The Florida Atlantic Owls football program represents Florida Atlantic University (FAU) in the sport of American football. The Owls compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the American Athletic Conference (American/AAC). The Owls play their home games at FAU Stadium which has a seating capacity of 29,419.
The Georgia Southern Eagles football program represents Georgia Southern University in football as part of the Sun Belt Conference. The current head coach is Clay Helton. The Eagles have won six FCS (I-AA) national championships and have produced two Walter Payton Award winners. Georgia Southern first continuously fielded a football team in 1924, but play was suspended for World War II and did not return until 1981. The Eagles competed as an FCS independent from 1984 to 1992 and as a member of the Southern Conference from 1993 to 2013, winning 10 SoCon championships. In 2014, Georgia Southern moved to the FBS level and joined the Sun Belt Conference, winning the conference championship outright in its first year. Georgia Southern's main Sun Belt rivals are Appalachian State and Georgia State.
William Christopher "Dabo" Swinney is an American college football coach, currently serving as the head football coach at Clemson University. Swinney took over as head coach of the Clemson Tigers seven games into the 2008 season, following the resignation of Tommy Bowden. Swinney's team won national championships in 2016 and 2018. His 2018 Clemson Tigers have often been considered one of the greatest college football teams of all time. He is the winningest head coach in Clemson football history and ACC football history.
Chad Allen Morris is an American football coach. He served as the head football coach at Southern Methodist University (SMU) from 2015 to 2017 and the University of Arkansas from 2018 to 2019.
Odell Haggins Jr. is an American college football coach and former player. He is the associate head coach and defensive tackles coach for Florida State University, positions he has held since 2020. Haggins has coached at Florida State since 1994 and has served two stints as interim head coach, for the final two games of the 2017 season, following the resignation of Jimbo Fisher, and the final four games of the 2019 season, after the firing of Willie Taggart.
Clay Charles Helton is an American college football coach and former player, who is currently the head coach at Georgia Southern. He was previously the head coach of USC from 2015 to 2021. Helton has also been an assistant coach for Duke, Houston and Memphis. His father, Kim Helton, was a coach in college, the National Football League, and the Canadian Football League; his brother, Tyson, is the head coach at Western Kentucky.
Donald Brent Key is an American college football coach and former player. Key is the head football coach at his alma mater, Georgia Tech as of November 2022.
Clinton James Trickett is an American football coach who serves as the tight ends coach and pass game coordinator for the Georgia Southern Eagles football team. He was previously the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for Marshall University. He played college football at Florida State and West Virginia.
Jeffrey Bradford Scott is a former American football coach. He served as the head football coach at the University of South Florida from 2020 to 2022.
Tyson Summers is an American college football coach. He is the defensive coordinator at Western Kentucky University, a position he had held since 2022. He previously served as an analyst at the University of Florida. Prior to that, Summers served as the defensive coordinator at the University of Colorado Boulder. Summers was the head football coach at Georgia Southern University from 2016 to 2017.
William Geoffrey Collins is an American college football coach and former player. He is currently serving as the defensive coordinator at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Prior to the Tar Heels, he was head coach at Georgia Tech from December 7, 2018, to September 25, 2022. He was previously the head coach at Temple University, and had served in the past as defensive coordinator for the University of Florida and Mississippi State University.
The 2017 LSU Tigers football team represented Louisiana State University in the 2017 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Tigers played their home games at Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and competed in the Western Division of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). They were led by first-year head coach Ed Orgeron after he led the Tigers as interim head coach for the final eight games of 2016. They finished the season 9–4, 6–2 in SEC play to finish in third place in the Western Division. They were invited to the Citrus Bowl where they lost to Notre Dame.
The 2017 Georgia Southern Eagles football team represented Georgia Southern University in the 2017 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Eagles played their home games at Paulson Stadium in Statesboro, Georgia, and competed in the Sun Belt Conference. They were led by coach Chad Lunsford following the mid-season firing of second-year head coach Tyson Summers. They finished the season 2–10, 2–6 in Sun Belt play to finish in a tie for tenth place.
William Hall Napier is an American football coach currently serving as head coach at the University of Florida. From 2017 until 2021, he was head coach at the University of Louisiana, amassing a 40–12 record in four seasons with three consecutive 10+ win seasons and two seasons finishing in the AP Poll, both firsts in the program's history. Prior to Louisiana, he was the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Arizona State University in 2017.
Greg Knox is an American college football coach. He is the director of career and professional development for Mississippi State University, a position he has held since 2024. He previously was the Interim Head Coach at Mississippi State University. Knox served as interim head football coach at Mississippi State for the final game of the 2017 and at the University of Florida for the final two games in 2021. From 2009 to 2021, he was Dan Mullen's running backs coach, first at Mississippi State and then at Florida.
Glenn Spencer is an American college football coach. He is currently the linebackers coach at Wake Forest University, a position he has held since 2022. Spencer previously served as the defensive coordinator and safeties coach at the University of South Florida. He played college football at Georgia Tech.
The 2021 Georgia Southern Eagles football team represented Georgia Southern University during the 2021 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Eagles played their home games at Paulson Stadium in Statesboro, Georgia, and competed in the East Division of the Sun Belt Conference. They were led by third-year head coach Chad Lunsford until he was dismissed mid-season following his third consecutive loss within the first four games of the season. Cornerbacks coach Kevin Whitley was tapped to serve as interim coach until a new head coach was hired by the university. Whitley was in his third year as cornerbacks coach and previously played for Georgia Southern as a four year starter from 1988 to 1991, helping to win two national titles for the Eagles. On November 2, 2021, Clay Helton, former head coach of the USC Trojans, was hired to become the next head coach for Georgia Southern, starting in the 2022 season.
The 2021 Sun Belt Conference football season was the 21st season of college football play for the Sun Belt Conference. The season began September 2, 2021 and concluded with its championship game on December 4, 2021. It was part of the 2021 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Sun Belt Conference consists of 10 football members split into two divisions. The conference released its schedule on March 1, 2021.
Donte Antonio Williams is an American football coach who is the defensive backs coach at the University of Georgia. He previously served as USC's associate head coach under Clay Helton, and he became USC's interim head coach on September 13, 2021, after Helton was fired. After leading the Trojans for the final 10 games of the 2021 season, Williams remained at the school on the staff of new head coach Lincoln Riley. A coach with stints at Oregon, Nebraska, Arizona, and San Jose State, Williams has established himself as one of the nation's top college football recruiters.
Kevin Whitley is an American football coach and former cornerback who is a head football coach at Northgate High School in Newnan, Georgia, a position he has held since 2024. Previously, he assumed the role of interim head coach and cornerbacks coach at Georgia Southern, and is longtime high school coach in Georgia. Whitley also played professionally in the Canadian Football League (CFL) for the Toronto Argonauts for three seasons.
