During Sun Belt Media Days, the party line was dialed to damn near Level Power Six. From Commissioner Keith Gill to the coaches to the players, the word was that the Sun Belt was the best Group of Five football conference in the United States. After four weeks, has the SBC proven the theorem?
The Sun Belt has been good out-of-conference, though Tulane from the American has collected a pair of wins over SBC opponents, and the Mountain West and MAC managed to slip in wins in Week 4. For four consecutive weeks, the Sun Belt has at least one win over an Autonomous opponent, which is a nice piece of social media content signaling little. Oh yeah, and the Sun Belt does not lose to the FCS.
Overall, the Sun Belt is as least as strong as any G5 conference, with cases to be made that the football played by the SBC is superior to the Mountain West and American. Perhaps someday the AP Top 25 and the Playoff Commission will start to notice. At leas the Fornelli Ratings bear it all out.
#1. The Dukes Might Be The Bastard Kings of the Sun Belt
James Madison has some eligibility obstacles regarding bowl games and the conference championship, which bastardizes their season a bit. However, it’s difficult to name a better team right now than Curt Cignetti’s Dukes, a perfect 4-0 with wins over Utah State, Virginia and Troy. Jordan McCloud has become yet another successful Cignetti QB project, and the defense seemed the stingiest until Utah State dragged them for 500 yards.
The next three games are an absolute chainsaw: South Alabama, Georgia Southern and Marshall. Of the three, it may be the Eagles’ pass attack that offers the most threat to JMU.
#2 Old Dominion Continues to be the Oddest Program in the Conference
The Monarchs were feeling pretty good about themselves after surprising the Cajuns in Norfolk. However, losses to Virginia Tech and Wake Forest were spoiled opportunities for ODU, and wining 10-9 against Texas A&M Commerce had fans getting so grouchy, head coach Ricky Rahne was compelled to put on his lecture pants.
Despite flashes of solidness from QB Grant Wilson (who tossed three picks to Texas A&M Commerce before getting lifted for Jack Shields), the Monarchs be very well be the worst team in the Sun Belt after all.
#3 Texas State Isn’t Going Away
After falling behind 17 points early to a not-good Nevada team, the Bobcats got it together and outscored the Wolf Pack 35-7 for the remainder of the game. Texas State, 3-1 with a signature win over Baylor, are a legitimate threat to the Sun Belt West pecking order, especially with South Alabama Jekyll and Hyde-ing this season.
GJ Kinne is far-and-away the early leader for SBC Coach of the Year, and TJ Finley has a case for the best quarterback in the Sun Belt. The next three games on the schedule feature an alarmingly nosediving Southern Miss and a ULM team that may provide some defensive challenge. The game in the middle is with the Cajuns, which should provide the biggest test to Kinne.
Graphic: Sun Belt Media
Howlraiser 