Analysis, Kick Off Times, Broadcast and Spreads for Every Week 10 Sun Belt Game

We know who’s good in the Sun Belt now. It took nine weeks of punishing gridiron action to curate the proper amount of data, but we got it all figured out. James Madison and Troy are good. Southern Miss and Marshall are not good. Texas State and Georgia State might be good. ULM and Appalachians State might be not good. Louisiana and Georgia Southern could be good, but maybe not as good as we thought. Arkansas State is probably better than ULM, but possibly not as good as ODU. I hope this was useful to you.

Thursday, November 2

South Alabama (4-4) @ Troy (6-2), 6:30 PM ESPN2, -5 Trojans

Is there a more puzzling team in the Sun Belt more puzzling than the Jaguars? A preseason darling to win the West, Kane Wommack’s Jags are a .500 team with a road victory over Oklahoma State – and not much else. Against the top tier of the Sun Belt, South Alabama has come up losers, the chagrin culminating in a shocking 33-20 home loss to Louisiana. It doesn’t look much better for the Jaguars who renew the Battle of the Belt rivalry with a visit to Troy, a team only growing more powerful by the week.

Prediction: Troy skewers the Jags without mercy

Saturday, November 4

Louisiana (5-3) @ Arkansas State (4-4), 2:00 PM ESPN+, -9 Cajuns

This game is a glimpse into the Sun Belt future as freshman Cajuns quarterback Zeon Chriss faces freshman Red Wolves quarterback Jaylon Raynor in a battle of Sun Belt Original Gangstas. While many will be looking at the quarterbacks, it will be the Cajuns talented run game that will likely determine the outcome. Jacob Kibodi (545 yards, 6 TDs) doesn’t get the same buzz as Sun Belt rushers like Rasheed Ali, Marcus Carrol or Kimani Vidal, but he’s definitely in their league. It will be up to talented freshman A-State linebacker Javon Mackey and the front line to keep Kibodi out of the end zone.

Prediction: Red Wolves provide Butch Jones a signature conference win

#23 James Madison (8-0) @ Georgia State (6-2), 2:30 ESPN2, -5.5 Dukes

The Panthers were really feeling it before getting ambushed by Georgia Southern’s multi-faceted offense (and defense) last week. The Eagles held Panthers quarterback Darren Grainger to just 157 yards and picked him off twice in a 44-27 victory. The Dukes bring an even stronger defense to Atlanta, led by sack master Jalen Green and Shaun Alexander’s FAB 14 finalist D’Angelo Ponds. Running back Marcus Carrol won’t be able to take on the Dukes alone. If Grainger doesn’t find a way to reduce picks and make plays, Georgia State is in for a long, sad afternoon.

Prediction: Dukes go 9-0, remain 23rd in the AP

Coastal Carolina (5-3) @ Old Dominion (4-4), 2:30 ESPN+, -1 Chanticleers

This is the biggest “Who’s For Real” game of the Sun Belt this week, pitting one team we prematurely declared dead and another who just refuses to die. After starting conference play 0-2, the Chants have reeled off three straight wins – the last over Marshall without Grayson McCall. Meanwhile, weird ODU has completely ignored its last-place projections and continues to haunt the Sun Belt East with one of the better defenses in the conference. The Monarchs, who played the Dukes close down to the final second last week, are even weirder in Norfolk, Chants Be Warned.

Prediction: The Monarchs Crown Themselves SBC Weirdos

ULM (2-6) @ Southern Miss (1-7), 3:00 PM ESPN+, -3 Golden Eagles

The Warhawks are coming off their 14th straight loss to the Red Wolves while the Golden Eagles have endured seven straight losses period after dropping an epic battle in Boone last Saturday. With a combined three wins on the season, neither team is playing for post season glory. However, something seemed to click offensively with Southern Miss against the Mountaineers. Whether it continues against the hard luck Warhawks is a mystery, but it feels like Southern Miss’ Frank Gore Jr. has finally heated up.

Prediction: S’Miss gets that first conference victory

Georgia Southern (6-2) @ Texas State (5-3), 4:00 PM ESPN+, -2 Eagles

Troy did to Texas State was Troy does to just about everybody – makes opposing teams look silly. TJ Finely, the Bobcats super-productive quarterback, was picked off twice by the mighty Trojan D last week, rendering a supercharged offense stuck in neutral. By contrast, Georgia Southern rediscovered their mojo against Georgia State last week, with Davis Brin finding the end zone three times on 334 yards passing. The Eagles defense can be daunting, and it will be up to Finely and super-RB Ismail Mahdi to break it.

Prediction: The Bobcats’ time is not quite now

Marshall (4-4) @ Appalachian State (4-4), 5:00 PM NFL Network, -3.5 Mountaineers

Battle of the Sun Belt East Basement! Who’d have ever thought that it would be fought between the Thundering Herd and the Mountaineers? But that’s reality, folks. Marshall has lost four straight since starting the season 4-0, and the Mountaineers seem to be a program in crises. However, after finding themselves in an early hole with lowly Southern Miss last week, Appalachian State clawed their way to a 48-38 victory. Did the Mountaineers find the missing piece during the second half of its homecoming?

Prediction: The Herd gets hit hard

Photo Credit: Sun Belt Media