Jeremy Harper Appalachian State, Arkansas State Athletics, Cajuns, Coastal Carolina, Football, G5, Georgia Southern Eagles, Georgia State Panthers, James Madison University, Louisiana, Marshall, Old Dominion, Red Wolves, South Alabama, Southern Miss, Sun Belt, Texas State, Troy, Troy Trojans, ULM

The Sun Belt Doesn’t Lose to the FCS

Except on those occasions when the Sun Belt does indeed lose to the FCS.

Technically speaking, James Madison is the last Sun Belt program to lose to an FCS opponent. However, the loss occurred in 2021 during the FCS Semifinal Game during the Dukes’ last season in the Coastal Athletic Association Football Conference. Officially, the last game a Sun Belt program lost to an FCS program occurred when Incarnate Word surprised Texas State 42-34 in September of 2021. Before then, the Sun Belt hadn’t lost an FCS game since 2017, when three SBC programs fell to the lower division – Coastal Carolina to Western Illinois, Georgia Southern to New Hampshire, and Georgia State to Tennessee State.

It bears noting that, historically, the Sun Belt has one of the worst conference records against the FCS. According to Fear the FCS, the SBC has won only 79% of contests with the FCS – one percentage point better than the MAC and 13-points worse than CUSA (92%), the G5’s best versus FCS. However, as the Sun Belt has improved, so has the seal separating it from the FCS.

Some Factoids

  • Georgia State, who opens the 2023 season against Rhode Island, hasn’t faced an FCS foe since 2019.
  • We had to go deep to find the last time Southern Miss – who fielded some truly awful teams in 2012 and 2013 – lost a game to an FCS opponent. As far as we can tell, the Golden Eagles hasn’t dropped a game to the FCS since NINETEEN EIGHTY SEVEN, when Northeast Louisiana delivered the thumping. NE Louisiana would eventually become Sun Belt foe University of Louisiana-Monroe.
  • Old Dominion’s last FCS defeat came courtesy of…Georgia Southern in 2012, currently a Sun Belt East foe.
  • Texas State paid back Incarnate State for their 2021 FCS loss by poaching their coach, GJ Kinne.

Last FCS LossOpponentScore
Appalachian St.Nov 2, 2013Chattanooga35-28
Coastal CarolinaSept 23, 2017Western Illinois52-10
Georgia SouthernSept 9, 2017New Hampshire22-12
Georgia StateAug 21, 2017Tennessee State17-10
James Madison*Dec 14, 2021N. Dakota State20-14
MarshallSept 15, 2007New Hampshire48-35
Old DominionDec 8, 2012Georgia Southern49-35
Arkansas StateSept 24, 2016Central Arkansas28-23
LouisianaSept 15, 2007McNeese St.38-17
South AlabamaAug 29, 2013Southern Utah22-21
Southern MissNov 7, 1987Northeast Louisiana42-34
Texas StateSept 18, 2021Incarnate Word42-34
TroySept 13, 2014Abilene Christian38-35
ULMSept 1, 2005Northwestern St.27-23
Loss as a member of the FCS

PHOTO CREDIT: ME