Group of 5 conferences are capable of having 1 or 2 excellent teams but the lack of depth in quality ballclubs is one factor that separates the Group of 5 from the Power 5.
Let’s consider the Sun Belt East: HELLO, ANOMALY!! This may be the toughest Group of 5 Division ever with no weak sister.
Defending Sun Belt champion, Coastal Carolina, has everything but the kitchen sink returning from their Top 15 team that beat BYU in one of the games of 2020. With 19 returning starters, is it possible that Coastal could have another undefeated regular season? Doubtful, but the non-conference slate is tissue soft (sorry, Kansas!) in part due to the decimation of a solid Buffalo team that experienced Transfer Mania once Lance Leopold became a late hire at Kansas (sorry, Leopold!).
Perennial power Appalachian State will be looking for revenge after their tight loss to Myrtle Beach’s Coastal . Appalachian State has a chance to give the Sun Belt some major props with their September 11 date at Miami. The Mountaineers play the Hurricanes in a fantastic spot, as the U opens the previous week with Alabama.
Georgia State has 19 starters returning, including dynamic QB Quad Brown. The Panthers have been on the upswing in recent years, most evident in their 2019 win at Tennessee and a program first: back-to-back winning seasons. The Panthers will have plenty of chances to garner national attention. The non-conference slate starts with Army and then offers daunting challenges at North Carolina and Auburn. The Odyssey made a tasty long-shot bet on Georgia State to win the Sun Belt at 35-to-1 odds. Stay tuned, as the Odyssey will be in the press box in Atlanta for the Panthers’ opener against Army.
Last year’s 4th place squad in the East is another traditional FCS power, Georgia Southern, fresh off 3 consecutive winning seasons. The run-oriented squad has two chances to flex its in muscles in non-conference play with games against Arkansas and BYU.
Perhaps the best piece of evidence for the East’s power is Troy. The Trojans are coming off two disappointing seasons, losing to all its East brethren in 2020, but retain a distinguished pedigree. Ask LSU, Nebraska, Florida State, Mississippi State and Missouri about their struggles against Troy the past 20 years. Respect given to Troy is shown by ESPN’s SP+ forecast giving Troy a 61% chance to win their rematch game at South Carolina.
The Sun Belt rocked last year, as evidenced by its perfect 3-0 mark against the Big 12. Louisiana starts as a VERY live 10-point dog in its opener at Texas (The line since dropped to 8). Despite most of their “prestige” non-conference games being on the road, we expect the Sun Belt to fare well again in 2021. The Odyssey really enjoys the “little guy” winning in the increasingly “have versus have not” world of college football. Occasionally, the Odyssey does not pretend to have journalistic integrity: GO SUN BELT!!