College Football 2018 Season Preview: The FunBelt

Much like the MAC, the Sun Belt (Fun Belt) conference is a gem that many fans overlook.  If you're a casual fan and only pay attention to the Power 5 conferences then you're missing out on a lot. Including, but not limited to, fun games played in front of small, but active crowds during odd times with teams just trying to win the conference, make a bowl, and maybe move up the draft boards by a round or two.

Conference Standings:
	Overall			Conference
Teams (No divisions)	W	L		W	L
Arkansas State	10	2		8	0
Appalachian State	10	2		7	1
Troy	9	3		7	1
Georgia Southern	6	6		4	4
South Alabama	5	7		4	4
Coastal Carolina	5	7		3	5
Georgia State	4	8		3	5
ULM	4	8		3	5
Texas State	2	10		1	7
Louisiana	1	11		0	8
Bowl Teams:	4
	CFP:	None
	Big Six	None
	CFP 2:	None
	Big Six 2:	None
	Others:	Arkansas State
		Appalachian State
		Troy
		Georgia Southern
Most Underrated:	Troy
Most Overrated:	UL Monroe
Coaches on Hot Seat:	South Alabama, Coastal Carolina, Georgia State, ULM, Texas State, Louisiana

Game of the Year: Let's get this out of the way early. Appalachian State Plays Arkansas State in week 7. It will be for the championship.

Hardest thing to figure out: The squishy middle of this conference. Georgia Southern, South Alabama, Coastal Carolina, Georgia State and UL Monroe are all very similar teams. In many cases it came down to OOC scheduling and home games to differentiate them.  Only one of those 5 makes a bowl game in my opinion. I could very well be wrong on which one.

Missing the FCS: Texas State is atrocious. It's too bad because San Marcos is essentially what Austin was before it morphed into the sad thing it is today.

How far the mighty have fallen: Louisiana changed their name from Louisiana Lafayette and it's all been downhill from there. I think this is their nadir however.

Questions:

Who breaks out?  There's a lot of parity in this league and something funny always seems to happen.

Does Arkansas State ruin UNLV's season?  If UNLV loses at Arkansas State, I don't see any path to a bowl for them. I'm picking UNLV to win here but that's more because I want them to than any realistic chance they have.  Still.

Why all the FCS opponents?  It's sad really. The new dynamics of the CFP have removed the incentive for Power 5 schools to play these Group of 5 schools.  This means that Campbell, Gardner-Webb, Liberty (OK, not technically FCS but might as well be) and Kennesaw State all find themselves heading to play FunBelt opponents.