRecordACC0–1 Big 12 0–0Big Ten0–0Notre Dame0–0Pac-12 0–0SEC 0–0Power 5 Total0–1Other FBS ConferencesRecordAmerican 1–1C–USA 0–2Independents (Excluding Notre Dame) 0–0MAC 2–2Mountain West 2–1Other FBS Total 5–6Total Bowl Record5–7
Sun Belt vs Power 5 matchups This is a list of games the Sun Belt has scheduled versus power conference teams (ACC, Big 10, Big 12, Pac-12, Notre Dame and SEC). All rankings are from the current AP Poll at the time of the game.
Date Conference Visitor Home Site Score September 2 Pac-12 Coastal Carolina UCLA Rose Bowl • Pasadena, CA L 13–27 September 2 ACC Old Dominion Virginia Tech Lane Stadium • Blacksburg, VA L 17–36 September 2 Big 12 Arkansas State No. 20 Oklahoma Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium • Norman, OK L 0–73 September 2 Big 12 Texas State Baylor McLane Stadium • Waco, TX W 42–31 September 9 ACC Appalachian State No. 17 North Carolina Kenan Memorial Stadium • Chapel Hill, NC L 34–40 2OT September 9 ACC James Madison Virginia Scott Stadium • Charlottesville, VA W 36–35 September 9 ACC Southern Miss No. 4 Florida State Doak Campbell Stadium • Tallahassee, FL L 13–66 September 9 Big 12 Troy No. 15 Kansas State Bill Snyder Family Football Stadium • Manhattan, KS L 13–42 September 16 Big Ten Georgia Southern Wisconsin Camp Randall Stadium • Madison, WI L 14–35 September 16 ACC Wake Forest Old Dominion S.B. Ballard Stadium • Norfolk, VA L 24–27 September 16 SEC Louisiana–Monroe Texas A&M Kyle Field • College Station, TX L 3–47 September 16 Big 12 South Alabama Oklahoma State Boone Pickens Stadium • Stillwater, OK W 33–7 September 23 ACC Virginia Tech Marshall Joan C. Edwards Stadium • Huntington, WV W 24–17 September 30 Big Ten Louisiana Minnesota Huntington Bank Stadium • Minneapolis, MN L 24–35 October 7 ACC Marshall NC State Carter–Finley Stadium • Raleigh, NC L 41–48 November 18 SEC Georgia State No. 15 LSU Tiger Stadium • Baton Rouge, LA L 14–56 November 18 SEC Louisiana–Monroe No. 13 Ole Miss Vaught–Hemingway Stadium • Oxford, MS L 3–35 November 18 SEC Southern Miss Mississippi State Davis Wade Stadium • Starkville, MS L 20–41
Sun Belt vs Group of Five matchups The following games include Sun Belt teams competing against teams from the American, C-USA, MAC, or Mountain West.