By Jack Fitzpatrick

The 2023 Sun Belt season is here! There are a ton of storylines across this conference. South Alabama appears that they can really good, but they will have to get through the defending Sun Belt Champions, Troy. From the looks of it, the East division is a much stronger portion of the SBC compared to the West and it really isn’t close. Seeing how they stack up against each other will be interesting.

An update for people who are new around here. The weekly power rankings aren’t taking a snapshot of the full season. Rather they take a snapshot at how a team has been playing recently and the higher a team is, the more likely they would win on a Saturday. These rankings are also 100% correct. They aren’t my opinion, rather they are my words which become fact.

Have an issue? Let me know on twitter, @fitzalltheway. Just warning you though, I’m right and you can’t prove me wrong. I take this very seriously and have stats, facts and numbers to back everything up.

Let’s get into the first edition!

1. South Alabama 

A year ago, South Alabama was the 15th ranked team in EPA per play. The offense played exceptionally well and the defense showed up week in and week out. The Jaguars open the season against the best G5 team from a year ago, Tulane and that will be a test. But the Jaguars offense led by QB Carter Bradley and an extremely veteran defense are the top of the Sun Belt. 

2. JMU

Let’s face it, I am writing these power rankings on a JMU blog so there may be a little JMU bias. Not here though! The Dukes have arguably the best defense in the Sun Belt, they were the 2nd best unit a year ago nationally in EPA per play. With the LB duo of Jailin Walker and Taurus Jones holding court the defense should maintain. Offensively a fresh QB will lead JMU out in week 1, but from all accounts Alonza Barnett is special. Pair that with one of the most experienced offensive lines not only in the Sun Belt but in the nation this JMU team is set to dominate games in the trenches. 

3. Troy

A year ago the Troy Trojans were 2nd in the Sun Belt in defensive scoring. The Trojans allowed just 17.1 points per game. The offense though did leave a little something to be desired scoring just 25.6 points per game, 8th most in the Sun Belt. Now, with Gunnar Watson returning as QB1 and Kimani Vidal, the team’s leading rusher last year, the offense should take a step forward. 

4. Coastal Carolina 

You just can’t discount Grayson McCall returning for the Chanticleers! After his injury Coastal struggled going 1-3, losing the final three games of the season. Before the injury the Chanticleers were 8-1 and averaged 32.2 points per game which would have been 4th best in conference. Now with a brand new coaching staff, this offense should provide new wrinkles and improve from their late season lull. Plus, the defense under defensive coordinator Craig Naivar shouldn’t be one of the worst units in the conference. 

5. Marshall

This team boasts a scary good defensive unit. The Herd allowed just 16 points per game, the best in conference and were the best defense in the entire nation on an EPA per play and game basis! Marshall was also one of the best units against the pass in the nation. Now Charles Huff’s squad does have to retool a bit on offense. They return their passing yards leader QB Cam Fancher but lost the rushing and receiving yards leaders. That may be a good thing though since this offense left a lot to be desired! 

6. App State

Have I bought into the Ryan Burger hype? App State is turning to the redshirt freshman quarterback who has played just 26 snaps in his career to take over for Chase Brice. A topsy-turvy start to 2022 didn’t really allow the Mountaineers to find any type of rhythm throughout the season. This was one of the best offenses a year ago in the Sun Belt so that framework is in place. A big question is the development of the defense. I have hope but not as much as the preseason poll who put the Mountaineers as the second best team in the East. 

7. Georgia State

I love this squad and they are my dark horse pick to win the Sun Belt East. Now, I’m not crazy. I can’t just put them in the top five on the first iteration of the Power Rankings; they do have to prove something. This offense really pumps me up! Darren Grainger is special. He has the ability to put this Panthers team on his back (which he might have to more often than not, this defense is bad). He was named to the Manning Award Watch List and the Maxwell Award. The defense, for the time being, really puts a damper on the hype. 

8. Ragin’ Cajuns

Louisiana was picked to finish third in the Sun Belt West in the preseason poll which makes sense. The Ragin’ Cajuns were the fifth best defense and the seventh best offense in 2022. They did lose their rushing and receiving leaders and the leading tackler so expect some regression. 

9. Georgia Southern

This Clay Helton team boasted one of the best offenses a year ago. But one of the worst defenses. Now, in 2023, the Eagles have to replace Kyle Vantrease. The star QB threw for 4,253 yards and 27 touchdowns in 2022. In theory there may be a fall off, but what keeps Georgia Southern in the top 10 is the coaching of Clay Helton.  

10. Southern Miss

An alright defense and a slightly below average offense makes for the 10th ranked team in the power rankings. The Golden Eagles retained their leading rusher and passer but will need to replace some production defensively after losing the leading tackler and the sack leader.  

11. Arkansas State

Butch Jones is about all I got. The Red Wolves weren’t good last year and likely won’t be good this year. 

12. Texas State

Texas State hired a new coach in the offseason, G.J. Kinne. Fun fact when you google his name his NFL headshot from his time with the Eagles comes up. The 34-year old Texas native will have the tall task of trying to build Texas State into something respectable. Let’s see if he can! 

13. ULM 

ULM allowed 34.4 points per game last season. That is the most in the conference. Offensively they didn’t help, scoring just 22.3 points. They were one of the weakest teams in the Sun Belt in 2022 and didn’t add a ton to rock the boat for 2023. 

14. ODU 

There isn’t much to say about the Monarchs. Looking across the ODU roster there just isn’t a ton of talent outside of Sun Belt Preseason Defensive Player of the Year linebacker Jason Henderson.