Sun Belt West sneak peek: Burning questions for every team

Appalachian State beat Texas A&M and hosted College GameDay for a game versus Troy that it won through Hail Mary. Troy won 12 games and a conference title and finished ranked for the very first time. South Alabama won 10 games for the very first time. James Madison discovered itself ranked barely one month into its first FBS season.Coastal Carolina hung around ranked for the third straight year, and while the Chanticleers lost their head coach, they kept their star quarterback for a 4th season. Southern Miss enjoyed its first bowl win in 6 years with a running back who set an all-time bowl record. He’s back too.It was an excellent year to be part of the Sun Belt, in other

words. And with the American Athletic Conference taking a possible hit in conference realignment– it lost Cincinnati, Houston and UCF to the Huge 12 and changed them with six Conference USA programs, not all of which have been proficient at football recently– it’s possible that the Sun Belt’s stature could continue to grow within the Group of 5 ranks.That’s more of a long-term topic, though. We’re here to talk about 2023. The brand-new, seven-team Sun Belt West produced a set

of abrupt powers last fall– Troy and South Alabama went a combined 14-2 in conference play, and Troy stomped Coastal in the conference title game– and initially glimpse it appears the Trojans could lead the way once again this fall. Or are we in for a surprise? Let’s sneak peek the Sun Belt West!Every week through the offseason, Expense Connelly will sneak peek another division from the Group of 5 and Power 5 exclusively for ESPN +, eventually including all 133 FBS groups. The previews will include 2022 breakdowns, 2023 sneak peeks and burning questions for each team.