The Sunbelt Conference began league play on September 3, with South Alabama winning over Southern Miss. Throughout the next 15 weeks, teams shuffled schedules, dealt with quarantines, and did whatever they could to get in the season.
In the end, the Sunbelt was the only Group of Five Conference to play double digit games for all conference members, a notable achievement during a difficult and unpredictable pandemic.
Coastal Carolina was easily the surprise story of the season. The Chanticleers were picked in the preseason to finish last in the tough Sunbelt East by sports writers. Given the Chanticleers had not posted a winning record since moving to FBS in 2017 and were starting a redshirt freshman quarterback, it seemed like a logical bet.
It seems no one told the Chanticleers this as they completed the first undefeated regular season for a Sunbelt team. A win over #21 Louisiana in their fourth game of the year moved Coastal into the AP top 25 and they never looked back, rising all the way to number 9 in the final regular season rankings. Included in their eleven game streak was a thrilling win over Brigham Young, sealed by a stop on the 1 yard line on the final play of the game.
Louisiana, after losing on a last second FG to Coastal, for three weeks but re-entered after beating Arkansas State to move to 6-1 on the year. The Rajin’ Cajuns didn’t stop there and finished the year with the lone loss to Coastal as the only blemish on their schedule. The Cajuns didn’t get a chance at revenge in the Sunbelt Championship as the game was cancelled due to COVID-19 issues at Coastal.
App State missed their first Sunbelt conference championship game appearance, but posted another 9 win season after winning their bowl game. In doing this, they joined Alabama, Clemson, and Oklahoma as the only FBS member to win at least 9 games every year since 2015 (their first year in FBS).
The Sunbelt placed five teams in the abbreviated 2020 bowl season. Georgia Southern, Georgia State, App State, and Louisiana all won over CUSA foes. Coastal dropped a heartbreaker in overtime to Liberty when a FG attempt in overtime was blocked. In all, it was the Sunbelt’s best showing in history with two teams in the final top 25 and one just outside the final rankings.
2020 Sunbelt Final Standings
| Division/Team | Conference | All Games | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| East | W | L | Pct | Points | Against | W | L | Pct | Points | Against |
 Coastal Carolina | 8 | 0 | 1.000 | 309 | 145 | 11 | 1 | 0.917 | 446 | 243 |
 Appalachian State | 6 | 2 | 0.750 | 256 | 154 | 9 | 3 | 0.750 | 406 | 240 |
 Georgia State | 4 | 4 | 0.500 | 245 | 267 | 6 | 4 | 0.600 | 333 | 317 |
 Georgia Southern | 4 | 4 | 0.500 | 201 | 210 | 8 | 5 | 0.615 | 354 | 270 |
 Troy | 3 | 4 | 0.429 | 199 | 172 | 5 | 6 | 0.455 | 301 | 283 |
| West | W | L | Pct | Points | Against | W | L | Pct | Points | Against |
 Louisiana | 7 | 1 | 0.875 | 284 | 184 | 10 | 1 | 0.909 | 370 | 242 |
 South Alabama | 3 | 5 | 0.375 | 153 | 210 | 4 | 7 | 0.364 | 219 | 300 |
 Texas State | 2 | 6 | 0.250 | 225 | 300 | 2 | 10 | 0.167 | 332 | 458 |
 Arkansas State | 2 | 6 | 0.250 | 253 | 314 | 4 | 7 | 0.364 | 362 | 409 |
 Louisiana Monroe | 0 | 7 | 0.000 | 143 | 312 | 0 | 10 | 0.000 | 163 | 420 |
2020 Sunbelt Conference Season Awards
| Player | Team | Award |
|---|---|---|
| Grayson McCall | Coastal Carolina | Player of the Year |
| Jonathan Adams | Arkansas State | Offensive Player of the Year |
| Tarron Jackson | Coastal Carolina | Defensive Player of the Year |
| Grayson McCall | Coastal Carolina | Freshman of the Year |
| D’Jordan Strong | Coastal Carolina | Newcomer of the Year |
| Jamey Chadwell | Coastal Carolina | Coach of the Year |
2020 Sunbelt Conference Team Statistical Leaders
| Statistic | Team | Metric |
|---|---|---|
| Team Scoring Offense and Defense | ||
| Points Scored Per Game-Total | Coastal Carolina | 37.2 |
| Average Game Margin-Total | Coastal Carolina | 16.9 |
| Points Scored Per Game-Conf | Coastal Carolina | 38.6 |
| Average Game Margin – Conf | Coastal Carolina | 20.5 |
| Passing Offense | ||
| Pass Attempts Per Game | Arkansas State | 42.1 |
| Pass Completions Per Game | Troy | 27.2 |
| Completion Percentage | Coastal Carolina | 66.6% |
| Passing Yards Per Game | Arkansas State | 364.4 |
| Passing TDs Per Game | Arkansas State | 3.5 |
| Rushing Offense | ||
| Rushing Attempts Per Game | Georgia Southern | 49.2 |
| Rushing Yards Per Game | Georgia Southern | 267 |
| Average Yards Per Carry | App State | 5.8 |
| Rushing TDs Per Game | Coastal Carolina | 2.5 |
| Total Offense | ||
| Plays Per Game | Arkansas State | 77.2 |
| Total Yards Per Game | Arkansas State | 489.7 |
| Average Yards Per Play | Coastal Carolina | 6.7 |
| Penalties | ||
| Penalties Per Game (Fewest) | Coastal Carolina | 3.7 |
| Penalty Yards Per Game (Fewest) | Georgia Southern | 33.8 |
| Offense Turnovers | ||
| Fumbles Per Game (Fewest) | Texas State | 0.3 |
| Interceptions Per Game (Fewest) | Coastal Carolina | 0.4 |
| Total Turnovers Per Game (Fewest) | Coastal Carolina | 1.0 |
| Team Scoring Defense | ||
| Points Allowed Per Game-Total | App State | 20.1 |
| Points Allowed Per Game-Conf | Coastal Carolina | 18.1 |
| Passing Defense | ||
| Completions Allowed Per Game | Louisiana Monroe | 12.6 |
| Passing Yards Allowed Per Game | Louisiana | 170.6 |
| Passing Completion % Per Game | App State | 47.9% |
| Passing TDs Allowed Per Game | Coastal Car, Louisiana | 0.9 |
| Rushing Defense | ||
| Rushing Yards Allowed Per Game | Georgia Southern | 112.2 |
| Rushing Yards Per Carry Allowed | Georgia Southern | 3.5 |
| Rushing TDs Allowed Per Game | Georgia Southern | 1.1 |
| Total Defense | ||
| Yards Allowed Per Game | Georgia Southern | 325.7 |
| Total Yards Allowed Per Play | Louisiana | 4.9 |
| Turnovers | ||
| Interceptions Per Game (Most) | Louisiana | 1.5 |
| Fumbles Recovered Per Game (Most) | Georgia State | 0.9 |
| Total turnovers Forced Per Game | GaSt, Coastal, Louisiana | 2.1 |
2020 Sunbelt Conference Individual Statistical Leaders
| Statistic | Player | Team | Metric |
|---|---|---|---|
| Passing | |||
| Completions | Gunnar Watson | Troy | 211 |
| Completion % | Gunnar Watson | Troy | 70.1% |
| Passing Yards | Grayson McCall | Coastal Carolina | 2,488 |
| Passing Yards Per Att | Layne Hatcher | Arkansas State | 10.6 |
| Passing TDs | Grayson McCall | Coastal Carolina | 26 |
| Passer Efficiency | Grayson McCall | Coastal Carolina | 184.3 |
| Rushing | |||
| Rushing Attempts | Camerun Peoples, Torrance Marable | App State, Coastal Carolina | 169 |
| Rushing Yardage | Camerun Peoples | App State | 1,126 |
| Rush Yards Per Att | Camerun Peoples | App State | 6.7 |
| Rushing TDs | Camerun Peoples, Torrance Marable | App State, Coastal Carolina | 12 |
| Receiving | |||
| Receptions | Jonathan Adams, Jr | Arkansas State | 79 |
| Receiving Yards | Jonathan Adams, Jr | Arkansas State | 1,111 |
| Yards Per Reception | Isaiah Likely | Coastal Carolina | 20.0 |
| Receiving TDs | Jonathan Adams, Jr | Arkansas State | 12 |
| Total Offense | |||
| Yards From Scrimmage | Camerun Peoples | App State | 1,140 |
| Total Yards | Grayson McCall | Coastal Carolina | 3,057 |
| Total Yards Per Play | Grayson McCall | Coastal Carolina | 8.5 |
| Touchdowns | Torrance Marable | Coastal Carolina | 19 |
| TDs Responsible For | Grayson McCall | Coastal Carolina | 33 |
| Kicking | |||
| Extra Points Made | Chandler Staton | App State | 51 |
| Field Goals Made | Alex Raynor | Georgia Southern | 18 |
| Field Goal Pct | Massimo Biscardi | Coastal Carolina | 84.6% |
| Avg. Punt Yards | Daniel Sparks | Louisiana Monroe | 44.6 |
| Defense | |||
| Solo Tackles | Keith Gallmon | South Alabama | 59 |
| Total Tackles | Carlton Martial | Troy | 114 |
| Tackles for Loss | Justin Rice | Arkansas State | 19 |
| Sacks | Jordan Strachan | Georgia State | 9.5 |
| Interceptions | D’Jordan Strong | Coastal Carolina | 5 |
| Passes Defended | Shemar Jean-Charles | App State | 16 |
| Fumbles Forced | Jeffrey Gunter | Coastal Carolina | 6 |