Tag: Sun Belt Conference

Highlights: CSJ FBS Group of Five Top Five Games and Recap of Week 5

We came into Week 5 with two Group of Five teams undefeated and those two squads were able to win this week to keep the two unscathed teams. Those two schools are both from the Sun Belt East Division in Coastal Carolina and FBS newcomer James Madison. James Madison had the easier time this week […]

Highlights: CSJ FBS Group of Five Top Five Games and Recap of Week 4

Week Four had one of the biggest upsets yet in this college football season.  Middle Tennessee knocked off Top 25 ranked Miami (FL) 45-31 in Miami.  Blue Raider QB Chase Cunningham threw touchdown passes of 71, 69 and 98 yards while just completing 16 passes but those completions went for a whopping 408 yards. The […]

2022 Division I Conference Preview: Sun Belt Conference

co-authored by Jamie Williams & Kent Schmidt For the first time in the short history of the Sun Belt Conference, a West Division team won the crown with Louisiana picking up the crown a season ago.  But much has changed since the Ragin’ Cajans defeated Appalachian State in the SBC title game a year ago.  […]

2022 College Sports Journal Group of Five Super Seventy Preseason All-American Team

Seventy student-athletes in the NCAA Division I Football’s Group of Five FBS Conferences have been named to the 2022 College Sports Journal Group of Five All-America Team.

CSJ 2021 Tailgreeter Cure Bowl Preview: Coastal Carolina vs. Northern Illinois

This Cure Bowl is another great match-up just like the game was a year ago. Coastal Carolina makes a return visit after losing the game last year versus Liberty in overtime. Northern Illinois makes its first appearance in this bowl game and the first from any MAC school in this bowl game.

CSJ 2021 Sun Belt Conference Championship Game Preview — Appalachian State at Louisiana

APPALACHIAN STATE AT LOUISIANAWHEN: SATURDAY, DECEMBER 4, 3:30 PM ESTWHERE: CAJUN FIELD, LAFAYETTE, LA.TV/STREAMING: ESPN / WATCHESPN The two teams that the Sun Belt Conference has ever seen in its history of the game will meet again this year for the third time. Appalachian State will travel to Louisiana after these two schools met the first two times the […]

2021 College Sports Journal Group of Five Super Seventy Preseason All-American Team

Seventy student-athletes in the NCAA Division I Football’s Group of Five FBS Conferences have been named to the 2021 College Sports Journal G5 All-America Team.  As a reminder, the Group of Five FBS conferences include the American Athletic Conference (AAC), Conference USA (C-USA), Mid-American Conference (MAC), Mountain West Conference (MWC), and the Sun Belt Conference […]

College Sports Journal 2021 Group of Five Preseason Rankings

Rather than do a Top 25 this year, I thought I would rank all 65 schools that make up the Group of Five FBS leagues as we head into what we all hope is a more normal 2021college football season without the COVID-19 cancelations or postponements like the 2020 season had. As a reminder, the […]

CSJ 2020 R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl Preview: Louisiana Tech vs. Georgia Southern

Louisiana Tech vs. Georgia SouthernWhen: Wednesday, December 23rd, 3:00 PM ESTWhere: Mercedes-Benes Superdome, New Orleans, La.TV/Streaming: ESPN, WatchESPN Louisiana Tech and Georgia Southern meet for the first time in their histories when the two schools face each other in New Orleans. Louisiana Tech started its season well with a pair of wins over Southern Miss and Houston […]

CSJ 2020 Myrtle Beach Bowl Preview: Appalachian State vs. North Texas

Appalachian State vs. North TexasWhen: Monday, December 21st, 2:30 PM ESTWhere: Brooks Stadium, Conway, S.C.TV/Streaming: ESPN, WatchESPN Appalachian State and North Texas M are set to kick off bowl season Monday afternoon in the inaugural Myrtle Beach Bowl. This is the first bowl game due to the Dec. 19th Frisco Bowl being canceled. The Mountaineers are appearing […]

CSJ 2020 Sun Belt Conference Championship Game Preview — Louisiana at Coastal Carolina

Louisiana at Coastal CarolinaWhen: Saturday, December 19th, 3:30 PM ESTWhere: Brooks Stadium, Conway, S.C.TV/Streaming: ESPN / WatchESPN Undefeated Coastal Carolina hosts one-loss Louisiana in possibly the most anticipated Sun Belt football game in the history of the league. This is the first trip to the SBC title game for the Chanticleers and the third straight for […]

GAME PREVIEW: BYU at Coastal Carolina

BYU at Coastal CarolinaWhen: Friday, Dec. 5th, 5:30 PM ESTWhere: Brooks Stadium, Conway, S.C.TV/Streaming: ESPNU/WatchESPN (subscription req’d) Wow, how things can change in the course of just a few days. I was set to write up a preview for Liberty visiting Coastal Carolina but that game was canceled due to COVID-19 concerns with the Liberty program. Within hours […]

GAME PREVIEW: Louisiana at Appalachian State

Louisiana at Appalachian StateWhen: Friday, Dec. 4th, 8:30 PM ESTWhere: Kidd Brewer Stadium, Boone, N.C.TV/Streaming: ESPN/WatchESPN (subscription req’d) This was the game that before the season started was what I had predicted to be again for the Sun Belt Conference championship for the third straight season. The original Sun Belt Conference title game was slated for Dec. 4th […]

College Sports Journal Sagarin FBS G5 Top 25 – Nov. 28

Here are the Top 25 FBS Group of Five (G5) rankings based on the Sagarin rankings for the week ending Nov. 28th, 2020. BYU stays at the top spot and Cincinnati stays at the second spot. Both teams did not have a game this week. The other undefeated G5 teams (that have played at least […]

College Sports Journal Sagarin FBS G5 Top 25 – Nov. 21

Here are the Top 25 FBS Group of Five (G5) rankings based on the Sagarin rankings for the week ending Nov. 21st, 2020. BYU stays at the top spot after is blowout win over FCS North Alabama. Cincinnati stays at the second spot after its big road win at UCF. The other undefeated G5 teams […]

GAME PREVIEW: Appalachian State at Coastal Carolina

Appalachian State at Coastal CarolinaWhen: Saturday, Nov. 21st, 12:00 PM ESTWhere: Brooks Stadium, Conway, S.C.TV/Streaming: ESPN2/WatchESPN (subscription req’d) The only two teams in the Sun Belt without a conference loss will meet on the teal field in Conway, S.C. this Saturday. Coastal Carolina comes into this game not only undefeated in league play but also undefeated overall. The […]

College Sports Journal Sagarin FBS G5 Top 25 – Nov. 14

Here are the Top 25 FBS Group of Five (G5) rankings based on the Sagarin rankings for the week ending Nov. 14th, 2020. BYU stays at the top spot despite being idle this week. Cincinnati stays at the second spot after its big home win against East Carolina. The other undefeated G5 teams (that have […]

College Sports Journal Sagarin FBS G5 Top 25 – Nov. 7

Here are the Top 25 FBS Group of Five (G5) rankings based on the Sagarin rankings for the week ending Nov. 7th, 2020. BYU stays at the top spot following its win at Boise State this week. Boise State drops to fifth following the loss after being second last week. Cincinnati moves up a spot […]

Highlights: CSJ FBS Group of Five Top Five Games and Recap of Week 10

The Group of Five undefeated teams just stay undefeated. The five schools (that have played four games or more) coming into this week stayed that way with all picking up rather easy wins this week. The group includes BYU, Cincinnati, Liberty, Coastal Carolina, and Marshall. BYU played in arguably the top match-up of the weekend […]

College Sports Journal Sagarin FBS G5 Top 25 – Oct. 31

Here are the Top 25 FBS Group of Five (G5) rankings based on the Sagarin rankings for the week ending Oct. 31st, 2020. BYU stays at the top spot following its win at home over Western Kentucky this week. Boise State moves up to the second spot following its road victory over Air Force. Cincinnati […]

Highlights: CSJ FBS Group of Five Top Five Games and Recap of Week 9

Cincinnati has made two statements in a row. Last week, the Bearcats blew out SMU on the road and followed that up with another blowout against last year’s Group of Five’s best Memphis. The Bearcats got a little revenge from losing to the Tigers twice last year, including the AAC title game. This time, Cincinnati won 49-10.

College Sports Journal Sagarin FBS G5 Top 25 – Oct. 24

Here are the Top 25 FBS Group of Five (G5) rankings based on the Sagarin rankings for the week ending Oct. 24th, 2020. BYU stays at the top spot following its win at home over Texas State this week. Cincinnati moves up to the second spot with its impressive road win at SMU. All G5 […]

GAME PREVIEW: Louisiana at UAB

Louisiana at UABWhen: Friday, Oct. 23rd 8:00 PM EDTWhere: Legion Field, Birmingham, Ala.TV/Streaming: CBS Sports Network/Watch CBS Sports Network This late non-conference game pits to preseason favorites in their respective conferences and both come into this game with one loss. And is a fitting game to be set in historic Legion Field in Birmingham (the last season […]

College Sports Journal FBS Group of Five National Players of the Week-Oct. 18

Six players including Brady White from Memphis, Zach Wilson from BYU, Johathan Adams, Jr. from Arkansas State, Jason Bean from North Texas, Arnold Ebiketie from Temple, and Massimo Biscardi from Coastal Carolina have been selected as the College Sports Journal All-Stars for the week ending Oct. 18, 2020 from the NCAA Division I FBS Group […]

College Sports Journal Sagarin FBS G5 Top 25 – Oct. 17

Here are the Top 25 FBS Group of Five (G5) rankings based on the Sagarin rankings for the week ending Oct. 17th, 2020. BYU stays at the top spot following its win at Houston this week. All G5 schools with the exception Old Dominion, New Mexico State, and Connecticut are eligible for this poll. Those […]

Highlights: CSJ FBS Group of Five Top Five Games and Recap of Week 7

Wow, what a game in Memphis even if both American Athletic Conference teams were coming off of losses coming into this game. This is not the first time these two teams have thrilled us. In 2017, the American Athletic Conference was settled with a wild 62-55 UCF win in double overtime, after Memphis had erased […]

GAME PREVIEW: Coastal Carolina at Louisiana

Coastal Carolina at LouisianaWhen: Wednesday, Oct. 14th, 7:30 PM EDTWhere: Cajun Stadium, Lafayette, La.TV/Streaming: ESPN/WatchESPN (subscription req’d) Two 3-0 undefeated Sun Belt squads meet in this Wednesday night affair. One of those teams was expected to be atop of their division but the other is surprisingly there. This game finally found a landing spot after initially being moved […]

College Sports Journal FBS Group of Five National Players of the Week-Oct. 11

Five players including Marquez Stevenson from Houston, Aaron McAllister from Charlotte, Gunnar Watson from Troy, Tavante Beckett from Marshall, and Demario Douglas from Liberty have been selected as the College Sports Journal All-Stars for the week ending Oct. 11, 2020 from the NCAA Division I FBS Group of Five schools. Marquez Stevenson, Houston, WR, Sr., […]

College Sports Journal Sagarin FBS G5 Top 25 – Oct. 10

Here are the Top 25 FBS Group of Five (G5) rankings based on the Sagarin rankings for the week ending Oct. 10th, 2020. BYU stays at the top spot following its win over UTSA this week. All G5 schools with the exception Old Dominion, New Mexico State, and Connecticut are eligible for this poll. CSJ […]

College Sports Journal FBS Group of Five National Players of the Week-Oct. 4

Five players including Shane Buechele from SMU, Zach Wilson from BYU, Grayson McCall from Coastal Carolina, Zaven Collins from Tulsa, and Chris Naggar from SMU have been selected as the College Sports Journal All-Stars for the week ending Oct. 4, 2020 from the NCAA Division I FBS Group of Five schools. Shane Buechele, SMU, QB, […]

College Sports Journal Sagarin FBS G5 Top 25 – Oct. 3

Here are the Top 25 FBS Group of Five (G5) rankings based on the Sagarin rankings for the week ending Oct. 3, 2020. BYU takes over the top spot after defeating Louisiana Tech Friday, while former top ranked UCF fell to Tulsa. All G5 schools with the exception Old Dominion, New Mexico State, and Connecticut […]

College Sports Journal Sagarin FBS G5 Top 25 – Sept. 26

Here are the Top 25 FBS Group of Five (G5) rankings based on the Sagarin rankings for the week ending Sept. 26, 2020. UCF remains in the top spot after its big win in its first AAC conference game at East Carolina with BYU holding the second spot with its big win over Troy. With […]

GAME PREVIEW: UAB at South Alabama

UAB at South AlabamaWhen: Thursday, Sept. 24th, 7:30 PM EDTWhere: Hancock Whitney Stadium, Mobile, ALTV/Streaming: ESPN/WatchESPN (subscription req’d) UAB will play its third Thursday game of the year after opening at home with Central Arkansas and then last week played at Miami (FL). The Blazers won their opener but lost last week at Miami. South Alabama will play […]

College Sports Journal Sagarin FBS G5 Top 25 – Sept. 19

Here are the Top 25 FBS Group of Five (G5) rankings based on the Sagarin rankings for the week ending Sept. 19, 2020. Despite UCF remains in the top spot after its big win over the ACC’s Georgia Tech to start its season. As a reminder, this G5 poll will only be showing the schools […]

COULSON: Power Rushing Closes Out Appalachian State’s 35-20 Win Over Charlotte

As Clark manned the sidelines at Kidd Brewer Stadium Saturday for the first time as the Mountaineers’ head coach, he drew from his football DNA to direct App State to its 35-20 victory over Charlotte in the 2020 season opener for both teams.

College Sports Journal Sagarin FBS G5 Top 25 – Sept. 12

Here are the Top 25 FBS Group of Five (G5) rankings based on the Sagarin rankings for the week ending Sept. 12, 2020. Despite UCF and BYU not playing this week, UCF overtakes BYU for the top spot in this week’s poll. As a reminder, this G5 poll will only be showing the schools playing […]

GAME PREVIEW: Charlotte at Appalachian State

Charlotte at Appalachian StateWhen: Saturday, Sept. 12th 12:00 PM EDTWhere: Kidd Brewer Stadium, Boone, N.C.TV/Streaming: ESPN2/WatchESPN (subscription req’d) Charlotte starts is gamut of non-Conference USA games with its first game at Appalachian State. The 49ers will also face two other non-conference games this season but like this game with App State, will not have to leave the […]

College Sports Journal Sagarin FBS G5 Top 25 – Sept. 7

Here are the Top 25 FBS Group of Five (G5) rankings based on the Sagarin rankings for the week ending Nov. 30th, 2019. BYU with its impressive win at Navy this past Labor Day takes over the top spot from UCF, which was off during Week 1 of the season. This also is the first […]

GAME PREVIEW: Arkansas State at Memphis

Arkansas State at MemphisWhen: Saturday, Sept. 5th 8:00 PM EDTWhere: Liberty Bowl, Memphis, TNTV/Streaming: ESPN/WatchESPN (subscription req’d) Let the Paint Bucket Bowl Trophy Game be played again! (I admit I searched for a picture of the bucket and could not find one anywhere). The name of this rivalry was created when officials from the two schools decided […]

2020 Division I Conference Preview: Sun Belt Conference

The Sun Belt has often been considered the lowest ranked conference in all of FBS but with the play of App State and Louisiana, as well as the rest of the conference, this can not be said any longer. Right now, the Sun Belt looks to be better overall than C-USA and the MAC.

GAME PREVIEW: South Alabama at Southern Miss

South Alabama at Southern Miss When: Thursday, Sept. 3rd 9:00 PM EDTWhere: M.M. Roberts Stadium, Hattiesburg, Miss. TV/Streaming: CBS Sports Network/Watch CBS Sports Network Ironically, these two neighoring state schools have never played before this meeting. This will change as these two southern ‘South’ teams will kickoff the first all FBS game of the season. […]

What does the MAC Canceling the Fall Football Schedule Mean to the Rest of the Group of Five?

While Division II and III and most Division I FCS programs, as well as one Group of Five team in Connecticut, are planning on calling it quits for a 2020 season last week, the biggest hit so far in the college football world playing this fall was the Mid-American Conference announcement last Saturday Saturday to […]

2020 College Sports Journal Group of Five Super Seventy Preseason All-American Team

Seventy student-athletes in the NCAA Division I Football’s Group of Five FBS Conferences have been named to the 2020 College Sports Journal G5 All-America Team. As a reminder, the Group of Five FBS conferences include the American Athletic Conference (AAC), Conference USA (C-USA), Mid-American Conference (MAC), Mountain West Conference (MWC), and the Sun Belt Conference […]

CSJ 2020 Lending Tree Bowl Preview: Louisiana vs. Miami (OH), How to Watch and Fearless Predictions

Louisiana vs. Miami (OH) (Lending Tree Bowl) When: Monday, January 6th 7:30 PM EST Where: Ladd-Peebles Stadium, Mobile, Ala. TV/Streaming: ESPN, WatchESPN (subscription req’d) Lending Tree Bowl History (Last Seven) The bowl has been titled several different things since it began following the 1999 season. The game was known as the Mobile Alabama Bowl for its first […]

CSJ 2019 Cheribundi Boca Raton Bowl Preview: Florida Atlantic vs. SMU, How To Watch and Fearless Predictions

Kiffin, a veteran of many coaching jobs in his career, both college and pro, resigned following FAU’s 49-6 win over UAB in the C-USA championship game to become the head coach at Ole Miss. Defensive coordinator Glenn Spencer will be the interim coach for the bowl game and recently hired coach Willie Taggart will become the head coach of the Owls following the bowl game.