Louisiana-Monroe (2-1, 1-0)
The Sun Belt’s top team had a bye week following its Sept. 13 shutout loss at LSU. The Warhawks have the best record in the conference after wins against Wake Forest and Idaho in Monroe to start the season. ULM is the only team in the conference with a winning record and is undefeated at home through the fourth week of the season. The Warhawks need to continue their home winning streak to keep the No. 1 spot.
Georgia Southern (2-2, 1-0)
Conference and FBS newbie Georgia Southern is off to a good start in its first season in the Sun Belt. GSU won its first conference game in dominating fashion Saturday against South Alabama. The Eagles held the Jaguars to just six points, while scoring 28 of their own, scoring one touchdown in each quarter of play. The Eagles are rolling through September, but keeping momentum will be hard in their first season in the conference.
New Mexico State (2-2, 1-0)
The Aggies played their rivalry game early in the season, losing to New Mexico 38-35 in Las Cruces. After being down at halftime, NMSU came back to take the lead over the Lobos in the third quarter. New Mexico responded in the fourth quarter with a 10-play, 65-yard game winning drive that ended with a 5-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Lamar Jordan to wide receiver Reece White. After a tough Independent schedule in 2013, the Aggies are ready to take advantage of an easier conference slate.
Arkansas State (2-2, 0-0)
Last year’s co-Sun Belt champions ASU has yet to play a conference game in 2014. The Red Wolves recovered from a Sept. 13 loss at Miami — where an ASU player faked his own death on the field — to come back and win 21-14 in overtime at Utah State. Quarterback Fredi Knighten’s only touchdown pass of the game came in overtime, when it was needed most. The Red Wolves need to find better methods than fake punts and faking deaths if they want to get back above .500.
Appalachian State (1-2, 0-0)
Black and gold beat black and gold as Southern Miss edged Appalachian State 21-20 Saturday at Hattiesburg, Mississippi. ASU got within one point of SMU with six seconds to go on a two-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Taylor Lamb to wide receiver Simms McElfresh, but the extra point was blocked leading to the SMU win. That could be a bad omen for ASU’s season. The team opens Sun Belt play this Saturday.
Texas State (1-2, 0-0)
Arkansas-Pine Bluff apparently wasn’t a good gauge for Texas State’s skill level as TSU dropped its next two games. The Bobcats fell to Illinois Saturday 42-35. TSU’s 40.3 points per game is still second in the conference and the Bobcats will need to keep up their scoring ways this weekend at Tulsa. Running back Robert Lowe highlights the Bobcat offense leading the Sun Belt with 119.7 rushing yards per game.
Louisiana-Lafayette (1-3, 0-0)
The Ragin’ Cajuns win to start the season was followed by three straight losses with the latest being a 34-9 beat down by Boise State. ULL was one of the top teams in the Sun Belt last season, but the 2014 nonconference schedule hasn’t been favorable to coach Mark Hudspeth’s squad. A game against fellow 1-3 team Georgia State on Saturday offers the opportunity to get back in the win column for the Ragin’ Cajuns.
Troy (0-4, 0-0)
Looking on the Brightside for a winless Troy team, the Trojans haven’t lost a Sun Belt game yet. That should change this weekend though, as Troy is pitted against conference leader ULM on Saturday. To make things worse, the Trojans are coming off a 66-0 shutout at the hands of Georgia.
South Alabama (1-2, 0-1)
The Jaguars finished in the middle of the conference in 2013 and seems to be headed there again this year. Last week’s 28-6 loss to Georgia Southern hurts, but a win over Kent State to start the year has South Alabama in the win column. With just 32 points scored on the season, South Alabama needs to find a weapon on offense.
Georgia State (1-3, 0-1)
The Panthers already have more wins than their winless 2013 campaign, so things are looking up in Atlanta despite three straight losses. A couple more wins would meet expectations for a GSU squad entering a stretch of conference games in October. The Panthers have a bye week before traveling Oct. 4. to Louisiana-Lafayette.
Idaho (0-3, 0-1)
Despite rounding out the bottom of current Sun Belt standings, the Vandals have played better than their record suggests. Defense has been Idaho’s problem as the Vandals are allowing 39.7 points per game. Quarterback Matt Linehan leads the conference with 346.3 passing yards per game.
Stephan Wiebe can be reached at [email protected]