Sun Belt men’s basketball opened the season 4-9 on the road against MAC teams on Monday, which isn’t terrific, but even worse for fans of programs who are already enduring a grim football season. Texas State, Georgia State, ULM and Louisiana absorbed double digit losses to their opponents, signaling extended misery for their respective fan bases. Buck up, there’s always baseball season.

In the meantime, Sun Belt football is separating the wheat from the chaff, with the more interesting race found in the SBC West – a troika of contenders in Arkansas State, Southern Miss and Troy. In the SBC East, only Coastal Carolina (prematurely declared dead in Week 3, have a chance to overtake James Madison. Everybody else is playing for bowls or pride, and there’s nothing wrong with that.

For the entire Sun Belt football season, Sun Belt Heat will be dissected on the FunBelt Podcast each week on the segment “Second and Short.”

Thursday, November 6

Georgia Southern Eagles (3-5) @ Appalachian State Mountaineers (4-4), 6:30PM, ESPN2, -6.5 Mountaineers

There was a time not many moons ago when this game was a marquee Sun Belt East matchup between ancient rivals. These days, both the Eagles and Mountaineers are struggling to recapture the former glory and neither are in any position to earn a divisional title. Uncharacteristically bad defense has hurt both teams, but the Eagles are especially dismal, rated fourth worst in the nation for Total Defense. Appalachian State, losers in two straight, has had problems with ball security and can’t seem to settle the quarterback position between AJ Swan and JJ Kohl. Still, this is a classic clash of once mighty programs, which should keep the ESPN2 announcers from discussing the SEC for at least a quarter.

RESULT: There’s not enough oxygen in Boone to keep the Eagles adrift.

Saturday, November 8

James Madison Dukes (7-1) @ Marshall Thundering Herd (4-4), 11AM, ESPN2, -13.5 Dukes

For a moment there, it looked like new head coach Tony Gibson and the Herd were going to present a challenge in the Sun Belt East after scoring wins over Texas State and Old Dominion, but a recent pounding at the hands of the Chanticleers puts that notion into question. Still, Marshall has something special in multi-purpose, multi-monikered quarterback Carlos Del Rio-Wilson, especially when he mitigates picks. It will be difficult to mitigate anything against the Dukes, who seem to grow stronger behind Alonza Barnett and the stingy Dukes defense with every game. Can JMU keep the decision makers talking about seeing the Sun Belt in the Playoffs?

RESULT: James Madison is always good for at least one egg-laying, and this game in Huntington is as good a time as any to lay an egg

Southern Miss Golden Eagles (6-2) @ Arkansas State Red Wolves (5-4), 11AM, ESPNU, -4.5 Eagles of Gold

Sun Belt dominates the morning with Dukes and Herd on ESPN2 and Arkansas State hosting its first 11AM contest ever at Centennial Bank Stadium on ESPNU. Did we join the SEC without even knowing it? A win for Arkansas State creates a three-way tie in the Sun Belt West between the Red Wolves, Trojans and Golden Eagles, while a Southern Miss win sets new head coach Charlie Huff all alone on the path for a second straight conference title. Both defenses are playing exceptionally well, but look for quarterbacks Braylon Braxton of Southern Miss and Jaylen Raynor of Arkansas State to be the difference in this game.

RESULT: In the last one-and-3/4 seasons, the Red Wolves have lost twice at home.

Georgia State Panthers (1-7) @ Coastal Carolina Chanticleers (5-3), 3:PM, ESPN+, -7.5 Chants

With just one win on the season, the Panthers aren’t playing for a division, bowl, and possibly not even for pride. For second year head coach Dell McGee, nothing has gone right, from getting negative dividends from a formerly can’t miss quarterback (TJ Finley) to fielding a defense that may even be worse than Georgia Southerns’. Meanwhile, the Chanticleers steamrolled some humility in Marshall and may be the only team standing in JMU’s path to a SBC East title. Credit a run game recently given new life by running back Dominic Knicely and quarterback Samari Collier, whose five rushing TD’s leads the team.

RESULT: The Chants have a history for running out of gas late in the year, but even a drop of fuel is enough to paste the Panthers.

Texas State Bobcats (3-5) @ Louisiana Ragin Cajuns (3-6), 4PM, ESPN+, -2.5 Boobcats

In a year when a treasure trove of high profile coaching jobs have suddenly become available, few in the college football community has seen his stock plummet further than Texas State head coach GJ Kinne’s. Who could have foreseen four straight conference losses for the Bobcats? However, that Texas State offense is still formidable, so it will take everything in Cajuns quarterback Lunch Winfield’s lunch box to keep up on the scoreboard. Ironically, the last game of Week 11 mirrors the first (Georgia Southern vs Appalachian State) – would-be contenders now fighting for shreds of dignity among surly fanbases.

RESULT: Cajuns have actually won a couple Sun Belt games, so they get the benefit of the doubt.

Taking the Week Off

South Alabama, ULM, Troy & Old Dominion

IMAGE: AI Monstrosity