G5 Original Material
You are unlikely to find an FBS program that has gone from rags to riches as quickly and as convincingly as the UL Ragin Cajuns have. After decades of wandering the football desert, UL has found a plush and deep oasis in head football coach Mark Hudspeth. Hudspeth, has brought discipline, passion , and talent to a UL program that had been in desperate need of all three of these qualities. Mark Hudspeth should lead the Ragin Cajuns to a Sun Belt title this year and a possible birth in the newly formed ACCESS BOWL. For a more in depth look at the 2014 UL Football preseason click here UL Football.
UL however, will have steep competition this year in the Sun Belt. Their Oct 21st match against Ark State, my pick for the second slot in the Sun Belt, could easily help to determine the eventual winner of the Sun Belt . Arkansas State begins the 2014 season with a talented team and looks to have chosen another excellent head coach in Blake Anderson.
South Alabama, my third place pick in the Sun Belt, has under head coach Joey Jones( read the coaching profile on Jones here: Joey Jones) amassed some quality players. The Jaguars( read about South Alabama ) have taken advantage of very good leadership and the talent rich state of Alabama to create a football program that is on an impressive upward trajectory.
The Sun Belt also offers some of the most intra conference intrigue this year among the G5. How for example will new Sun Belt members, Georgia Southern and App State compete against the top teams in the conference? How much rebuilding will Idaho and New Mexico State need before they can move out of the Sun Belt cellar?Will Georgia State be able to take advantage of the talent in around Atlanta to make a move up the Sun Belt ladder? All of these questions will make the Sun Belt a fun conference to watch this year.
We will revisit the Sun Belt picks at the end of the 2014 Football Season. Stay tuned.
PREDICTED SUN BELT 2014 FINISH
1. UL
2. ARKANSAS STATE
3. SOUTH ALABAMA
4. TROY
5. TEXAS STATE
6. GEORGIA SOUTHERN
7. ULM
8. APPALACHIAN STATE
9. GEORGIA STATE
10. IDAHO
11. NEW MEXICO STATE
Bold prediction for a Ga Southern team going through not only a coaching change, but a radical change in offensive philosophy.
ReplyDeleteDoug, great to hear from you. A quick word of thanks for reading the blog as well. We hit 20,000 views a few days ago, in large part because of people like you. Totally understand the questions about GA Southern's ranking, especially considering their new coach. If Fritz is smart he will ease the changes on offensive. The Eagles have made a good living on the Option. I do like however ,that Georgia Southern has some quality players at key positions like the skill guys, and a dual threat Qb in Ellison and O-Line that has some experience.
ReplyDeleteI think that there is potential for lots of movement between the 4 and 8 positions in the Sun Belt. Should be a good year for football in the Belt.
So, other than The Ragin' Cajuns and GaSo, what do you know about the other teams in the conference? Juco adds, attrition, coaching changes? I'm not so sure about ULL winning the conference, at this point nor am I convinced that the offensive philosophical change will net huge gains for the Eagles. Probably the opposite.
ReplyDeletetrojanbrutha, thanks for posting and finding this site. No question that Eagle fans will be watching their offense closely this year. As I stated in an earlier post, the Option has been very good to them. As far as UL not winning the Sun Belt this year, check back at the end of the season and we can compare notes. I think UL is going to be very good this year. Anything is possible, and there are of course teams that can beat them if they are not on their A game, including Ark State and Troy.
DeleteI wouldn't be surprised if La-La disappoints this year. Not denying the talent and success they've had, but a gut feeling just tells me they're being over hyped.
ReplyDeleteIf AstAte can avoid the injury bug and Fredi Finds a groove quick and early enough, I think the Pack could sneak another conference title, especially the way their schedule sits.
Jake, Thanks for posting and for following the blog, I really appreciate it. Sun Belt fans are going to be in for a good game on Oct 21st. I think Ark State and UL are the two front runners in the conference and the game on the 21st could very well go a long way in determining who the Sun Belt Champion is going to be.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDelete