Sun Belt Preview

Predicted Order of Finish

Troy | 7-0 | 8-4

FAU | 6-1 | 6-6

Louisiana Monroe | 5-2 | 6-6

MTSU | 4-3 | 5-7

Arkansas St | 3-4 | 3-9

Louisiana Lafayette | 2-5 | 3-9

FIU | 1-6 | 1-11

North Texas | 0-7 | 1-11


Troy should be the best team in the conference this year, and it probably won't even be close. I expect them to go undefeated in conference play and get an invitation to the New Orleans Bowl. Omar Haugabook should be the best QB in the Sun Belt, and RB Kenny Cattouse should have a great senior season. The only question mark is the offensive line. Only one starter returns, so this group lacks experience. The schedule works out well, with the hardest conference games at home.


FAU has improved in each year since coming up and should get to bowl-eligibility this season. This team returns 18 starters, most in the conference. The offense had trouble scoring points last season, but that problem may go away with all of the experience now. In conference games last year, the defense was one of the best. The biggest problem in the killer OOC schedule, and the Owls might not win any of those five games.


Louisiana Monroe finished last year strong, winning three of four and the one loss was at Kentucky by two points. The offense returns all 11 starters, so I expect it to be one of the best in the conference. RB Calvin Dawson was the leading rusher in the Sun Belt last year, and he returns for his senior season. Last season ULM went 3-4 in conference, but three of those losses were very close. With more offense this year, the record should improve. The OOC may have just one win against Grambling St. The Warhawks have the talent to win the Sun Belt, but have to go on the road to face Troy and FAU.


MTSU was the best team in the Sun Belt last year, but they lost to Troy by one point on a last second TD. With the graduation of Clint Marks, Joe Craddock takes over QB duties. He struggled in his limited playing time last year, completing just 37.5% of his passes. The defense should be solid like last year. With a tough road schedule and question marks about the offense, I'm predicing the Blue Raiders to fall to the middle of the conference.


Arkansas St should have a better team this season, but might only win half as many games. The OOC schedule is tougher with games against three good C-USA teams, plus road trips Texas and Tennessee. The offense will be led by two sophomores, QB Corey Leonard and RB Reggie Arnold. The secondary should be the best in the conference. My predicted record of three wins seems low, but the schedule makes it hard to do much better than that.


Louisiana Lafayette was on the verge of getting to a bowl game last year until they lost the finale to Louisiana Monroe at home. After a six win season, the Cajuns may only win half as many in a down year. There are major questions at QB and in the entire defense. One bright spot is RB Tyrell Fenroy, who ran for almost 1200 yards and 10 TDs as a sophomore last season. The offense will be based around him this year. Perhaps the biggest problem is the schedule. Twice they have to play three consecutive road games. The OOC has two winnable games, both McNeese St and Ohio at home.


FIU was winless last year and averaged fewer than 10 points per game. At the end of the season, head coach Don Strock resigned. Mario Cristobal, the previous OL coach at Miami, takes over. FIU had five close losses in the first six games, including one that went into seven overtimes. Game 7 was the brawl with Miami, and the season went downhill the rest of the way. This is a very young team with only four senior starters. With question marks everywhere and an impossible OOC schedule, the Golden Panthers will have a tough time finding wins this season.


North Texas is a team in transition this year. I'm not sure what to make of them, mainly because I'm not sure what to make of their new head coach. Former head coach Darrell Dickey was let go in the offseason after two bad years, even though he had won the Sun Belt four times in the past nine years. The new head coach is Todd Dodge, a former Texas High School head coach. Both the offense and defense are changing schemes this year, so wins will be hard to come by.