The 2018 Sun Belt Conference Championship Game was played on December 1, 2018, between the Mountaineers of

Appalachian State Appalachian State University (), or App State, is a public research university in Boone, North Carolina, United States. It was founded as a teachers' college in 1899 by brothers B. B. and D. D. Dougherty and the latter's wife, Lillie Shull Dou ...

and the Ragin' Cajuns from

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

. The game was played at

Kidd Brewer Stadium Kidd Brewer Stadium is a 30,000-seat multi-purpose stadium located in Boone, North Carolina. Nicknamed "The Rock," the stadium is the home of the Appalachian State Mountaineers football, Appalachian State Mountaineers football team. Kidd Brewer ...

Boone, North Carolina Boone is a town in and the county seat of Watauga County, North Carolina, United States. Located in the Blue Ridge Mountains of western North Carolina, Boone is the home of Appalachian State University and the headquarters of the disaster and me ...

, due to Appalachian State's better conference record. This was the second time these teams played this year; the first meeting finished 27–17 in the Mountaineers' favor. The winner of the game would play in the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl while the loser would play in the

Cure Bowl The Cure Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game that has been played in December of each year since 2015 in Orlando, Florida. It is currently held at Camping World Stadium, and in the past has been held at FBC Mortgage Stadium and ...

History

In 1987, the

National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

(NCAA) approved a proposal made by two Division II conferences that allowed any conference with 12 football members to split into divisions and stage a championship game between the divisional winners, with that game not counting against NCAA limits on regular-season contests. However, the rule would not see its first use until 1992, when the

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central United States, South Central and Southeastern United States. Its 16 members in ...

, which had added

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...

and

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

the previous year, launched its title game. In early 2016, NCAA legislation was passed that largely deregulated FBS conference championship games, allowing a conference with fewer than 12 teams to stage a championship game that featured either (1) the top two teams at the end of a full round-robin conference schedule, or (2) the winners of each of two divisions, with each team playing a full round-robin schedule within its division. Several months later the Sun Belt Conference announced that they would be introducing the football championship game to its sponsor sport starting in 2018. In 2017, the conference announced that its teams would compete in two divisions, to determine participants for a conference championship game. The East and West divisions were created with five teams each, with the top teams to meet in a championship game played at the home stadium of the team with the best

College Football Playoff The College Football Playoff (CFP) is an annual single-elimination tournament, knockout invitational tournament to determine a national champion for the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, D ...

ranking. If neither team was ranked in the CFP selection committee, the conference would determine home field using a formula based on six computer ratings that were used in the old

Bowl Championship Series The Bowl Championship Series (BCS) was a college football post-season selection system that created four or five bowl game match-ups involving eight or ten of the top ranked teams in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of America ...

standings.

Teams

Louisiana

The Ragin' Cajuns came into the 2018 season off of a 5–7 record. They also entered the season to a new face, Billy Napier, after previous head coach,

Mark Hudspeth Mark Douglas Hudspeth (born November 10, 1968) is an American football coach and former player. He is the head football coach at Gulf Shores High School in Gulf Shores, Alabama, a position he has held since 2021. Hudspeth served as the head foot ...

had been fired after three consecutive years of shortcomings and four consecutive New Orleans Bowl victories. Hoping to capitalize on a new face, the Cajuns did just that finishing 7–5 and in the Conference Championship after finishing first in the West Division, but only finishing in a tie for fourth place in the entire conference. The Ragin' Cajun come into the game after beating out-of-conference

Grambling State Tigers The Grambling State Tigers and Lady Tigers represent Grambling State University in National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA intercollegiate athletics. Grambling's sports teams participate in Division I (I-FCS for College football, football ...

and the

New Mexico State Aggies The New Mexico State University teams are called the Aggies, a nickname derived from the university's agricultural beginnings. The mascot is known as " Pistol Pete". NMSU's colors are crimson and white. Since 2023 the Aggies have competed in Co ...

and Sun Belt Conference foes

Texas State Bobcats The Texas State Bobcats are the sports teams that represent Texas State University. Currently, they compete in the Sun Belt Conference in NCAA Division I (Football Bowl Subdivision for football). The Bobcat has been the mascot of Texas State Uni ...

Arkansas State Red Wolves The Arkansas State Red Wolves are the athletic teams of Arkansas State University. They are a member of the Sun Belt Conference in all sports except women's Ten-pin bowling, bowling, a sport not sponsored by that league, competing at the National ...

Georgia State Panthers The Georgia State Panthers are the intercollegiate athletics teams that represent Georgia State University, located in Atlanta, Georgia. All GSU teams compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I FBS level as mem ...

South Alabama Jaguars The South Alabama Jaguars represent the University of South Alabama in NCAA Division I intercollegiate athletics. USA competes in the Sun Belt Conference; it is the conference's only remaining charter member from its inception. USA's athletics te ...

, and the winner-take-all game against the

Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks The University of Louisiana at Monroe (ULM) is a public university in Monroe, Louisiana, United States. It is part of the University of Louisiana System. History ULM opened in 1931 as Ouachita Parish Junior College. Three years later it becam ...

. The Ragin' Cajuns were defeated by No. 16 Mississippi State Bulldogs,

Coastal Carolina Chanticleers The Coastal Carolina Chanticleers (, ) are the athletic teams that represent Coastal Carolina University. They participate in NCAA Division I, Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA as a member of the Sun Belt Conferen ...

, No. 1 Alabama Crimson Tide,

Appalachian State Mountaineers The Appalachian State Mountaineers are the athletic teams that represent Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina, United States. The Mountaineers compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and were ...

, and the

Troy Trojans The Troy Trojans are the sports teams of Troy University. They began playing in the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA's Division I (NCAA), Division I-A in 2001 in sports, 2001, became a American football, football only member of the ...

Appalachian State

The Mountaineers came into the 2018 season off of a 9–4 season, a Sun Belt Co-Championship, and a

Dollar General Bowl The 68 Ventures Bowl is a postseason NCAA-sanctioned Division I FBS college football bowl game that has been played annually in Mobile, Alabama since 1999. In 2021, the game was moved from Ladd–Peebles Stadium to Hancock Whitney Stadium, on th ...

victory and shut out 34-0, against the

Toledo Rockets The Toledo Rockets are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Toledo. The Rockets compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level as a member of the Mid-American Conference (MAC). The ...

. Since coming into the Sun Belt Conference in 2014, the Mountaineers have flourished, finishing every year above .500, two conference championships, two Camellia Bowl wins, a Dollar General Bowl win, and even ranked No. 25 in the nation for a week in 2018, which was the first time in the programs history. The Mountaineers come into the game after beating out-of-conference

Charlotte 49ers The Charlotte 49ers are the college athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletics teams that represent the University of North Carolina at Charlotte in Charlotte, North Carolina, Charlotte, North Carolina. The 49ers compete at the Nati ...

Gardner–Webb Runnin' Bulldogs The Gardner–Webb Runnin' Bulldogs are the athletic teams that represent Gardner–Webb University, located in Boiling Springs, North Carolina. Gardner–Webb participates in 21 varsity sports at the NCAA Division I level. The school's progr ...

, and Sun Belt foes

Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns are the athletic teams of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. The college has been competing athletically since 1901. The Ragin' Cajuns compete in NCAA Division I, fielding 16 varsity teams. Nickname The unive ...

, and the winner-take-all game against the

. Their only losses of 2018 were to No. 10 Penn State Nittany Lions and the

Georgia Southern Eagles The Georgia Southern Eagles are the athletic team(s) of Georgia Southern University (GS). The Eagles compete in the Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) (formerly I-A) and are members of the NCAA Division I Sun Belt Conference. Prior to jo ...

Appalachian State vs. Louisiana series history

This match up will be the 6th all time meeting against the Mountaineers and the Ragin' Cajuns. They last played each other earlier this year on October 20. Appalachian State defeated Louisiana, 27-17. That win made it five in the row, leading to the Mountaineers first appearance in the AP Poll. After the regular season match up, Appalachian State leads the all time series 5-0.

Game summary

Statistics

References

{{Appalachian State Mountaineers football navbox

Championship Game A champion (from the late Latin ''campio'') is the victor in a challenge, contest or competition. There can be a territorial pyramid of championships, e.g. local, regional/provincial/state, national, continental and world championships, and ...

Sun Belt Conference Football Championship Game Appalachian State Mountaineers football games Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns football games

Sun Belt Conference Football Championship Game The Sun Belt Conference Football Championship Game is an annual college football game that determines the season champion of the Sun Belt Conference (SBC). The game is played between the SBC regular-season divisional champions from the East and W ...