The SBC Sends an Unprecedented 12 Teams to Post Season Bowl Play

My fantasy football league is set up where the two teams with the worst records are auto-subtracted from the Playoffs. It appears that, at least for the 2023 season, the Sun Belt has adopted the very same model, somehow promoting every program except the conference’s two worst to bowl game slots.

Poor Warhawks! Poor Golden Eagles! Your fans forced to watch rival peer programs enjoy a few extra practices before basking in the limelight of postseason glow! The pain!

However, congratulations must be in order. Are there too many bowl games? Maybe, but we can’t help that. The focus should be that earning a bowl game – especially in the Sun Belt – requires that your team take care of some business in the out-of-conference. Because these days, the conference slate is the toughest portion of the Sun Belt schedule.

Saturday, December 16

Georgia Southern (6-6) vs Ohio (9-3), Myrtle Beach Bowl, 10:00 AM ESPN/ESPN+, -3.5 Eagles

The Eagles haven’ won a football game since October 26, yet find themselves better than a field goal favorite over the Bobcats, who won four of their last five to finish the season one of the hottest teams in the MAC. Of course, Vegas may be noting that Ohio’s starting QB, Kurtis Roarke, has entered the transfer portal, along with veteran wide receiver Tyler Walton and linebacker Keye Thompson. Meanwhile, the portal has left the Eagles more or less intact. But given the way Georgia Southern has played for the last month you wonder if the roster continuity even matters.

Prediction: Ohio deepens the forgettablity of this lost Eagles’ season

Jacksonville St. (8-4) vs. Louisana (6-6), R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl, 1:15 PM ESPN/ESPM+, -3.0 Gamecocks

When you go 6-6 in the Sun Belt West, you got to play the “CUSA team who was an FCS team last season and wouldn’t have been eligible for a bowl this year but got in because there was a shortage of six-win qualifiers.” The Cajuns limped in to the post season after losing their star freshman QB Zeon Chriss (who finished the season 10th in the Sun Belt for rushing). I don’t know much about Jacksonville State, but behind QB Zion Webb and running back Malik Jackson, the Gamecocks are one of the most potent rushing teams in the nation. You can run on the Cajuns.

Prediction: Gamecocks win, and I will still not know much about them

Miami (OH) (11-2) vs. Appalachian State (8-5), Avocados from Mexico Cure Bowl, 2:30 PM ABC/ESPN+, -5.5 Mountaineers

I caught some of the Miami (OH) versus Toledo MAC Championship game and came a way impressed with the Red Hawks, winners of five straight and champions of the Mid-American. The Mountaineers finished the season just as hot as the Red Hawks only to run out of fire in the second half of the SBC Championship Game. However, Miami quarterback Aveon Smith, who took over mid-season and led that five-win charge, has leaped into the portal, while Appalachian State quarterback Joey Aguilar announced his intention to stick around Boone.

Prediction: Mountaineers take advantage of the mystery behind the Red Hawks’ center

Monday, December 18

Western Kentucky (7-5) vs. Old Dominion (6-6), Famous Toastery Bowl, 1:30 PM ESPN/ESPN+, -2.5 Monarchs

You wanna get weird? Let’s get weird! Neither the Monarchs or the Hilltoppers are playing to script this season, and you may as well roll an infinity-sided dice to predict the outcome. Western Kentucky loves to throw behind big armed QB Austin Reed, and Old Dominion isn’t particularly great at defending the pass. But at least all-universe tackler Jason Henderson is still listed on the ODU roster, and that should count for something. Note: both the Monarchs and the Hilltoppers are seeing a ton of transfer portal attrition.

Prediction: my infinity-sided dice comes up Hilltoppers

Tuesday, December 19, 2023

UTSA (8-4) vs Marshall (6-6), Scooter’s Coffee Frisco Bowl, 8:00 PM ESPN/ESPN+, -9.5 Roadrunners

Like Old Dominion, Marshall is seeing an exodus as well, led by starting quarterback Cam Fancher, which resulted in a curious observation from head coach Charlie Huff. The team should be in a great mood when they travel to Texas to meet the Roadrunners, who had won seven straight before falling in the season finale to Tulane. Unlike Marshall, the Roadrunners haven’t seen much portal deflation, and the crowd should be largely on their side.

Prediction: The Thundering Herd become the Flattened Coyotes

Saturday, December 23

Troy (11-2) vs. Duke (7-5), 76 Birmingham Bowl, 11:00 AM ABC/ESPN+, -7.5 Troy

With Mike Elko becoming the latest coach to succumb to Texas A&M’s bizarre but well-financed culture, former Red Wolves assistant Trooper Taylor leads Duke against the SBC champions in the Birmingham Bowl. Complicating things more for Duke is starting quarterback Riley Leonard bailing for Notre Dame. Troy isn’t without its staffing issues – coach Jon Sumrall just inked with Tulane. However, Troy looks to be the more stable program sauntering into what amounts to a home game for the Trojans.

Prediction: Trojans steamroll duke behind running back Kamadi Vidal

Arkansas State (6-6) vs. Northern Illinois (6-6), Camellia Bowl, 11:00 AM ESPN/ESPN+, -1 Red Wolves

The last time the Red Wolves saw Northern Illinois was in the 2012 GoDaddy Bowl, where the Huskies delivered a thorough 38-20 victory behind the brilliance of quarterback Chandler Harnish. Much has happened since that game, with Arkansas State attending three more GoDaddy Bowls and Northern Illinois just sort of hanging around the MAC. By in large, both 6-6 teams appear equipped to play this game at acceptable strength. A caution for A-State: the Huskies lead running back Antario Brown (1,164 yards, 10 TDs) is legit.

Prediction: Red Wolves get some long awaited revenge

James Madison (11-1) vs. Air Force (8-4), Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl, 2:30 PM ABC/ESPN+, -3 Dukes

The Dukes, not eligible for a Sun Belt championship, settles for a bowl game with former Mountain West darling Air Force, a program on the fast track to an NY6 bowl before closing out the season with four straight losses (ouch). Now they get JMU, whose head coach Curt Cignetti accepted a contract with Indiana and whose star quarterback Jordan McCloud has entered the transfer portal (it is said that McCloud will QB the bowl game, tho). Despite the leadership subtraction in Harrisonburg, don’t look for James Madison to struggle mightily with the free-falling Falcons.

Prediction: The Dukes declare themselves King of the Armed Forces Bowl

Georgia State (6-6) vs Utah State (6-6), Famous Idaho Potato Bowl, 2:30 PM ESPN/ESPN+, -0.5 Aggies

Remember when the Panthers were steamrolling to six wins and were poised to take over as chiefs of the Sun Belt East? Welp, Georgia State hasn’t won a game since edging Louisiana on October 21, and has since seen an alarming number of players hit the Portal, including lead running back Marcus Carroll. Meanwhile, the Sun Belt gets to see Blake Anderson again, this time as head coach for the Aggies, a seesaw team that scores a ton of points behind wide receiver Jalen Royals (1,023 yards, 14 touchdowns).

Prediction: Utah State slams the lid on the Panther’s lost season

South Alabama (6-6) vs Eastern Michigan (6-6), 68 Ventures Bowl, 6:00 PM ESPN/ESPN+, -16 Jaguars

South Alabama was supposed to compete for a Sun Belt championship this year. Instead, the Jaguars are 6-6 and attending a bowl game in their own stadium – without their superstar wide receiver Caullin Lacy, who portal plunged. Eastern Michigan, among the hundreds of directional Michigan schools playing in the MAC, doesn’t excel in any facet of the game, really, which means that South Alabama (to whom Vegas grants the largest of SBC spreads this bowl season) will likely have a hard time.

Prediction: The Jaguars squeak by with a puzzlingly close victory

Coastal Carolina (7-5) vs. San Jose State (7-5), EasyPost Hawai’i Bowl, 9:30 PM ESPN/ESPN+, -9.5 Spartans

No Sun Belt team has seen more plunges into the transfer portal than Coastal Carolina, with a long list that includes quarterback Grayson McCall and wide receiver Jarod Brown. Meanwhile, San Jose State has had a similar season to the Chanticleers, starting the year slowly before ripping off a long win streak to end the season. The difference? The Spartans enter the game largely intact, while Tim Beck sifts through his roster looking for warm bodies.

Prediction: A nice Hawaii vacation dulls Coastal’s pain

Tuesday, December 26

Texas State (7-5) vs. Rice (6-6), SERVPRO First Responder Bowl, 4:30 PM ESPN/ESPN+, -4 Bobcats

After enjoying a nice Christmas dinner, the Bobcats get to feast on Rice (not a traditional Christmas dish). GJ Kinne and Texas State have had a fine season and won’t likely bow down to Rice, inexplicable losers to UCONN. Complicating matters is the retirement of Rice starting QB JT Daniels, who was the engine of the Owls’ offensive production. Without Daniels, the Bobcats with Ismail Mahdi and quarterback TJ Finley should have enough firepower to overcome the Owls.

Prediction: Bobcats steam Rice