Preview 2020: College Football News All-Sun Belt Team

Preview 2020: Previewing and looking ahead to the Sun Belt season with the College Football News All-Sun Belt Team & Top 30 players. 

Preview 2020: Previewing and looking ahead to the Sun Belt season with the College Football News All-Sun Belt Team & Top 30 players. 


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2020 CFN All-Sun Belt Team
2020 CFN Top 30 Sun Belt Players

2020 Preseason CFN Sun belt Offensive Player of the Year

QB Levi Lewis, Sr. Louisiana

Flip a coin here, and either answer is right between Appalachian State QB Zac Thomas and the left-hander from Louisiana who has figured out how to run the Ragin’ Cajun offense so well.

Lewis is a smallish 5-11 and 190 pounds, and he doesn’t run a ton – 410 yards and four scores in his three seasons – but he’s accurate, he can hit the downfield plays, and he progressed into a terrific passer after taking over the job full-time last season.

Four interceptions – that’s it. He threw 26 touchdown passes, connected on 64% of his throws, and he winged it around the yards for over 3,000 yards. This year, he has the talent around him to do even more.

2020 Sun Belt Team Previews
East Appalachian State | Coastal Carolina
Georgia Southern | Georgia State | Troy
West Arkansas State | Louisiana
South Alabama | Texas State | ULM


CFN in 60 Video: Coastal Carolina Preview
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2020 Preseason CFN Sun Belt Defensive Player of the Year

DE Tarron Jackson, Sr. Coastal Carolina

There are few more active defensive linemen in college football.

The Sun Belt has plenty of good quarterbacks coming into the season, but there’s a premium in the conference on a 6-2, 270-pound versatile force up front who’s quick off the ball and can hold up against the run.

He not only finished second on Coastal Carolina last year with 60 tackles, but he came up with a Sun Belt-high ten sacks with 13 tackles for loss to go along with nine quarterback hurries.

That’s what the guy does.

He made 58 tackles with 11 tackles for loss as a sophomore, and he’ll be the league’s most disruptive force up front once again.

NEXT: CFN 2020 Preseason All-Sun Belt Team

College Football Group Of Five Conference Rankings: 20 for 2020 Offseason Topics No. 5

20 for 2020 offseason college football topics: How do the Group of Five conferences – AAC, C-USA, MAC, MW, Sun Belt – rank in the offseason?

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20 key offseason topics for 2020: No. 5. How do the college football Group of Five conferences – AAC, C-USA, MAC, MW, Sun Belt – rank in the offseason?


Contact/Follow @ColFootballNews & @PeteFiutak

20 for 2020 Offseason Topics 
20. Best Teams To Not Make CFP
19: Teams That Will Rebound Big
18. Teams That Will Fall Back
17: Every Power 5 Team’s Letdown Game
16. Top 5 Instant Impact New Head Coaches
15. 2nd Year Coaches Who’ll Be Better
14. Power 5 Hot Seat Coach Rankings
13. Key Transfers You Forgot About
12. Five Big Power 5 Upset Alerts
11. Great Players About To Go Nuclear
10. Group of 5 Teams In New Year’s Six Chase
9. Power 5 Sleeper Teams
8. Most Interesting Quarterback Battles
7. 5 Teams That Might Disappoint
6. 5 Teams That Might Surprise

We didn’t get spring football to get a better handle on all the teams and conferences, but here’s our look at where all the Group of Five conferences – American Athletic Conference, Conference USA, MAC, Mountain West and Sun Belt – appear to be.

If and when the season gets rolling, we’ll reevaluate then.

5. Conference USA

This might seem a bit extreme considering the good teams at the top of the rock, but there’s way too much dead weight dragging down the rest of the league.

Louisiana Tech should be fantastic. Coming off a good year with the Independence Bowl win over Miami to close things out, it should be the star of the show.

Willie Taggart takes over a strong Florida Atlantic team, Marshall – as always – will be solid – and WKU and Southern Miss will be players.

UAB will once again put together a great record as it fattens up on the weak and the sad, North Texas and Middle Tennessee should bounce back a bit after clunkers, and FIU should be back in the battle for a bowl bid.

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And then there’s everyone else.

UTEP is WAY overdue for a wee bit of happy.

It’s been a brutal run for the Miners, but it’s still going to be an uphill climb. Old Dominion and UTSA are starting fresh with new head coaches, and Rice is still trying to turn the corner in Year Three under Mike Bloomgren.

The midsection on down is just too mediocre-to-awful. However, there’s no real argument if you want to move Conference USA up a spot or so and knock down …

NEXT: No. 4 Offseason Group of Five Conference

Sun Belt Football Schedule 2020 Composite, Top Games To Watch Each Week

Sun Belt football schedule 2020 composite. Week-by-week ranking of all of the games.

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Sun Belt football schedule 2020 composite. Week-by-week ranking of all of the games.


Sun Belt Football Schedule Composite 2020

Each week’s games ranking from most interesting to least.

Sun Belt Football Schedule Week 1

Saturday, Sept. 5
Morgan State at Appalachian State
Arkansas State at Memphis
Coastal Carolina at South Carolina
Georgia Southern at Boise State
Murray State at Georgia State
McNeese at Louisiana
Cal Poly at ULM
South Alabama at Southern Miss
SMU at Texas State
Arkansas-Pine Bluff at Troy

Sun Belt Football Schedule Week 2

Friday, Sept. 11
Appalachian State at Wake Forest

Saturday, Sept. 12
Howard at Arkansas State
Coastal Carolina at Eastern Michigan
Campbell at Georgia Southern
Georgia State at Alabama
Wyoming at Louisiana
Grambling State at South Alabama
UTSA at Texas State
Troy at UMass

Sun Belt Football Schedule Week 3

Saturday, Sept. 19
Appalachian State at Wisconsin
Arkansas State at Michigan
Duquesne at Coastal Carolina
Florida Atlantic at Georgia Southern
Louisiana at Georgia State
Texas State at ULM
South Alabama at Florida
North Carolina State at Troy

Sun Belt Football Schedule Week 4

Saturday, Sept. 26
UMass at Appalachian State
Tulsa at Arkansas State
Kansas at Coastal Carolina
Georgia Southern at Louisiana
Georgia State at Charlotte
ULM at Georgia
UAB at South Alabama
Ohio at Texas State

Sun Belt Football Schedule Week 5

Saturday, Oct. 3
Arkansas State at Coastal Carolina
Georgia Southern at ULM
East Carolina at Georgia State
Troy at South Alabama
Texas State at New Mexico State

Sun Belt Football Schedule Week 6

Wednesday, Oct. 7
Louisiana at Appalachian State

Thursday, Oct. 8
Texas State at Troy

Saturday, Oct. 10
ULM at Liberty

Sun Belt Football Schedule Week 7

Wednesday, Oct. 14
Appalachian State at Georgia Southern

Thursday, Oct. 15
Georgia State at Arkansas State

Saturday, Oct. 17
Coastal Carolina at Louisiana
ULM at Troy
Texas State at South Alabama

Sun Belt Football Schedule Week 8

Thursday, Oct. 22
ULM at South Alabama

Saturday, Oct. 24
Arkansas State at Appalachian State
Georgia Southern at Coastal Carolina
Georgia State at Troy
Louisiana at New Mexico State

Sun Belt Football Schedule Week 9

Thursday, Oct. 29
Coastal Carolina at Georgia State

Saturday, Oct. 31
Appalachian State at ULM
Troy at Arkansas State
South Alabama at Georgia Southern
Louisiana at Texas State

Sun Belt Football Schedule Week 10

Thursday, Nov. 5
Arkansas State at Louisiana

Saturday, Nov. 7
Appalachian State at Texas State
South Alabama at Coastal Carolina
Troy at Georgia Southern
ULM at Georgia State

Sun Belt Football Schedule Week 11

Saturday, Nov. 14
Bowling Green at Akron

Sun Belt Football Schedule Week 12

Tuesday, Nov. 17
Toledo at Northern Illinois
Kent State at Miami University

Wednesday, Nov. 18
Georgia State at Appalachian State
ULM at Arkansas State
Coastal Carolina at Troy
Texas State at Georgia Southern
South Alabama at Louisiana

Saturday, Nov. 21
Appalachian State at Coastal Carolina
Arkansas State at Texas State
Georgia Southern at Ole Miss
Georgia State at South Alabama
Louisiana at Missouri
ULM at Arkansas
Troy at Tennessee

Sun Belt Football Schedule Week 13

Saturday, Nov. 28
Troy at Appalachian State
South Alabama at Arkansas State
Coastal Carolina at Texas State
Georgia Southern at Georgia State
Louisiana at ULM

Saturday, Dec. 5
Sun Belt Football Championship Game

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Arizona Bowl, Wyoming vs. Georgia State: Game Preview, TV, Radio Schedule, Livestream, Odds, More

Arizona Bowl, Wyoming vs. Georgia State: Game Preview, TV, Radio Schedule, Livestream, Odds, More Wyoming is looking to end its season on a high note. Contact/Follow @JeremyMauss & @MWCwire Strength vs. Strength? Wyoming is taking the field for the …

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Arizona Bowl, Wyoming vs. Georgia State: Game Preview, TV, Radio Schedule, Livestream, Odds, More


Wyoming is looking to end its season on a high note.


Contact/Follow @JeremyMauss & @MWCwire

Strength vs. Strength?

Wyoming is taking the field for the first time since Nov. 30, gotta love the bowl layoffs, right? The Cowboys will be facing off against Georgia State who finished is 7-5 and hails from the Sun Belt.

The biggest and most odd scenario with this bowl game is the Wyoming quarterback situation. Sean Chambers has been out for a while with an injury but Tyler Vander Wall has entered the transfer portal but is still part of the team, or sort of is.

The ultimate decision ended with head coach Craig Bohl going with Williams and one has to think Bohl went that way since he will be back in 2020.

“We’ve had a great competition both with him and Tyler, and they’re both team players,” Bohl said. “We’ll see how the game unfolds, but we’ve made the determination going into this game that Levi is going to give us the best opportunity to win. Both of those two guys have played a lot of football, and we’ll utilize that. But right now, we’re going with Levi.”

This should not come as a surprise since Williams had been getting a lot more reps and slowly took over Vander Waal’s snaps and that is also what likely land to him entering the transfer portal.

With Williams at quarterback look back to the Air Force game where he earned most of the carries and was just so-so passing the ball by going 6 of 11 with a pick. His legs powered him to 79 yards with a long of 39.

Williams’ play is more closer to Chambers with the ground game being more successful than the air game, so that keeps the playbook inline with what the Cowboys have done all year.

WHO: Wyoming vs. Georgia State (Sun Belt)
WHERE: Arizona Stadium; Tucson, Arizona
WHEN: Tuesday, Dec. 31, 4:30 p.m. ET
TV: CBS Sports Network
STREAMING: FuboTV – Get a seven-day free trial
RADIO: Wyoming | Georgia State
GAME NOTES: Wyoming | Georgia State

Georgia State’s Key Players

1. QB Dan Ellington

The Panthers offense runs through Ellington, especially when he has good games. There is a correlation with Georgia State wins and Ellington’s ability to play well. This game could prove to be on the bad side since this Cowboys defense will be the toughest Georgia State will have played all year.

Part of the struggles are that early in the year, Ellington injured his knee and it was thought to be a torn ACL. The knee was injured but not to that exact, however, that ailment has limited Ellington’s running ability and has just -5 rushing yards on 21 attempts. The lack of running ability has made this offense go stale. Post-injury the Panthers are averaging just 21.7 points per game compared to the 36 points a game before. His passing game has taken a dip as well by not being able to put his full force of power behind his throws.

2. RB Tra Barnett

This is where the game might be won or lost for Georgia State. Barnett is the best running back in Panther’s history and depending on what he does in the bowl game will lead the Sun Belt in rushing yards. However, this defense will be one of the most difficult he has faced all year.

He is extremely fast and has averaged at least five yards per carry in nine games this season, including three games above 6.5 yards a carry. So, he is a player that the Cowboys defense will need to focus on if they want to get a win.

3. LB Trajan Stephens-McQueen

The Georgia State defense isn’t great but Stephens-McQueen is their star player. He had 100 tackles, seven for a loss, a sacks and had two interceptions. The Sun Belt was deep in that position and he missed the cut from being named all-league.

Against Army, Stephens-McQueen recorded 20 tackles and reached double-digit tackles four times this season. He is the leader of this defense as injuries took out linebacker Ed Curney and safety Remy Lazarus earlier this year.

 

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Sun Belt Predictions, Schedule, Game Previews, Lines, TV: Week 13

Check out all the fearless predictions, game previews, lines and TV listings for Week 13 of the Sun Belt season.

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Check out all the fearless predictions, game previews, lines and TV listings for Week 13 of the Sun Belt season.


How are the Sun Belt predictions so far?
Straight Up: 50-16, ATS 28-27-1, o/u: 26-30


Click on each game for game preview & prediction

South Alabama at Georgia State

2:00 ESPN+ | Get Tickets
Live Stream: fuboTV (click to watch for free)
BetMGM Line: Georgia State -10, o/u: 55.5
Bet on this with BetMGM

Texas State at Appalachian State

2:30 ESPN+ | Get Tickets
Live Stream: fuboTV (click to watch for free)
BetMGM Line: Appalachian State -28, o/u: 50
Bet on this with BetMGM

Georgia Southern at Arkansas State

3:00 ESPN+ | Get Tickets
Live Stream: fuboTV (click to watch for free)
BetMGM Line: Arkansas State -1, o/u: 54
Bet on this with BetMGM

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Coastal Carolina at ULM

5:00 ESPN3 | Get Tickets
Live Stream: fuboTV (click to watch for free)
BetMGM Line: ULM -5.5, o/u: 63
Bet on this with BetMGM

Troy at Louisiana

5:00 ESPN+ | Get Tickets
Live Stream: fuboTV (click to watch for free)
BetMGM Line: Louisiana -14, o/u: 72.5
Bet on this with BetMGM

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Sun Belt Predictions, Game Previews, Lines, TV: Week 12

Check out all the fearless predictions, game previews, lines and TV listings for Week 12 of the Sun Belt season.

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Check out all the fearless predictions, game previews, lines and TV listings for Week 12 of the Sun Belt season.


How are the Sun Belt predictions so far?
Straight Up: 45-16, ATS 25-25-1, o/u: 24-27


Click on each game for game preview & prediction

Coastal Carolina at Arkansas State

3:00 ESPN+ | Get Tickets
BetMGM Line: Arkansas State -13.5, o/u: 61
Live Stream: fuboTV (click to watch for free)

ULM at Georgia Southern

3:00 ESPN+ | Get Tickets
BetMGM Line: Georgia Southern -6.5, o/u: 57
Live Stream: fuboTV (click to watch for free)

Troy at Texas State

3:00 ESPN+ | Get Tickets
BetMGM Line: Troy -7, o/u: 62.5
Live Stream: fuboTV (click to watch for free)

Louisiana at South Alabama

5:00 EPSN+ | Get Tickets
BetMGM Line: Louisiana -28, o/u: 53.5
Live Stream: fuboTV (click to watch for free)

Appalachian State at Georgia State

7:30 ESPNU | Get Tickets
BetMGM Line: Appalachian State -17, o/u: 61
Live Stream: fuboTV (click to watch for free)

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