Marshall caught a lot of people by surprise when it won the Sun Belt last season. The Thundering Herd defeated Louisiana 31-3 in the championship game.
College football betting odds had Marshall as a 5.5-point underdog in that game and at +1600 to win the league entering the season. In 2023, Troy was the favorite entering the year and went on to capture its second Sun Belt championship in a row.
This year, there are five teams with odds of 7/1 or shorter to win the conference. With how competitive the Sun Belt has been the past few seasons, though, there may be a few long shots worth a look.
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Southern Miss’ Sun Belt Outlook
What if I told you the team with the head coach and quarterback from last year’s Sun Belt title team has the eighth-longest odds to win this year’s crown?
That’s the case with Southern Miss.
Head coach Charles Huff and quarterback Braylon Braxton are now leading the Golden Eagles after winning last year’s championship with Marshall. Along with them went a handful of other players, including many starters and a few all-conference caliber guys.
Despite Huff retaining a ton of talent and a few coaches, the Golden Eagles aren’t getting much love when it comes to Sun Belt title predictions. They’re currently tied with App State to win the conference at +1600 (the same odds as last year’s winner) and just behind Troy (+1500). They were selected to finish fifth in the Sun Belt West in the Preseason Coaches Poll.
Their conference schedule may be one of the reasons why there’s a lack of confidence.
The start of league play isn’t going to be anything light. USM hosts App State in Week 3 and visits Georgia Southern and Louisiana in back-to-back contests for its next two Sun Belt games. I think these three matchups could make or break the Golden Eagles’ chances to compete for a league title.
If they’re able to go 2-1 in those games, I would call that a success. The remainder of the schedule is likely to get easier with home games against ULM, Texas State, and Troy along with road trips to Arkansas State and South Alabama.
We’ll learn a lot about this Golden Eagles squad early in the season, including whether they have what it takes to win a championship in the brutal Sun Belt. I believe this conference is truly wide open entering the season.
While Huff is no longer in the East Division of the Sun Belt, he’s familiar with the league and obviously knows what it takes to win. He had an overall conference record of 21-12 during his four years at Marshall, including two 5-3 campaigns and last year’s 8-1 season (including the SBC championship).
Another 5-3 record in conference play likely won’t get the Golden Eagles to the SBC title, but perhaps a two-loss conference record could.
I’m not predicting that USM will win the Sun Belt this season, but I think the Golden Eagles are being undervalued and overlooked based on the talent and staff Huff was able to retain. And there’s a reason Braxton is the league’s Preseason Offensive Player of the Year. They’re capable of guiding their squad to a lot of success.
I think the Golden Eagles will battle for a spot in the league championship and shouldn’t be the eighth-favorite team to win the conference.
