It’s hard to chalk up any game as a win, especially in conference play.
This is even more true in the Sun Belt. Every game is a battle and every team is solid. According to the league’s press release announcing the schedule, the Sun Belt “is the lone non-autonomy conference to have had a team finish with two or fewer losses in each of the past seven seasons.”
It also owns a .571 bowl-winning percentage during the College Football Playoff era, trailing only the SEC (.584).
This is why it’s the best Group of Five conference in the country.
The 2024 schedule should make for another fun year in the Fun Belt.
Georgia State Draws Short Stick
Four consecutive home games are great. Not so great, though? Four consecutive road games. This is what the Panthers face this season. They start their four-game home stretch against Chattanooga, Vanderbilt, Georgia Southern, and Old Dominion before a brutal stretch where they’ll visit Marshall, App State, UConn, and James Madison.
It’ll be tough for GSU to pick up even one win on that road trip, so they’ll need to take care of business at the house. Things don’t get much easier as they close the season versus Texas State and Coastal Carolina.
JMU With Light Slate
At last, the Dukes can finally compete for a Sun Belt title.
With their schedule, it looks like they might be well on their way to doing just that. JMU’s most difficult game will likely be in Week 12 at App State. Other than that, it’ll face ULM, Georgia Southern, and ODU on the road. I don’t see the Dukes losing more than one of these games — if any.
If they can beat Coastal and GSU at home, JMU can go undefeated in league play. I also wouldn’t count out an undefeated non-conference possibility (Charlotte, Gardner-Webb, North Carolina, Ball State).
ACC Opponents
The Dukes visiting UNC is just one of seven contests against ACC programs. This obviously makes sense for geographical reasons (even though all of the realignment doesn’t support this idea).
Georgia State will play at Georgia Tech in Week 1 before App State heads to Clemson and Marshall visits Virginia Tech in Week 2. ODU will then go to VT in Week 3. Louisiana will play at Wake Forest and CCU will visit Virginia in Week 4.
Thursday Night Games
There will be seven weeks with a Thursday night game featuring a Sun Belt squad, starting with Week 3 when South Alabama hosts Northwestern State. The next six will be conference games.
ODU Can Prove Itself
The Monarchs improved during their second season in the conference, going from 3-9 to 6-6. They’ll need a big-time effort if they want to make another leap.
Not only is ODU the only team in the league that doesn’t face an FCS school, but they might have the toughest conference slate including a four-week stretch where they’ll play JMU, App State, Marshall, and GASO. Like I said, every week in this league is a battle.
The Monarchs’ easiest game will likely be at Arkansas State in the regular-season finale.
Can Texas State Make A Run?
With Jon Sumrall off to Tulane, it’s worth wondering whether or not Troy can win the conference title for the third consecutive season. If it’s not the Trojans as the West Division’s representative in the championship game, then who? The Bobcats?
Well, with new QB and reigning Sun Belt Conference POY Jordan McCloud, I think the Bobcats’ chances are pretty high, and they shouldn’t face much trouble with their schedule.
Week 5 against Troy will be the toughest game on the slate, and certainly an early test for the team. After that, however, the Bobcats should be favored in the remainder of their games, including a trip to South Alabama to cap the season.
If they can cruise through their schedule, there’s a great chance McCloud will be facing his old team in the Sun Belt championship.
