Top contenders, sleepers and championship picks

Is the Sun Belt the best mid-major conference in college football? With three of the top teams departing the AAC for the Big 12, there’s an argument to make about the overall quality of the Sun Belt.

There have been four different champions in the past four seasons — App State, Coastal Carolina, Louisiana and Troy. And there could be a fifth in five years.

Troy is the current betting favorite, but West Division foe South Alabama is right on Troy’s tail. Troy and South Alabama are considered a step above the rest of the West, but the East is loaded with five different schools receiving first-place votes to win the division in the annual preseason poll.

The Sun Belt is going to be extremely competitive this season.

Sun Belt East is loaded and Coastal Carolina is vulnerable

Coastal Carolina went a combined 22-3 in 2020 and 2021 but took a step back last year, finishing 9-4. Star quarterback Grayson McCall is back, but it’s fair to wonder if Chanticleers could be in for a bit of a rebuilding year.

Coach Jamey Chadwell departed for Liberty and the school hired longtime assistant Tim Beck as his replacement. Beyond just McCall, Beck inherits a loaded offense but brings a more generic system compared to the unique attack employed by Chadwell. When you couple that with a mediocre defense that lost DE Josaiah Stewart to Michigan and DT Jerrod Clark to the NFL, it could open the door for other contenders in the Sun Belt East.

Unfortunately, James Madison is not one of them. JMU went 8-3 in its first year as an FBS member but remains ineligible to compete for the conference title due to NCAA rules. JMU is still one of the better teams in the Sun Belt, though maybe not as good as last year with QB Todd Centeio gone.

Jordan McCloud and Alonza Barnett are competing for the starting QB job, while the Dukes added a slew of transfers at the skill positions. The majority of last year’s offensive line is back and the defense looks strong even after DE Isaac Ukwu’s late transfer to Ole Miss.

With JMU ineligible, Appalachian State and Marshall look like Coastal’s main competition for the East.

App State is coming off its worst season as an FBS member — 6-6 with two wins over FCS teams. It was a wild season that included a 63-61 loss to North Carolina, a road win over Texas A&M and a win over Troy on a Hail Mary. App returns RB Nate Noel, its top four receivers and has a strong offensive line, but has to replace QB Chase Brice and some major contributors on defense. This team will get back to a bowl, but can it get back to the top of the league?

Marshall, meanwhile, had its own up-and-down season that included a win over Notre Dame and loss to Bowling Green. The defense was excellent and should be among the SBC’s best even though coordinator Lance Guidry left for…