Home Conferences FBS 2026 season

The weekly grind · 2026

Sun Belt

New Leader

Louisiana holds the Sun Belt lead heading into this week's games.

Sun Belt is more top-heavy than deep. Louisiana gives the league punch, but the middle tier falls away faster than the top leagues.

#8Overall

#8In FBS

+17.3Conference strength

+21.3Upper strength

14Teams

0Top-25 teams

Sun Belt, at a glance.

Top 10 by power rating — 2026 season, through the latest games.

Team Record Power

Louisiana

5-3 +23.6

Louisiana Tech

6-2 +22.5

James Madison

7-2 +22.2

Georgia Southern

4-4 +19.8

Marshall

5-3 +17.9

South Alabama

4-4 +16.6

App State

5-3 +15.5

Southern Miss

3-5 +15.3

Troy

4-4 +15.3

Arkansas State

4-4 +15.3

Power snapshot Projected 2026 standing

New Leader

Texas State went 7-6 in 2025 with a recruiting class ranked #101 nationally — a +81 coaching premium that gives the Sun Belt its highest SP+ ranking (#20) and its most compelling overperformer. Meanwhile, Georgia State went 1-11 with a #67 recruiting class — the widest coaching gap in the wrong direction. Appalachian State, the program that defined this conference for a decade, went 5-8. The Sun Belt's era is shifting.

0 top-25 teams.

The depth argument for this conference rests on how many credible opponents are clustered behind the leader. A wide talent spread separates the haves from the have-nots.

Where things stand right now.

Louisiana holds the Sun Belt lead heading into this week's games.

Tools Matchup simulator Compare teams Playoff forecast Style map Head to head Power map

The New Standard

Texas State Holds the Sun Belt’s Best SP+ Rating

Texas State’s coaching premium is +81 — a #101 recruiting class producing an SP+ ranking of #20 nationally. A program that was in FCS until 2012 now holds the Sun Belt’s highest power rating entering 2026. They went 7-6 in 2025, which doesn’t fully reflect how competitive they played. If the Sun Belt gets a New Year’s Six bid in the next two years, Texas State is the program most likely to make the run.

Why it matters →

The Decline

App State Went 5-8 — and the Belt Is Changing

Appalachian State won six Sun Belt titles and produced Top-25 rankings that the conference had never seen. They went 5-8 in 2025 — their first losing season since joining the Sun Belt. The program isn’t broken, but their SP+ rank (#118) entering 2026 is closer to the conference bottom than the conference top. Whether this is a down year or the end of the App State era is the most important question in Sun Belt football.

Why it matters →

The Floor

Georgia State Went 1-11 With the 67th Recruiting Class

Georgia State’s coaching gap is -58: a #67 recruiting class — one of the better ones in the conference — produced a 1-11 season and the Sun Belt’s worst SP+ ranking among programs with meaningful recruiting activity. Coastal Carolina went 6-7 with a #91 class (-24 gap). The Sun Belt’s underperformers aren’t recruiting badly; they’re failing to convert what they bring in. That’s a coaching story in the wrong direction.

Why it matters →

Active arcs

Hot4mo ago

Syracuse faces skepticism over its 2026 season outlook

Can Syracuse's strong defensive start carry through the season?

Troy

Active2mo ago

South Alabama Jaguars vs Vanderbilt Commodores Box Score - December 06, 2026 - T

How will Vanderbilt perform against multiple teams in one day?

South Alabama

Active2mo ago

Marshall Manning just threw his first career high school pass and it was a littl

Will Marshall Manning return to play in time for a key season milestone?

Marshall

Developing5wk ago

Arkansas State defeats Kennesaw State 17-14 in defensive battle

Can Arkansas State maintain its defensive dominance in future games?

Arkansas State

Developing7wk ago

The Week 2 Buzz: 10 LSU players we could see more of against Louisiana Tech - 24

Which LSU and Louisiana Tech players will rise to the occasion in their Week 2 matchup?

Louisiana Tech

All arcs →

Fan pulse Last 30 days · 1,407 mentions

20% positive 47% neutral 33% negative

James Madison

448

↓ negative

Marshall

181

↓ negative

Arkansas State

115

↓ negative

Troy

105

↓ negative

Old Dominion

↓ negative

South Alabama

↓ negative

Fan confidence by FBS percentile

Where each Sun Belt program stands nationally in fan sentiment (100th = most positive in FBS, 0 = least). Conference median: 85th percentile. The label is the band (Bullish, Leaning, Mixed, Souring); the number after it is the change in percentile points since the prior week.

Bullish+19

Bullish0

Bullish+6

Bullish+26

Bullish+16

Bullish-7

Bullish+21

Bullish+5

Leaning+14

Leaning0

Leaning0

Leaning+31

Souring-8

Souring-2

Most volatile: Georgia Southern

Fan confidence has swung 96 percentile points in the last 8 weeks — currently at the 90th percentile nationally.

The coaching premium

Recruiting class rank vs. SP+ performance — where coaches add or subtract value

Above line = coaching premium

Below line = underperforming

Gap = recruiting rank minus SP+ rank

Positive gap means the coaching staff won more than the recruiting class predicted. Data: Sun Belt teams, 14 programs.

Coaching premium ↑

Louisiana

+53

Louisiana

+51

Marshall

+41

James

+33

Georgia

+20

Underperforming ↓

Old

-45

App State

-44

Troy

-37

UL Monroe

-32

Georgia

-28

Standings

2026 season, in progress — sorted by power rating. The tag beside a team is its long-run program standing.

#	Team	Record	Power	Resume
1	Louisiana Regional Program I#69	5-3	+23.6	+50.2
2	Louisiana Tech Regional Program III#103▲	6-2	+22.5	+96.3
3	James Madison National Program III#64	7-2	+22.2	+88.5
4	Georgia Southern Regional Program III#100	4-4	+19.8	+86.8
5	Marshall Regional Program I#75	5-3	+17.9	+26.2
6	South Alabama Regional Program III#97	4-4	+16.6	+49.5
7	App State National Program III#70	5-3	+15.5	+79.2
8	Southern Miss Regional Program IV#121	3-5	+15.3	+38.7
9	Troy Regional Program II#87	4-4	+15.3	+77.5
10	Arkansas State Regional Program IV#110	4-4	+15.3	+84.4
11	Georgia State Regional Program IV#116	4-4	+14.8	+68.2
12	Coastal Carolina Regional Program IV#109	3-5	+13.5	+86.2
13	Old Dominion Regional Program III#101	2-7	+12.5	+25.8
14	UL Monroe Regional Program VI#137	1-7	+8.5	+48.7

Projected standings · Sun Belt · 2026

Win projection

Odds of winning at least N conference games from current power ratings — full slate played out, not locked to results. Avg = expected wins; W-L = most-likely record.

#	Team	W-L	Pwr	Avg	≥8	≥7	≥6	≥5	≥4	≥3	≥2	≥1
Favorites
1	Louisiana	6-2	+6.9	5.5	4	22	51	78	93	99	✓	✓
2	James Madison	5-3	+5.5	5.2	3	16	42	71	90	98	✓	✓
3	Louisiana Tech	5-3	+5.8	5.2	3	16	42	70	90	98	✓	✓
Challengers
4	Georgia Southern	5-3	+3.2	4.6	1	8	26	53	78	93	99	✓
5	Marshall	5-3	+1.2	4.5	1	6	23	49	76	92	99	✓
6	South Alabama	4-4	−0.1	4.0		3	13	35	63	86	97	✓
7	App State	4-4	−1.2	3.9		3	13	34	63	86	97	✓
The field
8	Arkansas State	4-4	−1.4	3.8		2	11	31	59	84	96	✓
9	Southern Miss	4-4	−1.3	3.7		2	9	28	55	80	95	99
10	Troy	3-5	−1.3	3.5		1	7	23	50	77	94	99
11	Georgia State	3-5	−1.8	3.5		1	7	23	50	77	93	99
Rebuilding
12	Coastal Carolina	3-5	−3.2	3.3		1	5	18	42	71	91	99
13	Old Dominion	3-5	−4.2	3.1		1	4	14	36	65	88	98
14	UL Monroe	2-6	−8.1	2.4			1	5	19	44	74	94

How they play

Six advanced-stat dimensions per team, ranked against all 134 FBS programs, 2026 season. Every column reads higher-is-better. Click a column to sort.

ScoringConvertsBig playsDefensePacePass rate

Team	Scoring	Converts	Big plays	Defense	Pace	Pass rate	Identity
Louisiana	+0.14	43.5%	+1.20	+0.06	68.1	38.0%	Lockdown defense
Louisiana Tech	+0.14	40.0%	+1.31	+0.06	66.1	43.9%	Lockdown defense
James Madison	+0.23	45.2%	+1.26	+0.04	69.9	45.0%	Lockdown defense
Georgia Southern	+0.15	43.4%	+1.20	−0.03	69.8	58.6%	Balanced
Marshall	+0.09	42.8%	+1.15	−0.20	69.8	45.9%	Defense is the problem
South Alabama	+0.17	42.8%	+1.32	−0.26	72.1	37.3%	Defense is the problem
App State	+0.10	41.8%	+1.24	−0.08	66.8	50.4%	Balanced
Southern Miss	+0.02	40.3%	+1.23	−0.13	70.2	50.2%	Balanced
Troy	+0.01	37.7%	+1.22	−0.05	70.1	41.0%	Can't sustain drives
Arkansas State	+0.18	47.6%	+1.15	−0.16	62.2	46.8%	Efficient offense
Georgia State	+0.20	45.6%	+1.25	−0.06	68.1	45.1%	Balanced
Coastal Carolina	+0.13	40.6%	+1.37	−0.13	65.1	46.3%	Big-play offense
Old Dominion	−0.15	31.2%	+1.27	+0.03	63.1	43.1%	Can't sustain drives
UL Monroe	−0.04	39.9%	+1.11	−0.20	66.1	48.8%	No explosive plays

Identity is the single dimension where a team is most above or below the FBS average (pace, defense, big plays, or converting drives) — "Balanced" means nothing stands out either way. CFBD 2026 advanced stats, excludes garbage time.

Top players

Sun Belt's highest CFB Zeitgeist Scores, 2026 season so far.

#	Player	Team	National
1	Donnie SmithCB	Troy	#2 of 344
2	Alonzo Jackson Jr.LB	Louisiana Tech	#4 of 567
3	DJ KellyCB	James Madison	#7 of 344
4	Brent Gordon Jr.CB	Louisiana	#8 of 344
5	Xavier EsquillienLB	Georgia State	#12 of 567
6	Damyrion DarbyCB	South Alabama	#11 of 344
7	Kobi AlbertCB	Southern Miss	#14 of 344
8	Colton PharesLB	App State	#20 of 567
9	Justin PoweS	Troy	#12 of 537
10	Chance GambleCB	Georgia Southern	#16 of 344

Where Sun Belt stands nationally

Conference strength, as a round-robin adjusted power rating.

1 SEC SEC

+24.4

2 B10 Big Ten

+23.3

3 IND FBS Independents

+21.7

4 B12 Big 12

+21.5

5 P12 Pac-12

+20.8

6 ACC ACC

+20.5

7 AAC American Athletic

+18.3

8 SB Sun Belt

+17.3

9 MW Mountain West

+16.5

10 CUSA Conference USA

+16.4

Sun Belt title odds

Best available American odds · sportsbook consensus.

#	Team	Odds
1	Louisiana Tech	+125
2	James Madison	+180
3	Georgia Southern	+360
4	Old Dominion	+470
5	Louisiana	+770
6	Marshall	+850
7	Troy	+1100
8	Appalachian State	+1150
9	Arkansas State	+1200
10	South Alabama	+1300