Could The #FreeGSU Movement Get Legs After All...???

((HT: The Coastal Source))

Georgia Southern student Jeremy Mack has created an online petition to see if his Eagles (and Brother Phil's Eagles for that matter) could get an NCAA waiver to participate in bowl season if there are not enough bowl eligible teams in the first place...

His petititon is hyah...

His interview with FOSG's Big Frank and Stefanie to explain himself is below...


The HQ is for it...

We're fairly certain Southern is for it...

And it might even mean a bid in the Camellia Bowl for them- which is a new bowl game in Montgomery for December 20th, by the way...

The Eagles are currently 7-2, 6-0 in the Sun Belt. They're are currently 1st in the conference standings, and the rest of their season is interesting. The Eagles travel to Texas State and Navy before finishing the season at home against Louisiana-Monroe.

Could be 9-3 or so... and the waiver might be theirs...

Georgia Southern's Win Streak Is 6, But Who Will Coach Troy?

((HT: College Football Talk/The Coastal Source))

We discussed earlier in the week just how successful Georgia Southern has been in their first Sun Belt Conference-Division I season- doing it the right way in developing a football program.

They took care of Troy 42-10 last night and took their win streak to six.

CFT has the numbers on the win:

Georgia Southern, the top-ranked FBS rushing offense at a shade over 400 yards per game, has racked up 1,034 rushing yards in the past five days. They’ve punted twice in 22 combined possessions.

All that running limited Troy to just 44 offensive snaps.

Here's The Big Guy with the highlights


The larger question is: Who will replace Larry Blakeney as the new coach at Troy...?

Here's a name for you...

Rush Propst...

The current Colquitt County (GA) head coach has his Packers ranked top-five in the country and are the favorite to win the state title in the highest classification in the state. He has maintained in the past that he is the "best college coach in the country that no one has hired."

The situation makes sense. A program in trouble in need for renewal and rebuilding. It gives Propst the chance to go back to Alabama to coach and he can work his system to build it his way in a Division I football conference.

So there...

Propst needs seven more weeks worth of wins to go coast-to-coast and, then, it's on Troy... and up to Troy...

Willie Fritz And Guerilla Marketing

((HT: Georgia Southern their own selves))

When Willie Fritz left San Houston State for Georgia Southern, some folks thought he was crazy...

They were right...

Out of the blocks, Fritz has them contending for a Sun Belt Conference title (which they can't claim) and has Brother Phil beside himself with Division I football glee...

Doing it the right way will do that when you're elevating your program from Division I-AA to Big Boy Football.

Fritz was looking for the biggest crowd in the history of the the newly-expanded Paulsen Stadium before Thursday night's game with Troy.

What do you do to drum up support...???

Invade Fraternity Row- specifically the Sigma Chi house...

The Reason: Coach Fritz Visits Sigma Chi from Georgia Southern Football on Vimeo.

See...???

Told you he knows his marketing...

Tuesday Night Football: La-Lafayette Beats Ark. State in Bizzare Game

((ht: espn.com))

Just having a game on a Tuesday night is weird enough. Seeing the highlights of the Lousiana-Lafayette vs. Arkansas State Red Wolves game, was flat out bizarre.

The Ragin Cajuns got the 55-40 win, but the strange plays were everywhere. Red Wolves RB Michael Gordon scored on a 70-yard TD run in the 2nd quarter--but only after being wrestled to the ground near the line of scrimmage. Or so we thought. Gordon actually landed on top of a pile of his own players and never touched the ground. So he just rolled up and sped to the end zone untouched.

It also featured another bizarre Arkansas State play where on a reverse, the guy making the last handoff, punctuated it with a full summersault.

And lest we forget the fake punt. The Red Wolves inexplicably tried a fake punt while near their own end zone. And unlike a couple weeks ago against Miami where the pass was intercepted, this one was complete. However it only went for a yard.

The Cajuns got the ball on their 6 and scored on the next play.

Elijah McGuire was the star of the game, running for 265 yards and 4 TD's on only 16 carries for La.-Laf, who remain 3-0 in the Sun Belt conference, tied with newcomers Georgia Southern, who are not eligible for a bowl invite.

Your highlights from ESPN.com (and they are worth watching):

And, Then, There Was This Streaker...

((HT: WAVY-TV))

Some folks, when they run on the field, are like the guy at Ohio State Saturday...

Others are like the guy at Old Dominion who actually get some work done and make a statement...


Looks like he got off the field in one piece. No word on his success rate off the field after he ran into the concourse...

Cupcake Saturday: Ga. Southern Drops 83 Points on Sav. State

There were some pretty big numbers put up in Week 2 of the College Football season as most of the big "Power 5" schools took this week to schedule any of the cupcake schools they could convince to take a big payday.

And yes, there were some blowouts, Florida beats E.Michigan 65-0, Clemson scores 73 vs. S.Carolina State.

But nobody scored more than 1st year FBS team and my alma mater, Georgia Southern of the mighty Sun Belt Conference.

The Eagles beat Savannah State Saturday evening 83-9 in front of a packed house in Paulson Stadium.

Southern ran for 599 yards and only tried 5 passes, completing 4 of them and the Eagles led the game 69-0 after 3 quarters.

Friend of the OSG and fellow Ga. Southern alum Big Frank Sulkowski brings us the highlights.

Cupcake Saturday: LaTech RB goes 99-Yards for TD

Safe to say, Saturday September 6th won't go down as a day of amazingly competitive college football.

Yeah, sure, there were a few good games (USC/Stanford, Oregon/Mich. St, Ohio St/VaTech), but most of the games...were blowouts.

There were a few amazing plays and a lot of dull ones.

One of the best: How about Kenneth Dixon of Lousiana Tech....he lines up deep in his own end zone, takes the pitch, makes two moves and goes untouched...99 yards for the TD.

Tech would beat the Ragin' Cajuns 48-20...

Remember The Name Brandon Doughty

((HT: WBKO-TV))

All he did last night for Western Kentucky was break records all night long in their game against Bowling Green...

Doughty threw for a school-record 569 yards and six TD's as the Hilltoppers beat Bowling Green State 59-31 in the head coaching debuts of Jeff Brohm and Dino Babers.

Brohm's Hilltoppers had a school-record 702 total yards against the defending MAC champions.

Here's the wrap on all the records...

In Camo Louisiana-Monroe Ambushes Wake Forest 17-10

The ULM Warhawks debuted camo jerseys for their season opener against Wake Forest and judging from their 17-10 win over Wake Forest they were a success.

Heck even the Duck Dynasty crew loved it.

The Warhawks took the lead for good when quarterback Pete Thomas scored on a keeper from nine yards that proved the be the winner for ULM 17-10.

KNOE 8 News; KNOE-TV; KNOE.com |

"It was a great call," Thomas said. "It may have been the call of the night. You've got to give it up to the offensive line. The passing game wasn't working too well, so we really had to lean on the run game, and they opened up a great hole and made it easy for me."

Wake Forest had seen Pete Thomas before, Last year Thomas was the starting quarterback for NC State and completed 27 of 43 passes for for 257 yards but the Deacs prevailed 28-13.

Thomas got a little revenge Thursday night.

"He was walking into a place where a pretty prolific quarterback just left the program." ULM head coach Todd Berry said. "I told him going in let’s take care of the football, and every thrown doesn’t have to be a completion or a bullet. Let’s make some good decision. I thought he handle those things pretty well.

As for Wake Forest the beginning of the Dave Clawson era looks a lot like the end of the Jim Grobe era, poor offensive production.

The Demon Deacons could only total 94 yards of total offense, -3 yards rushing for the game.

True freshman quarterback John Wolford was running for his life the entire game and was sacked seven times by the Warhawk defense.  He completed 12 of 22 passes for 97 yards.

"We didn’t play very smart but obviously we got nothing going offensively."  Wake Forest head coach Dave Clawson said. "We didn’t block, get open and had no explosive plays on offense other than the one third down.”

It looks like a long year for Deac fans.

Welcome Back, College Football!!! GSU Hits Last-Second FG To Snap 16-Game Losing Streak

((HT: gsupanthers Instagram))

Will Lutz punched a chip shot field through the uprights with a handful of seconds to go for Georgia State's 38-37 win over Abilene Christian at the Georgia Dome.


GSU had a 16-game losing streak snapped with the win- their first since a win over Rhode Island in 2012.

Here's how the team celebrated when time ran out...


Now, the team that had their losing streak broken against ACU last year, New Mexico State visits the Georgia Dome next weekend...

Let's see how the Panthers respond...

DEVELOPING: Georgia State Wants Turner Field

The talk had gone down about a month ago that Georgia State University was really interested in the Turner Field property that will be vacated by the Atlanta Braves when they move to the suburbs for the 2017 season.

It's now official...in proposal form, anyway...

Janel Davis and J. Scott Trubey over at the AJC got the look at what the university wants to do for their future. They want to turn Turner Field into a 30,000-seat facility for sports and build a mixed-use development around it.

The Braves lease allows them until Jan. 1, 2016, to officially give notice to the Atlanta-Fulton County Recreation Authority of whether it will exercise a five-year option on using the property. The lease expires Dec. 31, 2016. Beyond that, the lease gives the Braves options to extend for four successive five-year periods.

Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed is looking for answers from the Braves at the earliest possible time so he can move on the ideas that are coming across his desk- and it looks like GSU's stadium/park/dorms is the leader in the clubhouse.

The one quote from GSU President Mark Becker:

“We are focused on the future for the best possible use for Atlanta and honoring the history and tradition of (the Braves and Olympics),” he told Davis and Trubey.

The team has gone through tough sledding in Division I in, now, the Sun Belt Conference and need a boost of energy to be a relevant part of the athletics landscape. This could do it for the future of the university proper...

Here's the look after their spring game last month...
((HT: Georgia State Athletics their own selves))

Ga. Southern's "Eagle Invasion" Recruiting Video Includes Statue Head-Butting

((ht: ajc.com))

One of the great things about co-owning a Sports Blog is you can write about your alma-mater.

Which is why I'm posting this Georgia Southern football recruiting story.

Much like the fine folks at the AJC, we don't know much about incoming head coach Willie Fritz. Fritz takes over for the departed Jeff Monken who left for Army this past offseason and comes from Sam Houston State in Texas.

And Southern, a traditional FCS (1-AA) power school, has moved up to the greener if not bigger enviorns of FBS (D-1) Football. Specifically the Sun Belt conference.

So, while the 'ol alma-mater may never again win a National Championship again in football, at least coach Fritz has brought a modern edge to the folks in Statesboro. The Eagles are steeped in tradition, having won multiple FCS titles under legendary head coach Erk Russell.

Check out the schools football recruiting video, which features the coaching staff paying tribute to Russell before heading out on their respective missions...

Sun Belt Tourney: Ark State Takes Down Little Rock in 4 O.T's

((ht: sunbeltsports.org))

No, the SunBelt conference isn't exactly a glamor conference when it comes to College Basketball, but Friday night, in the conference tournament quarterfinals, there was a game for the ages.

Arkansas State took down Arkansas Little-Rock 116-114 in 4 Overtimes behind Melvin Johnson III's 19 points. Johnson hit what would end up being the game winning 3 pointer with 6 seconds to go.

Yes, 4 O.T's.

The game featured two buzzer beaters, missed free throws down the stretch and Little Rock not being able to get off a shot to close the 4th overtime.

And as a reward for that effort, the play conference top seed Georgia State Saturday afternoon in the conference semis--

Your highlights from the Sun Belt Conference their ownselves:

The "Hide The Midget" Play Comes Up Big For Arkansas State, Red Wolves Win The Go.Daddy Bowl 23-20 Over Ball State

That's right, this weird formation is known as "hide the midget" and at 5-9 ASU's R.J. Fleming served that role perfectly for a 27 yard gain for the Red Wolves.

Thanks ESPN

The game came down to a 38 yard field goal by Ball State's Scott Secor that was blocked by Arkansas State's Ryan Carrethers and win their second straight Go Daddy Bowl 23-20.

Thanks ESPN

"It was crazy," Carrethers said. "I've never experienced anything like that. To put everything on the line and then come through like that -- it was an amazing feeling. I couldn't have written it any better."

Here's more highlights from the game from AStateRedWolves.com

BUZZER BEATER: UALR's Josh Hagins Drops A Game Winner Over Texas - Arlington

In a thrilling Sun Belt Conference match-up UALR's Josh Hagins nailed a long jumper at the buzzer for a 62-60 Trojans win over Texas-Arlington.

Thanks UALR Athletics


And another look.



"That was an absolute heartbreaker," Texas-Arlington head coach Scott Cross said. "I thought we had the momentum. We played great defense on that last possession, we had a hand up and at the end of the shot clock he just drains it."

Hagins would have 10 points against UTA.  UALR was led by James White with 18 points while their Trojan teammate Will Neighbour had a double - double, 17 points and 10 rebounds.

UALR is off to a 2-0 start in the Sun Belt Conference, 7-7 overall.  

UTA is now 5-9, 0-2 in the Sun Belt.

Troy Football Player Dies In Mississippi

((HT: WSFA-TV))

Sadly, this one has problems all over it...

Troy University says football player Jadarius Garner died near his hometown of Clarksdale, Mississippi very early Thursday morning. His body was found lying in the southbound lanes of U.S. Highway 61.

Mississippi state troopers also say two vehicles, they don't think are related to Garner's passing, ran him over as well. The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation's Accident Investigation Division has taken over the investigation.

Here's the statement from head coach Larry Blakeney on Garner's passing...
((HT: Troy Athletics))


Garner transferred from Jones County Community College in Mississippi two seasons ago. He had even been named Sun Belt Conference Defensive Player of the Week on September 9th of this year for his efforts against Savannah State. The Sophomore defensive end finished the 2013 season with 21 tackles, including 7 for loss.He also had 3 sacks, 3 hurries, and 2 forced fumbles- the TFL's, forced fumble, 2 sacks, a hurry, and 6 tackles came in the game against the Tigers.

Here's Garner during the press conference involving Savannah State playing Troy earlier this year...

The Battle To Be The University of Louisiana: La.Lafayette vs. La. Monroe

((ht: thenewsstar.com))

Oh boy. The Lovely Bride may get upset at me saying this, but "Only in Louisiana".

It appears that the University of Louisiana at Lafayette may be in a bit of trouble with it's state legislature and with other state schools.

In a rather lengthy story in the Monroe News-Star, reporter Tabby Soignier goes into detail to explain what the Rajun Cajuns have done to anger some folks.

The school has apparently made a concerted effort to market themselves as UL or University of Louisiana, leaving out the Lafayette part.

The problem, it's a violation of state law. And the University of Louisiana at Monroe, well, they aren't too thrilled about it either.

The Cajuns have been sticklers with ESPN and others about using the "UL" branding while talking about them, something that the folks at the 4-letter kind of balked at. The Warhawks in Monroe, well, their complaint is it makes them sound like a sister school.

According to Soignier, the state came up with the law, to keep one school from proclaiming itself the state's "Flagship" school. Though we are pretty sure, LSU has more name recognition than all the directional Louisiana schools combined.

Anyway, read Soignier's article in the News-Star RIGHT HERE

It will be interesting to see how this plays out. The law appears to not state a penalty for doing this, the question is, how far will the calling out go?

We get Monroe's argument, and quite honestly it's a valid one, that they don't want to be considered a "Little Sister".

Conversely, Lafayette, which has had some success on the national stage of late, we get why they are trying to do this too.

Our guess is this has the makings of a regional war, the fun part is going to be seeing how far all three sides in this debate are going to be willing to take it.

Arkansas State Wins An Offensive Shootout 41-34 Over Troy

[HT: KAIT-TV Jonesboro, AR]

Was their any defense in Jonesboro, Arkansas Thursday night?

Troy gained 614 yards in total offense, Arkansas State compiled 539 yards of total offense.

In a case where last team that scores wins the Red Wolves did when Fredi Knighten scored on a 13 yard run with under four minutes to play.

Troy had a chance to win the game driving to the Arkansas State 26 yard line with less than a minute left.  That's when ironically the Red Wolf defense may a stop on third down when Trojan quarterback Corey Robinson's pass was picked off by Frankie Jackson securing the win for ASU.  The third of 3 interceptions thrown by Robinson during the game.

KAIT-Jonesboro, AR-News, weather, sports

KAIT-Jonesboro, AR-News, weather, sports

 “I was really proud of our defense tonight, we had four turnovers and that’s the key to the game,” Arkansas State head coach Brian Harsin said.

Here's Troy head coach Larry Blakeney after the Arkansas State game.

Southern Utah Wins At The Gun In Mobile

((HT: XOS College Sports))

South Alabama is now a full-fledged member of the Sun Belt Conference... which means games matter in their first full season as a Division I school (or FBS, or whatever you call it...)

Southern Utah came to Mobile in their season opener and made sure the Jags remembered who they invited...

Last-second field goals for the win will do that for you...

Southern Utah went 54 yards in the final 4:43 to the South Alabama 11 where Colton Cook kicked a 28-yard field goal on the game's final play for the win...

"We lost a very important ballgame tonight. We're a better team, but we have to look at ourselves and evaluate what we're doing. We're going to have to win some close games to have a good year this year, and that was one we let slip by," USA Head coach Joey Jones said postgame.

Here's the highlights...


"Everyone is disappointed. Everyone is just tired of seeing this happen," DE Alex Page admitted. "We want t make a change. We thought we had it all together, but we made some mistakes. We backed off a little bit. It's just motivation to come together and really make a change, because I don't want my senior year to be like this the whole time."

The Jags were 2-11 last year and their next game is at Tulane next Saturday...

College Football Preview: Sun Belt Conference

SUN BELT CONFERENCE

Talk about a conference in flux, gone are FIU, FAU, Middle Tennessee and North Texas to Conference USA.  Welcome Georgia State and Texas State to the SBC however the conference remains in transition.

Western Kentucky is playing its final season in the Sun Belt and headed to C-USA.  Appalachian State, Georgia Southern, New Mexico State and Idaho join in 2014. 

Recently the Sun Belt Conference has earned a reputation of scaring the bejesus out of SEC teams, sometimes succeeding.  Do you think BCS schools Oklahoma, Wake Forest and Baylor are a bit uneasy with Louisiana-Monroe on the schedule this year?

GEORGIA STATE PANTHERS                                                                                                           2012 Record: 1-10, 1-7 in CAA

Georgia State ended their Football Championship Subdivision era bottoming out at 1-10 and getting pounded in the Colonial Athletic Association with one win in conference.  That was a 41-7 win over Rhode Island.  Not the ending former GSU head coach Bill Curry wanted to end his career with.

Georgia State begins a new era in 2013.  The Panthers have moved up to the FBS level and a member of the Sun Belt Conference. 

There is also a new head coach in Trent Miles who has worked one miracle.

WHAT TO LIKE ABOUT GEORGIA STATE:

TRENT MILES: If ever there was a coach who could resurrect a flat lined football program it’s Miles.  He took over a near dead Indiana State program that had won one game in three years.  After winning just one game in his first two seasons as the head coach of the Sycamores Miles turned the program around with three consecutive winning seasons. 

The track record is there so there is reason for optimism for Panther fans.

WHAT GEORGIA STATE NEEDS TO IMPROVE ON:

OFFENSE: The Panther offense was awful last season.  Georgia State averaged only 17.4 points per game in their final season in FCS.  Former Boston College head coach Jeff Jagodzinski runs the GSU offense now as the new offensive coordinator.  You can bet Jagodzinski will be drawing up plays to get the ball in the hands of senior wide receiver Albert Wilson, the best playmaker on the team.

SCHEDULE BREAKDOWN:

At least the program can pay the bills after trips to West Virginia (Sept. 14^th) and at Alabama (Oct. 5^th).  Chattanooga (Sept. 7^th) and South Alabama (Nov. 30^th) appear to be the most winnable games on the docket.

OSG’s TAKE:

Wilkie: I love the hiring of Trent Miles but his first year at GSU might be an oh – for.

Phil: Good coaching staff, profitable schedule, not near enough athletes. May eventually be competitive, but not this yr.

Jon: I think the Miles era will be another painful one in the Georgia Dome

SOUTH ALABAMA JAGUARS                                                                                                           2012 Record: 2-11

The transitional period is over for the Jaguars, they can compete for the Sun Belt Championship.  That won’t happen this year.

WHAT TO LIKE ABOUT SOUTH ALABAMA:

JUCO TRANFERS: Head coach Joey Jones is going the junior college route to find some size for his defense which wasn’t bad last year, just small.  Nine JUCO transfers are expected to either start or contribute significantly.

THEY HAVE A QUARTERBACK: His name is Ross Metheny and Joey Jones has put his trust in Metheny that he can provide the explosive plays (30 to 40 yard plays) that was lacking last season. 

WHAT SOUTH ALABAMA NEEDS TO IMPROVE ON:

JUST NOT THERE YET: It’s up to the JUCO transfers as how much South Alabama improves from their 2-9 record last season. 

SCHEDULE BREAKDOWN: South Alabama has some of the Sun Belt big boys Arkansas State, Louisiana- Lafayette and Western Kentucky at home.  Going 2 of 3 against those teams and that might mean challenging for an upper division finish. 

OSG’S TAKE:

Wilkie: South Alabama is on the right track.  They will be better than last year but I’m afraid the final won-loss record might not reflect it.

Phil: Again, growing pains abound. They are on the right path, but it’s a bigger jump from small to large than most think. It will eventually come, but not this year. 4 wins or more will be huge achievement.

Jon: Agree. Joey Jones has been there since the beginning and I have the feeling he’ll be there for the long-term. The administration has put a lot of trust in him. And they’ll need a lot more…

TEXAS STATE BOBCATS                                                                                                            2012 Record: 4-8

Welcome to the Sun Belt Texas State.  The highlight of the 2012 season was upsetting Houston 30-13 in week one but couldn’t back that up the rest of the year. 

WHAT TEXAS STATE NEEDS TO IMPROVE ON:

DEFENSE: Michael Orakpo (Brother of NFL star Brian Orakpo) joins the Bobcats after transferring from Colorado State and should make an impact on a defense that had a tough time against the run last season.  Part of the reason was David Mayo missed the last five games of the season with a knee injury.  This unit should be much better.

WHAT TEXAS STATE NEEDS TO IMPROVE ON:

OFFENSIVE LINE:  The O-Line gave up 28 sacks last season.  That has to change for Texas State’s offense to be successful.

SCHEDULE BREAKDOWN: Of the Sun Belt big boys only Western Kentucky comes to San Marcos.  Wyoming pays a visit to the Texas plains so that might be a winnable game that might raise an eye brow or two.

OSG’S TAKE:

Wilkie: Head coach Dennis Franchione is optimistic this team might have a breakout season.  I’m not sure I share that but they will be a pain in the backside in their first season in the Sun Belt.

Phil: Better, but yet again, a long way to go....

Jon: Agree again… pain for everyone, but it won’t translate into a lot of wins…

TROY TROJANS                                                                                                                             2012 Record: 5-7

During Larry Blankney’s 22 seasons as head coach at Troy he never experienced back to back losing seasons until now.  In 2011 Troy was 3-9 and in 2012 the Trojans finished 5-7.  Troy will be trying to avoid a third losing year in a row.

WHAT TO LIKE ABOUT TROY:

COREY ROBINSON: Robinson is a four year starter with an impressive body of work that includes 10,258 career passing yards, the nation’s active leader.  Robinson had some injury issues last year so he must stay healthy.  Robinson has some skill on the edges to throw to.  Eric Thomas is his favorite target and caught 55 passes last year. 

WHAT TROY NEEDS TO IMPROVE ON:

OFFENSIVE LINE: Terrance Jones is the lone holdover from 2012 and he’s moving from right tackle to left tackle to protect Robinson’s blind side.  It will be a work in progress.

DEFENSE: The Trojan defense finished dead last in the SBC last year so there’s nowhere to go but up.  Generating a decent pass rush has been an issue.

SCHEDULE BREAKDOWN: It doesn’t favor Troy.  The Trojans road games include SBC heavyweights Arkansas State, Western Kentucky and Louisiana-Lafayette.  Plus Troy travels twice to Mississippi (vs. Mississippi State on Sept 21^st and Ole Miss Nov. 16st.) and at Duke (Sept. 28^th).

OSG’S TAKE:

Wilkie: Troy will avoid a third straight losing season for Larry Blankney because Corey Robinson is that good but they will have to outscore opponents.

Phil: No D= not enough wins. A .500 team if there ever was one. Outscoring people only works in the Big 12 and Pac 12.

Jon: I see a lot of Nintendo scores for Blakeney and Troy this year, and that may be the only reason they are over .500

ARKANSAS STATE RED WOLVES                                                                                                                                                                                
2012 Record: 10-3, Sun Belt Conference Champions

The Bryan Harsin era has begun in Jonesboro, ASU’s third head coach in 4 years.  You can’t blame Hugh Freeze or Gus Malzahn.  They parlayed their successful seasons at ASU into head coaching jobs in the SEC.  If this is a stepping stone job for Harsin then he picked the right place and the cupboard isn’t bare at ASU.

THINGS TO LIKE ABOUT ARKANSAS STATE:

PLEATHORA OF TALENT OUT THERE: Arkansas State has some players. Tennessee transfer David Oku gained 1,061 yards and 16 touchdowns last year and could top those numbers in his senior season.  The receiving corps is solid led by 2012 SBC Freshman of the Year J.D. McKissic who had 1,022 yards receiving yards.  The Red Wolves also return a solid defense that’s tough to score points on.

WHAT ARKANSAS STATE NEEDS TO IMPROVE ON:

WHO’S GOING TO PLAY QUARTERBACK: Ryan Aplin won’t be walking through the door for ASU this year.  The battle is joined between Phillip Butterfield and Fredi Knighten.

SCHEDULE BREAKDOWN: ASU has ULM and Western Kentucky on the road.  Troy and Louisiana Lafayette travel to Jonesboro.  ASU has two SEC schools on the schedule, at Auburn Sept. 7^th and at Missouri Sept. 28^th, winnable SEC road games. 

OSG’S TAKE

Wilkie: Whoever wins the QB competition between Butterfield or Knighten and there isn’t much of a drop off at that position then the Red Wolves might repeat as SBC champions.  . 

Phil: One of the leagues powers. If the system is indeed staying the same, they’ll be a tough out for anybody. All they need is some defense.

Jon: I think Ark State will be in the mix again this year for the title… and they may scare someone along the way outside the SBC

LOUISIANA RAJIN’ CAJUNS                                                                                                                              2012 Record: 9-4

Mark Hudspeth has revived this program. He’s 18-8 in his two seasons as the head coach of the Rajin’ Cajuns.  Hudspeth might be the next SBC head coach that is hired by a BCS school and a bit surprised it hasn’t happened yet. 

WHAT TO LIKE ABOUT LOUISIANA – LAFAYETTE:

ENJOY THE BROADWAY SHOW: Junior Terrence Broadway performed to rave reviews in 2012 setting school records for total offense (3,616 yards) and completion percentage (65.4).  Junior Alonzo Harris is the Cajuns’ best back gaining 881 yards last year.  If Louisiana-Lafayette can find some go-to receivers the Cajun offense would be loaded.

WHAT NOT TO LIKE ABOUT LOUISIANA-LAFAYETTE:

DEFENDING THE PASS: ULL was dead last in the SBC last season against the pass and gave up way to many big plays through the air.  There will be pressure on the Cajun defensive backs to cut down on allowing explosive plays.

SCHEDULE BREAKDOWN:

The Cajuns open the season at Arkansas and at Kansas State so a 0-2 start might be likely.  After that they must go to WKU and Arkansas State.

OSG’s TAKE:

Wilkie: Louisiana-Lafayette may have to outscore opponents to win and they are perfectly capable of doing that.  The Cajuns will challenge for the SBC title

Phil: Have to be careful here (wife is alum). Hudspeth may be best coach in league. He’s stabilized a very inconsistent team. Lots of talent back and Mr. Broadway may be the leagues best. If D shows up, they play for title. End of debate.

Jon: I think it’ll be Lafayette and Ark State again challenging for the title. One goes to New Orleans, the other to Mobile…

WESTERN KENTUCKY HILLTOPPERS                                                                                                                                2012 Record: 7-6

Goodbye Willie Taggart, hello Bobby Petrino.  There’s a lot of baggage their but Bowling Green, KY might be the perfect place for Petrino to rehab his coaching career.  Petrino will have some decent tools to work with.

THINGS TO LIKE ABOUT WESTERN KENTUCKY:

BOBBY PETRINO:  Love him or hate him Petrino can really coach and he has some outstanding offensive players in place.  Running back Antonio Andrews is a special talent.  Andrews gained 3,161 all-purpose yards last season, only Barry Sanders had surpassed over 3,000 all-purpose yards in a single season.  Andrews damn near had 2,000 yards rushing falling a few hundred yards short.  Petrino loves to use tight ends in his offense and WKY is well stocked there.

WHAT WESTERN KENTUCKY NEEDS TO IMPROVE ON:

FRONT FOUR:  WKY defense must replace its entire front four which was outstanding last season.  That’s going to put some pressure on All-SBC middle linebacker Andrew Jackson to make plays. 

SCHEDULE BREAKDOWN:

Western Kentucky opens with back to back game against SEC schools.  WKY opens the season in Nashville against Kentucky, the Hilltoppers defeated the Wildcats in Lexington last year and it’s a winnable game again.  Then it’s off to Knoxville to battle Tennessee, could be winnable.  November might be the determining factor for WKY in the Sun Belt title race with three road games in a row that month against conference foes.

OSG’S TAKE:

Wilkie:  I get the feeling the Hilltoppers want to win now because Bobby Petrino won’t be there long term is that happens.  Even with all his transgressions college football’s big boys will be willing to take a chance on Petrino, he’s that good a coach.  I expect WKY will be challenging for the SBC championship and may just win it.

Phil: They will be better, and scary. The description fits a Petrino team even if it’s not his players. Like most teams in Sun Belt, good offense wins. Just needs D to show up and make an occasional stop. They’ll play for title next yr.

Jon: I think it may take a season for Petrino to get his way with his players (and not Taggart’s) in Bowling Green. They’ll finish third and next season will be the one to pay attention to for a title- and a Petrino exit.

LOUISIANA – MONROE WARHAWKS                                                                                                                                                           2012 Record: 8-5

After defeating Arkansas last year the Warhawks were mid-major darlings.  ULM looked like Sun Belt Champions last year until injuries took their toll.  With key elements returning ULM looks poised to win the SBC.

WHAT TO LIKE ABOUT LOUISIANA – MONROE:

KOLTON BROWNING: He’s back and he’s healthy.  Browning was off to a special season until a leg injury sidelined him and the Warhawks lost two important games against Louisiana-Lafayette and Arkansas State.  The last impression you have of Browning was his three interception performance in a loss to Ohio in the Independence Bowl.    Browning is way too good for that and should have a SBC Player of the Year time season.

WHAT LOUISIANA-MONROE NEEDS TO IMPROVE ON:

DEFENDING THE PASS:  ULM’s defensive backs have talent and can stick a running back but gave up big plays from good passing offenses.  It didn’t help either that the Warhawk pass rush was not as consistent as it should be.  It’s very fixable because it’s a talented group.

SCHEDULE BREAKDOWN:

ULM opens at Oklahoma, they won’t win that one.  Two weeks later the Warhawks head to Winston-Salem, NC to face Wake Forest, which could be winnable.  Then take on Baylor in Waco, TX, last year ULM lost a wild one to Baylor 47-41 so put that in the winnable column.  Western Kentucky and Arkansas State must come to Monroe, a big plus.  ULM closes on the road against rival ULL. 

OSG’s TAKE:

Wilkie:  This is ULM’s time, my favorite to win the Sun Belt Conference. 

Phil: Could be an all-Louisiana title game. Solid squad that would not have finished last in the SEC last season. They’ll scare everyone they play. And they should. If they go 2-1 vs. Big Boys, they’ll be bowling...

Jon: Sorry, I take it back. Ark State, Lafayette, and Monroe will be ahead of Western. Monroe could be bowl eligible by the end of it all and could make it to Detroit or another far-flung place.

SBC Champions:

Wilkie: Louisana-Monroe – This is a deep and talented football team.  The Warhawks are built for a special season.

Phil: Ragin-Cajuns. (I have to say this)

Jon: Lafayette