South Alabama: With what was expected to be your best team since the move to the FBS level, you lost to three of the top five teams in your confernece with Georgia Southern (28-6) and Arkansas State (45-10) steamrolling you. Wins over Texas State and Appalachian State look nice but until you can finish a season with a winning record, I cannot choose you.
Idaho: Oh Idaho, I keep looking for a reason to hope that this is the year the Vandals are competitive once again. You keep giving me reasons to understand why no one would ever under any circumstances ever pick you to win a conference. Even if I wanted to, I cannot even give serious though to a team that did not even complete 12 games last fall. Complete 12 this season and I will donate a few seconds on your chance at a Sun Belt title.
New Mexico State: The second of the wayward orphans that no one wants, how can you be so bad on defense. We are talking almost Western Kentucky defense bad with no reason to expect a change in the future. I mean you had a 2,700 yard passer and an 1,100 yard rusher and you won two games. Just a tiny bit of FBS level defense would be nice. I will just recite these numbers... 42, 38, 63, 36, 41, 29, 37, 44, 30, 68... that is what you gave up in the final 10 games of the season, 42.8 ppg.
Georgia Southern: You came in an won the Sun Belt in your first season. Somehow you were not scheduled to play Arkansas State or Louisiana. You are actually set up to win the Sun Belt again this fall as long as you take care of the rest of the conference. That is where I am saying you get tripped up this fall. Appalachian State and Texas State beat you this fall and you end up third place in the conference title race. You get your bowl but a season too late.
Louisiana: The Ragin' Cajuns have the best overall player in the conference back this season but they will not win the Sun Belt. You are probably asking why and I go with the law of averages. Louisiana finds a way to lose at least one Sun Belt game they should win every fall without fail. Book it, Louisiana will lose to either Texas State, Arkansas State, or Appalachian State and it will cost them the Sun Belt title.
Texas State: Texas State will play three of the top four teams in the Sun Belt this season. All three games are on the road. They will not win all three games on the road. Idaho and ULM both nearly upset you last fall making it hard to ever trust you to win the conference. Maybe one day but this is not the day or the year for the Bobcats to make that conference championship push.
Appalachian State: Coming in as a member of the Sun Belt in the same year as Georgia Southern, the Mountaineers actually had more impressive conference wins in beating Louisiana and Arkansas State last fall. Texas State is the only top 5 Sun Belt team not on their schedule and beating Georgia Southern, Louisiana, South Alabama, and Arkansas State is not going to happen. They will lose ast least 1-2 games of that bunch.
Arkansas State: I don't even have to look at last season or this year's schedule to say why Arkansas State will not win the Sun Belt. The rush defense of the Red Wolves was absolutely terrible last season and all of the top Sun Belt teams heavily rely upon a strong running game. Unless the Red Wolves have suddenly figured out how to stop the run, it will not matter what the impressive offense can do.
Georgia State: 2014 was a weird year for the Panthers as they saw significant improvement in the passing game but had a defense so atrocious that a winning record would be virtually impossible. The rush attack was equally terrible, ending so many promising drives before they could get started. I honestly believe that Georgia State will be very improved but to ask them to get to .500 is a huge step. They will not win the Sun Belt this fall.
Louisiana Monroe: The Warhawks are a team that you just kinda forget they even exist in years like 2014. A very good passing game is offset by a rushing attack that makes Georgia State's running game look impressive. That is an incredible feat to obtain so I have to give ULM credit for that. The Warhawks have a very good defense that can keep them in games but thats the problem, they can only stay in games and can't win them.
Troy: Remember back in the day when Troy were one of the best teams in the Sun Belt every year and would go to a bowl game every year. These are not those Trojans anymore and probably should have been worse than their 3-9 record last season. You lose to Abiline Christian and I just, I don't know what to say. Maybe one day they figure it out but not this season or anytime in the near future.
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