The first year in the expanded Sun Belt Conference gave us some fantastic football. Recent league bullies Louisiana and Appalachian State slipped back to the pack, and new challengers emerged in their place. A few outfits, mostly in the West  – Troy, Louisiana, Southern Miss, and Marshall from the East – assembled dominant defenses and aimed to squeak out just enough production on offense to win close ballgames. On the East side of the league, we saw Coastal Carolina, Georgia Southern, Georgia State, and Appalachian State lead with high-flying offenses and try to turn every game into a slugfest. And James Madison and South Alabama sported the league’s most well-balanced, and arguably the two best, teams overall, although neither will play for the championship. 

It was a year of stars, too. The league was home to excellent quarterback play from Grayson McCall, Chase Brice, Carter Bradley, Todd Centeio and others. Running backs were the toast of the league: Frank Gore Jr., Percy Agyei-Obese, Nate Noel, Khalan Laborn all had excellent seasons. And a number of star players were dominant on defense: Georgia Southern CB Derrick Canteen, Louisiana DL Zi’Yon Hill-Green, USA safety Yam Banks, and Marshall’s NFL bloodline cornerbacks Steven Gilmore and Micah Abraham. But a pair of linebackers stood above: Troy’s Carlton Martial set the FBS career record for tackles, but Old Dominion’s Jason Henderson showed he might challenge in a few years after recording 186 of his own in his sophomore season.

You can’t tell the story of the league without focusing on some of the excellent head coaches. Jon Sumrall won the West Division in his first year at Troy, while Kane Wommack at USA, Will Hall at USM, and Charles Huff at Marshall continued their upward trajectories. Clay Helton and Michael Desormeaux are going to the postseason in their first season at the helm at Georgia Southern and Louisiana, respectively. And Curt Cignetti brought a powerhouse FCS team into the league and finished atop the Sun Belt East standings. 

Let’s take a look at the story of each team’s season, going down the standings, starting today with the West.

1st: Troy 10-2 (7-1), 44th in SP+

Jon Sumrall’s first year at Troy – and the team’s first in the West division – proved to be a massive success, as the Trojans will host the Sun Belt Championship Game. They were dominant on defense, finishing in the top 10 in SP+ on that side of the ball and surrendering only 16.8 points per game. The offense was mired in mediocrity, but it coaxed enough points to win more often than not, including two different wins in which the offense only scored one touchdown. The centerpiece of the season was a thrilling Thursday night win at South Alabama, a 10-6 victory in a slugfest that eventually decided the West title.  

2nd: South Alabama 10-2 (7-1), 33rd in SP+

Advanced metrics think the Jaguars were the best team in the league in Kane Wommack’s second year, and it’s hard to argue with their balanced squad. The defense was only a tad worse than the dominant units at Troy and Marshall, but South Alabama paired it with a quality offense as well. Carter Bradley transferred from Toledo and did a fine job replacing Jake Bentley at quarterback, and he had a deep and talented band of skill position weapons to work with. Sophomore La’Damian Webb cracked a thousand yards rushing, and a trio of receivers – Jalen Wayne, Caullin Lacey, and Devin Voisin – went over 700 yards apiece through the air in Major Applewhite’s scheme. 

The Jaguars are thrilled with the season for the young program, but it’s also hard not to feel like they left something on the table. Their two losses – at UCLA and hosting Troy – were by a combined five points. Many Jaguars contributors are eligible to return next season, so we will see if they feel like they have unfinished business in 2023.

3rd: Southern Miss 6-6 (4-4), 80th in SP+

All three teams at the top of the West standings outperformed expectations, including these newcomers from Conference USA. Will Hall has led a solid rebuild of this once-proud program, although a search for a competent quarterback continues. The Golden Eagles cycled through four different signal-callers, just like in the 2021 season. Sophomore Ty Keyes began the year as the starter but was swiftly lost to injury; turns by Zack Wilcke, Trey Lowe, and Jake Lange ranged somewhere from ineffective to disastrous. Star running back Frank Gore Jr. and receiver Jason Brownlee single-handedly produced enough big plays on offense to make the efforts of this tough defense worthwhile. Hall has a sterling reputation as an offensive mind, so there is faith in Hattiesburg for that side of the ball going forward. The future is golden for these Eagles, and bowl eligibility in year two is proof of concept.

4th: Louisiana 6-6 (4-4), 64th in SP+

The first year of Life After Billy Napier did not start promisingly for the Ragin’ Cajuns. Head coach Michael Desormeaux committed to a two-quarterback rotation out of the gate, alternating drives with Chandler Fields and Ben Wooldridge. The forced rotation sapped any offensive consistency, and after a pair of wins to open the season, the Cajuns dropped three straight, including the first loss to in-state rival UL-Monroe since 2017 and a loss to South Alabama that looks like a “passing of the baton” moment. But Fields eventually got hurt, and Wooldridge improved as the full-time signal-caller while the defense remained stout. The Cajuns won four of their final six league games – they did have to sprinkle in a trip to Tallahassee to face Florida State in November with predictable results – to squeak out a bowl bid in Desormeaux’s first year.

5th: UL-Monroe 4-8 (3-5), 118th in SP+

The Warhawks are not bowling in Terry Bowden’s second year, but they weren’t one of the worst teams in FBS either, so that is promising. The team fought hard all season, keeping games close or fighting back in contests. There was a whiff of offensive competency here, with quarterback Chandler Rogers leading the way. The team stole a win in November against Georgia State with a pair of defensive touchdowns by linebacker Quae Drake, but the best victory was a 21-17 win over archrival Louisiana. The defense is still a mess in Monroe – 121st in SP+ – but the offense and the fight were impressive for this oft-overmatched outfit. 

6th: Texas State 4-8 (2-6), 101st in SP+

The Jake Spavital era mercifully ends in San Marcos after four years and a 13-35 record. Spavital famously eschewed recruiting high school prospects, choosing instead to be aggressive in the portal – in a state known for its high school football – and the results were mixed. While he was able to build a salty defense this season, there was little consistency throughout his tenure and the offense sputtered. The highlight of the season was one of the most stunning upsets in FBS in 2022, a blowout of Appalachian State that was as equally as unexpected as the Mountaineers’ famous win in the Lonestar State just a few weeks prior. The job search is on for the Bobcats, and Spavital’s successor will have a lot of relationships to mend in the state and a roster to completely rebuild. 

7th: Arkansas State 3-9 (1-7), 108th in SP+

It was another ghastly season for Butch Jones and his Red Wolves as the deep rebuild continues. The company line is that Jones and staff are seeing success on the high school recruiting trail, and this was one of the youngest rosters in FBS. Hopefully you believe that, because it is otherwise hard to find bright spots. The offense relied almost entirely on a pair of sixth-year Power Five transfers for production: quarterback James Blackman (Florida State) and running back/returner Johnnie Lang (Iowa State). The Red Wolves lost a stunning five different games in which they held a lead in the fourth quarter. The present is a mess in Jonesboro, and if you have faith in Butch’s ability to recruit and build a roster, you hope the future arrives sooner rather than later.