2026 Arkansas State
3–4 (1–2 Sun Belt Conference), coached by Butch Jones. The season’s Wikipedia article records 2–4, over six games to the seven on file here. Share
Schedule and results
- Biggest winBeat West Georgia 52–7Sep 12
By 45 points, its widest win.
- Most excitingLost to South Alabama 49–56Oct 8
The win probability swung the most, by CollegeFootballData.com’s excitement index.
| Date | Opponent | Result | Elo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 5 | at Memphis | L 24–42 | 32% |
| Sep 12 | vs West Georgia | W 52–7 | 81% |
| Sep 19 | at TCU | L 7–31 | 29% |
| Sep 26 | vs Kennesaw State | W 17–14 | 61% |
| Oct 3 | at Louisiana | L 20–23 | 36% |
| Oct 8 | vs South Alabama | L 49–56 | 56% |
| Oct 17 | at Southern Miss | W 23–13 | 51% |
| Oct 24 | vs Georgia State | Preview | 60% |
| Nov 7 | vs UL Monroe | Preview | 82% |
| Nov 14 | at Coastal Carolina | Preview | 51% |
| Nov 21 | at Louisiana Tech | Preview | 37% |
| Nov 28 | vs Troy | Preview | 55% |
Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.
- Record
- 3–4
- Conference
- 1–2 tied for 9th in Sun Belt Conference
- AP now
- Unranked
- Points
- 192–186
- Coach
- Butch Jones
- Elo
- 1463 −21 this season
- SP+ rating
- -8.0 No. 104 of 138; offense No. 77, defense No. 123, special teams No. 70
- SRS
- −9.8 No. 107 of 138 in FBS
- Returning
- 30% of last season’s EPA, No. 89 of 136
- Recruiting class
- No. 85 roster talent No. 91 in FBS
- Offensive coordinator
- Garrett Altman
- Defensive coordinator
- Griff McCarley
How good, play by play
| EPA per play | Success | Explosiveness | FBS rank | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Offense | 0.11 | 46% | 1.13 | 68th of 138 |
| Defense | 0.18 | 46% | 1.23 | 99th of 138 |
| Opponent-adjusted | 0.11 off 0.18 def | 45% off 47% def | — | 59th off 120th def |
Passing and running
| Pass success | Depth of target | Deep throws | Line yards | Stuffed | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Offense | 53% | 8.7 yds | 15% | 3.20 | 14% |
| Defense | 45% | 9.6 yds | 15% | 3.40 | 12% |
How these are measured
Play-weighted averages over games against FBS opponents; raw numbers, not adjusted for the strength of the opponent. EPA (expected points added) measures how much each play changed the expected score; success rate counts plays that kept the offense on schedule; explosiveness is the average EPA on successful plays. Lower is better on defense. Ranked by EPA per play among teams that were FBS that season. The opponent-adjusted row (offense / defense) is CollegeFootballData.com’s WEPA, which accounts for who each team played. Passing and running: depth of target is how far downfield passes traveled in the air; deep throws are the share thrown deep, of the passes whose depth and direction the play-by-play describes (about half); line yards are the running yards per carry credited to the blockers; stuffed is the share of carries stopped at or behind the line. The defense’s line is what its opponents did. From CollegeFootballData.com, 2025 on.
Drives and havoc
| Points per trip inside the 40 | Average start | Havoc | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Offense | 3.9 | own 30 | 15% allowed |
| Defense | 3.7 | own 29 | 12% caused |
CORE rating -8.7, 101st of 138 (offense 2.5, defense 11.2).
A trip inside the 40 is a drive that reaches the opponent’s 40-yard line; points per trip is how many it scored on average (allowed, on defense). Average start is where drives began (the defense’s line is where its opponents started). Havoc is the share of plays ending in a tackle for loss, a forced fumble, an interception or a pass broken up. CORE is CollegeFootballData.com’s context- and opponent-adjusted rating (points better than an average team; lower is better on defense). From CollegeFootballData.com.
Leaders
| Passing yards | Trey Owens QB | 1,631 yds |
| Passing touchdowns | Trey Owens QB | 9 TD |
| Rushing yards | Solomon Baggett RB | 287 yds |
| Rushing touchdowns | Timothy Carter RB | 4 TD |
| Receiving yards | Hunter Summers WR | 422 yds |
| Receiving touchdowns | Hunter Summers WR | 3 TD |
| Tackles | Joe Drew S | 64 tkl |
| Sacks | Ryan Reese DT | 1.5 sacks |
| Interceptions | Dontrae Henderson CB | 2 INT |
Top recruits in the 2026 class
| Tavon Bell DL | ★★★ | No. 884 |
| Paul Risper CB | ★★★ | No. 1114 |
| Deshaun Fedd WR | ★★★ | No. 1566 |
| Ty’lan Fortune WR | ★★★ | No. 1654 |
| KeAndre Gibson CB | ★★★ | No. 1846 |
247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.
The 2026 class by position
| Signed | Stars | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Running backs | 1 | 3.0 | 0.850 |
| Receivers | 7 | 3.0 | 0.848 |
| Offensive line | 3 | 3.0 | 0.839 |
| Defensive line | 3 | 3.0 | 0.855 |
| Linebackers | 4 | 3.0 | 0.841 |
| Defensive backs | 3 | 3.0 | 0.853 |
| Whole class | 21 | 3.0 | 0.847 |
High-school signees by position group, with their average stars and 247Sports composite rating (out of 1), via CollegeFootballData.com. Athletes are signees with no set position.
Roster 116
The 2026 roster116 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2026 line; 56 have a stat line. See the roster
Transfers in 25
The 2026 portal Joshua Ofor LB | ★★★ | from  NC State |
 Makai Shahid S | ★★★ | from  Youngstown State |
 Manasse Itete OL | ★★★ | from  Florida State |
 Trey Owens QB | ★★★ | from  Texas |
 A.J. Thomas DE | ★★★ | from  McNeese |
 Boski Barrett WR | ★★★ | from  Vanderbilt |
| Jeremy St-Hilaire QB | ★★★ | from Vanderbilt |
 Nicolas Kalume DE | ★★★ | from  Maine |
 Sultan Badmus DE | ★★★ | from  Temple |
 Tre Stevens LB | ★★★ | from  Lafayette |
| Tyeland Coleman DL | ★★★ | from Florida State |
| Five Hamilton CB | ★★★ | from  Kennesaw State |
And 13 more, lower-rated or unrated.
Transfers out 37
 Drew Collins DE | ★★★ | to  South Carolina |
| Tyler Fortenberry TE | ★★★ | to  Iowa State |
| Javante Mackey LB | ★★★ | to  Texas State |
 Jaylen Raynor QB | ★★★ | to Iowa State |
| Tristian Smith OL | ★★★ | returned to  Arkansas State |
| Aaron Alexander LB | ★★★ | to  North Texas |
| Cody Sigler DL | ★★★ | to  Auburn |
| Damarcco Blanton WR | ★★★ | to  UL Monroe |
| D.D. Murray RB | ★★★ | to  Texas A&M |
| Cedric Franklin II CB | ★★★ | to  Ball State |
| Jax Brown QB | ★★★ | to Kilgore College |
| Jordan Sample LB | ★★★ | to Texas State |
And 25 more, lower-rated or unrated.
2026 Sun Belt Conference standings
Conference page| Team | Conf. | Overall | AP final |
|---|---|---|---|
 James Madison | 4–0 | 7–0 | |
| South Alabama | 2–0 | 4–2 | |
| Louisiana Tech | 2–0 | 4–2 | |
| Louisiana | 2–1 | 5–2 | |
 Georgia Southern | 2–1 | 3–4 | |
| Georgia State | 1–1 | 4–2 | |
 App State | 1–1 | 4–2 | |
| Troy | 1–1 | 3–3 | |
| Arkansas State | 1–2 | 3–4 | |
| Coastal Carolina | 1–2 | 2–5 | |
 Old Dominion | 1–3 | 2–5 | |
 Marshall | 0–2 | 3–3 | |
| Southern Miss | 0–2 | 1–5 | |
| UL Monroe | 0–2 | 0–6 |
Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.