Barring any non-conference craziness I feel it is safe to say that the Sun Belt will be the least talked about conference in college football this year. They have only 8 teams after having lost some programs to Conference USA (WHY?) and the teams that remain are far from the national spotlight.
The ACC should have a fascinating season in 2013. There are a number of true contenders as you can see below and they have some great matches with their geographical big brother the SEC, which could really shake up the way things look at the top of the polls this season.
Except for a couple of runs the Arizona Diamondbacks couldn’t solve Pittsburgh rookie Gerrit Cole in dropping the first game of their series last night.
The Giants and Marlins combined for a week’s worth of offense in their opener Friday night with the Giants winning 14-10. San Francisco cranked out 19 hits with OF Hunter Pence and 3B Pablo Sandoval going a combined 7 for 10 with 8 RBI.
The Troy Trojans got very used to winning the Sun Belt Conference and dominating on an annual basis. The past two years something has gone very wrong. After winning five straight Sun Belt Conference titles between 2006 and 2010, the Trojans have won only eight games in the past two seasons combined.
Arkansas State is the defending champion in the Sun Belt Conference. The Red Wolves went 7-1 in the conference and 10-3 overall in 2012. Gus Malzahn left the team for Auburn after last season, and Bryan Harsin will get the chance as the team’s new head man.
The Cleveland Indians are in the thick of the American League race thats for sure.
Over the past couple of seasons, Oklahoma State has become more than just an offensive juggernaut that dumps points on the opposition. The Cowboys have a chance to be a very respectable defensive team in ’13, thanks to the athleticism of DT Calvin Barnett and LBs Shaun Lewis and Caleb Lavey.
How on earth could a team go from 12-2 to 0-12 in the next season?
The Southern Miss Golden Eagles managed to do that in 2012. Larry Fedora left for North Carolina and Ellis Johnson took over the Golden Eagles program. Johnson was let go after one season of futility.
New York was showing some signs of life before getting hammered by the Angels in the closing game of their 4 game set on Thursday. Prior to that they had won 4 in a row and 5 of 6 and things are slowly getting to a normal stage with 3B Alex Rodriguez in the lineup – if there is a normal.
The Ohio Bobcats started last season with a big win at Penn State and even entered the Top 25 at one point, but injuries held the team back, and they finished the MAC with just a 4-4 record. They did finish off the season with a very impressive 45-14 win in the Independence Bowl over Louisiana-Monroe.
Bowling Green has made a lot of progress in the last couple years, but this season’s team has the highest upside of any Bowling Green football team in a very long time. There are nine starters returning on offense and nine starters returning on defense.
It’s the SEC vs. the Big 12 for Texas bragging rights as the No. 13 LSU Tigers will arrive at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, looking to win their 11th straight season opener in the 5th annual Cowboy Classic against the No. 20 Texas Christian Horned Frogs in Week 1 college football action.
ESPN’s show College Game Day will visit “Death Valley” for the second time as the defending SEC East champion No. 5 Georgia Bulldogs kick off their 2013 season by renewing an old rivalry with a No. 8 ranked Tigers team that is looking to build on last year’s season success.
Although it’s still more than two weeks away, the smack talking has already begun with Ole Miss strength coach Paul Jackson talking trash about something Vanderbilt cornerback Andre Hal’s said regarding last year’s Commodores’ come-from-behind win over the Rebels.
A month ago it didn’t look like this series would be all that meaningful…but with Kansas City’s recent strong play they are actually in the conversation as it relates to the American League Central and certainly the Wild Card race.
