BOONE — The short list of top defenses in Appalachian State history is tough to crack.

The current group has made a mark nationally and put together the best Sun Belt Conference season since 2002.

App State, which completed its regular season Saturday with a 37-7 win at New Mexico State, allowed only 94 points in eight conference games. The 11.75 average in league play ranks second in the 128-team Football Bowl Subdivision behind Michigan’s 11.67 average against a nine-game Big Ten schedule.

Since the start of Sun Belt football in 2001, the only defense with a better season-long average against conference opponents was the 2002 group from North Texas. It allowed 59 points in a 6-0 run through the league, good for a 9.83 average.

“I think we’re going to be up there with one of the greats,” senior linebacker Kennan Gilchrist said.

Tennessee and Old Dominion scored a combined 20 regulation points during App State’s first two games of 2016, but the Mountaineers lost 45-10 against Miami and beat Akron 45-38 the following week. They’ve been a lot stingier against Sun Belt competition.