Because it’s the only league in the FBS without a conference championship game, the Sun Belt will have co-champions in back-to-back seasons.
Heading into Week 14, Appalachian State, Arkansas State and Troy were all tied atop the conference standings at 6-1 in league play. Appalachian State was set to host Louisiana in the early game, with the other two first-place teams squaring off in the late game.
Appalachian State ensured quite quickly that there would be no solo champion this season as ASU took the Team Formerly Known as Louisiana-Lafayette to the woodshed in a 63-14 win. The Mountaineers pounded out the victory mainly on the ground, rushing for 357 yards and five touchdowns. Quarterback Taylor Lamb did toss four touchdown passes -- and ran for one of the five -- as part of the title-winning performance.
This marks ASU’s second SBC championship, shared or otherwise, since they joined the conference in 2014. They did, though, have 18 conference crowns as an FCS power.
In the later game, Troy outscored Arkansas State 25-15 in the second half to come away with a wild 32-25 win. The most remarkable aspect of the win? The Trojans were outgained 606-293 on offense.
Despite that, Troy claimed its sixth title in SBC history. It’s also its first since 2010, which marked the end of its run of five straight championships.
This marks the eighth time since 2001 that there has been SBC co-champions in football.