The 2013 Sun Belt Conference football season was the 13th

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

season for the

Sun Belt Conference The Sun Belt Conference (SBC) is a collegiate athletic conference that has been affiliated with the NCAA's Division I since 1976. Originally a non-football conference, the Sun Belt began sponsoring football in 2001. Its football teams participa ...

. During the 2013 season, Sun Belt football consisted of eight members:

Arkansas State Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage l ...

Georgia State Georgia state or ''variation'', may refer to: Primarily * Georgia State University ("State", "Georgia State"), a state university * Georgia (U.S. state) ("Georgia state"), a state of the United States of America Sports * sports teams of Georgia St ...

, Louisiana–Lafayette, Louisiana–Monroe,

South Alabama South Alabama is the various parts of southern Alabama. Although it is not a strictly defined geographic region, it generally includes all Alabama counties south of the Black Belt. In that view, ''South Alabama'' consists of just the two counties ...

Texas State Texas State University is a public research university in San Marcos, Texas. Since its establishment in 1899, the university has grown to the second largest university in the Greater Austin metropolitan area and the fifth largest university ...

Troy Troy ( el, Τροία and Latin: Troia, Hittite language, Hittite: 𒋫𒊒𒄿𒊭 ''Truwiša'') or Ilion ( el, Ίλιον and Latin: Ilium, Hittite language, Hittite: 𒃾𒇻𒊭 ''Wiluša'') was an ancient city located at Hisarlik in prese ...

, and

Western Kentucky Western Kentucky is the western portion of the U.S. state of Kentucky. It generally includes part or all of several more widely recognized regions of the state. ;Always included * The Jackson Purchase, the state's westernmost generally recogniz ...

. This was the first season for two teams in Sun Belt football; and the final season of Sun Belt play for a third.

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 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...

and nearly 30 years before the school started its football program in

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

. The Panthers returned to the Sun Belt in 2013 during a major wave of realignment that dramatically affected the

conference A conference is a meeting of two or more experts to discuss and exchange opinions or new information about a particular topic. Conferences can be used as a form of group decision-making, although discussion, not always decisions, are the main p ...

. Also joining the Sun Belt in 2013 was

, which

left Left may refer to: Music * ''Left'' (Hope of the States album), 2006 * ''Left'' (Monkey House album), 2016 * "Left", a song by Nickelback from the album ''Curb'', 1996 Direction * Left (direction), the relative direction opposite of right * L ...

the WAC after only one season in that league. WKU was in its last season of Sun Belt play, as it will join

Conference USA Conference USA (C-USA or CUSA) is an intercollegiate athletic conference whose current member institutions are located within the Southern United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I in all sports. C-USA's offices are l ...

in 2014. Due to

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

transitional rules, Georgia State, coming from the FCS

Colonial Athletic Association The Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA's Division I whose full members are located in East Coast states from Massachusetts to South Carolina. Most of its members are public universi ...

, 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 The Walter Camp Player of the Year Award is given annually to the collegiate American football player of the year, as decided by a group of National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I FBS head coaches and sports information directo ...

: *

Antonio Andrews Antonio Tramaine Andrews (born August 17, 1992) is an American football running back who currently plays for the Cabo Marlins of the Mexican Professional Football League ( Futbol Americano de Mexico). He played college football at Western Kentuc ...

– WKU * Kolton Browning – Louisiana-Monroe

Doak Walker Award Since 1990 the Doak Walker Award honors the top running back in college football in the United States. It is named in honor of Doak Walker, a former running back who played for the SMU Mustangs from 1945 to 1949 and in the National Football Le ...

: *

– WKU * David Oku – Arkansas State

Davey O'Brien Award The Davey O'Brien Award, officially the Davey O'Brien National Quarterback Award, named after Davey O'Brien, is presented annually to the collegiate American football player judged by the Davey O'Brien Foundation to be the best of all National Co ...

: * Kolton Browning – Louisiana-Monroe *

Terrance Broadway Terrance Joseph Broadway (born April 16, 1992) is an American football quarterback. He was the Louisiana–Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns football, Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns starting quarterback from 2012 to 2014. During his tenure, Broadway led ...

– Louisiana–Lafayette

Outland Trophy The Outland Trophy is awarded to the best college football interior lineman in the United States as adjudged by the Football Writers Association of America. It is named after John H. Outland. One of only a few players ever to be named an All-Ame ...

: * Ryan Carrethers – Arkansas State

Bronko Nagurski Trophy The Bronko Nagurski Trophy has been awarded annually since 1993 to the collegiate American football defensive player adjudged by the membership of the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) to be the best in the National Collegiate Athle ...

: * Andrew Jackson – Western Kentucky

Lou Groza Award The Lou Groza Award is presented annually to the top college football placekicker in the United States by the Palm Beach County Sports Commission. The award is named after former Ohio State Buckeyes and Cleveland Browns player Lou Groza. It has be ...

: * Brian Davis – Arkansas State * Will Scott – Troy

Rimington Trophy The Dave Rimington Trophy is awarded to the player considered to be the best American football center in college football. Dave Rimington was a center who played at the University of Nebraska from 1979 to 1982. A member of the National College F ...

: * Andre Huval – Louisiana-Lafayette * Bryce Giddens – Arkansas State * Sean Conway – WKU

Bednarik Award The Chuck Bednarik Award is presented annually to the defensive player in college football as judged by the Maxwell Football Club to be the best in the United States. The award is named for Chuck Bednarik, a former college and professional Ameri ...

: * Ryan Carrethers – Arkansas State * Andrew Jackson – WKU

Paul Hornung Award The Paul Hornung Award is a college football award that was created in January 2010 by the Louisville Sports Commission (LSC) with the support of Paul Hornung, a native and resident of Louisville, Kentucky and member of the College Football Hall ...

: *

– WKU

Sun Belt Media Day

Media Days was held on July 15, 2013 in the

Mercedes-Benz Superdome The Caesars Superdome, commonly known as the Superdome (formerly known as Mercedes-Benz Superdome), is a multi-purpose stadium located in the Central Business District of New Orleans, Louisiana. It is the home stadium of the New Orleans Saints ...

New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

. *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

Sun Belt vs. BCS AQ Conference matchups

Regular season

All dates, times, and TV are tentative and subject to change. All Sun Belt teams are located in the

Central Time Zone The North American Central Time Zone (CT) is a time zone in parts of Canada, the United States, Mexico, Central America, some Caribbean Islands, and part of the Eastern Pacific Ocean. Central Standard Time (CST) is six hours behind Coordinate ...

except for Georgia State, which is in the

Eastern Time Zone The Eastern Time Zone (ET) is a time zone encompassing part or all of 23 states in the eastern part of the United States, parts of eastern Canada, the state of Quintana Roo in Mexico, Panama, Colombia, mainland Ecuador, Peru, and a small por ...

. 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

;Players of the Week

Week 2

;Players of the Week

Week 3

*Open this week: ''Texas State'' ;Players of the Week

Week 4

*Open this week: ''South Alabama'' ;Players of the Week

Week 5

*Open this week: ''Georgia State, Louisiana-Lafayette'' ;Players of the Week

Week 6

*Open this week: ''Arkansas State'' ;Players of the Week

Week 7

*Open this week: ''South Alabama, Louisiana-Lafayette, Western Kentucky'' ;Players of the Week

Week 8

*Open this week: ''Arkansas State, Troy, Louisiana-Monroe'' ;Players of the Week

Week 9

;Players of the Week

Week 10

;Players of the Week

Week 11

*Open this week: ''Georgia State, South Alabama, Texas State'' ;Players of the Week

Week 12

*Open this week: ''Louisiana-Monroe, Western Kentucky'' ;Players of the Week

Week 13

*Open this week : ''Troy, Louisiana-Lafayette'' ;Players of the Week

Week 14

;Players of the Week

Week 15

;Players of the Week

Bowl games

In 2013, the SBC placed 2 teams in bowl games, while 5 other teams were bowl-eligible but not selected for bowl games. The conference went 2-0 with Arkansas State and Louisiana-Lafayette both winning. NOTE: All times are local

Players of the Year

2013 Sun Belt Player of the Year awards

All-Sun Belt/American Team

Coaches All-Conference Selections Honorable Mention: Arkansas State: Adam Kennedy, Chris Stone; Georgia State: Ulrick John, Joseph Peterson; Louisiana-Lafayette: Jacob Maxwell, Dominique Tovell; Louisiana-Monroe: Kolton Browning, Centarius Donald; South Alabama Jay Jones, Aleem Sunanon ; Texas State: David Mayo, Mike Orakpo; Troy: Jordan Chunn, Bryan Holmes; Western Kentucky: Willie McNeal, Forrest Lamp.

All-Americans

Western Kentucky's

was named 1st team All-American by SI for All-Purpose team.

Home attendance

†Western Kentucky played first game at

LP Field Nissan Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Owned by the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County, it is primarily used for football and is the home field of the Tennessee Titans of the Nati ...

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...

vs.

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

(Counted as home game). Total attendance, average attendance and percent of capacity figure calculated based only on games in L.T. Smith Stadium

References

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