The Sun Belt slate looks light, but the ramifications are very heavy.

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The Silly Season of COVID-19 has not only made everything stupid, but has also made every game vitally important. Who knows when you’ll play again? Or if? The forecast is murky with a 100% chance of something’s gonna screw everything up. And it doesn’t even have to be a pandemic.

For example, Hurricane Delta has postponed the conference’s marquee match-up between Louisiana and Coastal Carolina, two 3-0 teams that, quite frankly, are fun to watch. That leaves us three games for Saturday. On the surface, none look especially appetizing.

Luckily, Sun Belt Heat digs deep beneath the surface! As it turns out, every Sun Belt team playing on Saturday is in a must win situation. That alone is reason enough to shovel a load of coal into your ESPN3 machine.

ULM @ Liberty, 11:00 AM on ESPN2

I guess we have Hugh Freeze to thank for this national TV placement, because not even the most coked-out media buyer would spend a cent on the Warhawks this season. Matt Viator’s team is winless and punchless, averaging a measly 15 points per contest.

WHY THE GAME IS ESSENTIAL: Viator (and maybe everybody in Monroe) is coaching for his job right now, and the Warhawks are among the few SBC programs without a solid OOC showing. A win over Liberty isn’t exactly a win over LSU, but ULM is desperate for something to go right this season.

Texas State @ Troy, 2:30 on ESPN3

What to make of either of these teams? The last we saw the Bobcats, they had Boston College on the ropes, only to see their two-touchdown lead disappear late in the game. Last we checked in on Troy, they were being obliterated by BYU. Both might be better than their records, but I don’t really know.

WHY THE GAME IS ESSENTIAL: The Trojans felt pretty good about themselves after smashing Middle Tennessee. Now they probably question the very nature of their existence. Same can be said for the Bobcats, who are much improved and yet still losing games. Whoever wins gets a jolt of self-worth.

Central Arkansas @ Arkansas State, 3:30 on ESPN3

Between a long COVID-19 layoff, the Red Wolves went from Wildcat killer to chicken feed thanks to a shellacking from Coastal Carolina. Now they host UCA, ranked 11th in the FCS and the author of Arkansas State’s ultimate misery – a 28-23 loss in 2016 that haunts the Red Wolves every waking, sleeping, and drunken moment.

WHY THE GAME IS ESSENTIAL: Everybody likes an in-state donnybrook, and the Red Wolves have a big fat purple bear to get off their backs. A second loss to UCA would be viewed quite dimly in Jonesboro. Quite. Dimly.

A former notary public, Jeremy Harper is a professional writer and Chief Instigator for Storm the Castle Creative. He spends much of his free time staring blankly into space.

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Once again, the AP Top 25 proved that its name and not deeds that determine who receives the spoils in college football.

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It was as predictable as a Jean Claude Van Damme movie. The moment the Big Ten and SEC entered the fray, the programs that have actual games on their resumes were punted to the sideline. Among them, a 3-0 Cajuns team that had two conference wins and had vanquished ballyhooed Iowa State in Ames. That meant zilch to the AP Top 25.

This week, there are more winless teams (5) on the poll than 3-0 teams (congrats, Miami). Experience means nothing. The “eye-test” is rigged. Justice is a theoretical construct. Reality is a matter of who controls the perspective.

Struggles with Georgia State and Georgia Southern didn’t help the Cajuns cause, even though both of those teams are better than projected. But the AP and the USA TODAY Coaches Poll are exposed as brand toadies interested only in propping the usual blue-bloods of the college football elite.

COVID Continues to Punch All The Nuts

The Sun Belt features a fragile handful of rivalry games, and COVID-19 doesn’t care. Troy vs. South Bama, the legendary Battle of The Belt, has been postponed due to coronavirus concerns.

Troy and South Alabama are both coming off brutal, humiliating, emasculating blowout losses, so maybe we were spared some bad football. Meanwhile, Week 5 has four Sun Belt teams left standing, with Arkansas State and Georgia State both coming off Covid cancelations. Cross your fingers, Belters.

Is Matt Viator Losing It At Monroe?

Darth Viator is 19-32 as head coach for the Warhawks and hasn’t had much luck since going 6-6 in 2017. Glory isn’t something one seeks at ULM, but surely the athletic department brass was expecting some of Viator’s success at McNeese to follow him to Monroe. Viator, whose Warhawks enter the season 0-3 while scoring a pitiful 10 points per contest, signed a 2-year extension in June with a very modest $175,000 buyout.

Viator’s seat is getting hot.

Damn You, Texas State

The Bobcats had a sweet 21-7 third quarter lead over Boston College last weekend, prompting me to make an insane bargain:

If Texas State beats BC, I’ll refrain from calling them “the Boobcats” for 72 hours.

— A-State Fan Rules 4 Mayor (@AStateFanRules) September 26, 2020

Texas State preferred to remain boobs, allowing Boston College to win the game on a last second field goal. All three of the Boobcats’ losses have been 7 points or fewer.

What Do We Make of Troy?

Both of Troy’s games have been blowouts, with the Trojans having experienced both ends. Middle Tennessee isn’t very good, and BYU is very good. But it was hard to overlook how miserable the Troy defense performed against the Cougar’s pass attack, or how ineffectual QB Gunner Watson seemed behind center. Is Troy really set to challenge Appalachian State?

Arkansas State vs. Coastal Carolina Might Be A Good Game If It’s Actually Played

The Red Wolves experienced its second consecutive COVID cancelation last weekend, granting Coach Blake Anderson plenty of time to study Chanticleer film. What he likely saw was a team that can run you right off the gridiron. QB Grayson McCall tossed a trio of TDs against Kansas, giving Coastal another wrinkled for the Red Wolves defense to worry about. Look to see big numbers at Centennial Bank Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

A former notary public, Jeremy Harper is a professional writer and Chief Instigator for Storm the Castle Creative. He spends much of his free time staring blankly into space. 

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After three revealing weeks of being tested in the pigskin cauldron, what have we learned about the Sun Belt?

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When the Sun Belt announced that it would proceed with a full schedule, despite the looming threat of COVID-19, the conference had but one mandate: TO BRING THE HEAT. And guess what? We did.

The Sun Belt Established Its Bona Fides

Even in losses (if we throw ULM’s disaster against Army), the Sun Belt performed in entertaining fashion before national audiences. Sweeping the Big XII sweetened the pot, with Louisiana’s win over ranked Iowa State providing the bow and the cherry. As a result, we’ve seen two Sun Belt programs crack the AP Top 25, which is historical on a biblical scale.

The Basement Belt is Moving On Up

Remember when Coastal, South Bama, Georgia State and Texas State suuuuuucked? Of course you do. It was just last year, you goobers. The Basement of the Belt is rising thanks to hungry young coaches and the maturing of talent. Who among the four have the most potential to unseat a Sun Belt titan? Coastal has the wins, but the Panthers seem to have a lot of pieces in place to give Troy and Appalachian State problems. Meanwhile, the Bobcats and Jags still have issues, but they also have ability. There are no such things as an easy win in the Sun Belt.

Appalachian State is Sheriff (But for How Long?)

The Mountaineers opened the season in the AP Top 25 and responded by struggling at home versus Charlotte and then losing pitifully to Marshall. No longer ranked, Appalachian State appears to be missing punch on both sides of the ball, especially at the ground game. The Sun Belt East sees the Sheriff staggering early, and there’s a host of eager desperadoes looking to take the badge.

Cajuns are For Realz

Yes, Louisiana struggled against the Panthers in Atlanta. Was it a “comedowner” from beating #23 Iowa State? Perhaps. Is it that Georgia State is not without considerable skills? Indeed. Still, the Sun Belt’s lone ranked team looks tremendous despite losing key talent to the NFL last season. Sun Belt coaches, however, will be studying how that Panther’s defense held up so well against Levi Lewis and all of his many weapons.

Troy Beat Middle Tennessee

Nobody in the Sun Belt cares for Middle, so job well done, Trojans. MTSU is trending down these days, and the win was business for Troy. However, the 47-14 score is hard to dismiss. Is Gunner Watson a legit QB threat? Is the defense, coming off THREE PICKS, good enough to give the Mountaineers a run?

Arkansas State Might Be Back

Were the Red Wolves ever really gone? Argue among yourselves. What can’t be disputed is that Jay Adams is a legit stud at wide receiver and the QB combo of Layne Hatcher and Logan Bonner is a successful experiment. The defense remains an issue, especially with COVID-19 contact tracing decimating important positions, like linebacker. Still, the squad had its moments against Kansas State. But it’s this week’s game against an improved Tulsa team that will truly determine whether or not the Red Wolves are back in business.

COVID Continues to Suck

The coronavirus and its contact tracing measures canceled games for Georgia Southern and Arkansas State during the three week Golden Age of the Sun Belt. Still, the conference’s success coaxed the Big 10 (and soon, the Pac-12 and Mountain West) back on the field. Welcome to the party, pal. Expect cancelations to plague the rest of the season.

A former notary public, Jeremy Harper is a professional writer and Chief Instigator for Storm the Castle Creative. He spends much of his free time staring blankly into space. 

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