College Football Outpost: Sun Belt Week One Review

With one week in the books, who were the biggest winners and losers of the opening week?

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Troy's Defense: The Trojans gave up 49 points to their ACC foe but were put in a tough situation in the third quarter with NC State drives starting on the Troy 33 and 14 yard lines. The Trojan defense forced a third quarter turnover that could have gotten Troy within one score if the offense could have taken advatage.
Louisiana's Comeback: Trailing big on the road to an SEC foe, the Ragin' Cajuns tied the game at 33 in the fourth quarter before giving up the game winning score in the final minute of the game. For a team that was a 17-point underdog, that was a huge confidence builder.
Appalachian State: The Mountaineers were facing a poor oppontent in week one but took care of business in jumping to a 28-0 first half lead. Appalachian State held Howard to 172 total yards, eight first downs, and only 36 yards rushing.
Xavier Johnson, South Alabama: The redshirt sophomore carried the ball seven times for 121 yards and a touchdown along with a 56-yard touchdown catch in the 33-23 win over Gardner-Webb.

Georgia State: The Panthers were not expected to compete for a Sun Belt crown but should not have lost to a team competing in their first FBS game. For a program that has yet to expereince any real football success, this is yet another setback.
Georgia Southern's offense: The Eagles were one the #1 rushing team in the nation last fall and one of the nation's highest scoring teams. In the season opener versus West Virginia, the Eagles were held to 195 yards on the ground, 224 total yards, and zero points. If my research is correct, this was the first time Georgia Southern was shut out since 1995.
Idaho's 1st quarter: The Vandals, getting a good MAC team to make the trip to Moscow, lost the game before the first 15 minutes elapsed. A fumble and pick six in the first three possessions put Idaho in a 21-0 deficit that was too much to overcome.
Arkansas State's Offense: Sure they were up against USC but the Red Wolves struggled on offense with quarterback Fredi Knighten unable to ever get on track. Arkansas State ended the game with 401 yards of total offense but many of those yards came with the game in hand for USC.
Week One Record: The Sun Belt had a poor week one in going 2-9. The Sun Belt went 0-2 versus other G5 teams and 0-7 versus P5 programs. The only two wins came South Alabama and Appalachian State versus FCS programs (Gardner-Webb, Howard).

Offensive Player of the Week: Xavier Johnson, USA: Johnson had a 92-yard touchdown run and a 56-yard touchdown catch in leading the Jaguars to a week one win.
Defensive Player of the Week: Tajhea Chambers, Arkansas State: The freshman linebacker was one of the few bright spots with eight tackles and 2.5 sacks in the season opener.
Special Teams Player of the Week: Will Lutz, Georgia State: The senior kicker was 2-3 with a long of 50 yards and also averaged a Sun Belt high 49.0 yards per punt in the loss.
Game of the Week: Kentucky 40, Louisiana 33. Despite losing the season opening game, Louisiana gave the Wildcats everything they could handle in a huge second half comeback.
Team of the Week: Appalachian State: The Mountaineers played lower competition than other conference mates but got it done with a 49-0 week one win.
Sun Belt Power Rankings: (Post Week One):