Funbelt Storylines and Questions for 2017, Part 2

We continue with our analysis of the multiple intriguing plot points that will be played out during the 2017 Funbelt season. For instance, one I'm sure many fans in Statesboro will have their eyes on....

YEAR TWO FOR TYSON SUMMERS AND....ON THE HOT SEAT ALREADY??!!

I seriously can't recall another time or instance where a first year head coach was nearly on the verge of being canned before his first season was even fully in the books. It might be awhile before we really know if that was actually the case but there's no denying Eagles fans were pissed prior to their upset victory over Troy on senior day...and even then there was a loud minority that wanted Summers head.

After an incredible inaugural debut in both the FBS and the Sun Belt that saw Southern capture an undefeated mark and Sun Belt Title in 2014, followed by the 2015 season which saw the Eagles make further history by both appearing and winning their first ever bowl game in Mobile, 2016 turned into a shockingly bad year for the blue and white. Despite losing long time head coach Willie Fritz, many pundits assumed Georgia Southern would roll right along, being picked third in the preseason conference polls. Instead, the Eagles wound up in 6th place at the conclusion of 2016.

Many Eagles fans were outraged and stunned. The reasoning behind this shocking outcome seemed to stem from Summers decision to shift his offensive schemes from the beloved, long established triple option to a traditional spread attack (really emphasizing more passing), despite this program being built to run the ball. How did it turn out? Well, considering the previous two seasons the Eagles rushed for a total of over 8,000 yards and scored nearly 110 touchdowns and compare that to their TOTAL offensive production last season (4,558 total offensive yards for 81 touchdowns) you can probably understand why Summers quickly cleared house with his offensive staff and brought in Bryan Cook to be his new offensive coordinator from Georgia Tech.

I'll be very intrigued to watch the Eagles this season as they try to re-establish the triple option and get back to their dominating ways. I'm not sure how long it'll take or if it'll be a lengthy process, but after the heat Summers faced despite winning 5 games in his first year, you'd have to wonder what would happen if he can't at least get Southern back to bowl eligibility in '17.

YEAR OF THE WARHAWK????

....OR WILL THE BOBCATS RISE TO THE OCCASION?

Despite the relatively new hires in both Matt Viator and Everett Withers, it was pretty rough going for both the Warhawks and Bobcats in 2016. The Warhawks dropped their first six out of eight games, and despite scoring back to back victories over South Al and Georgia State in the early part of November, were absolutely crushed in the final two weeks of the season by App and their bitter foes the Cajuns by a combined score of 72-20. As for Texas State, there wasn't a whole lot of parties happening in the endzone in 2016, as the Bobcats barely averaged 18 points a game in route to a 2-10 overall record (though to their credit, they did manage to score one of the highlight non conference victories for the league last year as they toppled the Ohio Bobcats in week 1).

When comparing the teams, on one hand it would appear the Warhawks (talent wise) seem to be a little bit more primed to have a break through season, with dynamic QB Garrett Smith returning, along with a solid receiving corps, mostly everyone back on defense and Alabama transfer Derrick Gore to boot, Matt Viator could have his Monroe crew primed for six wins for the first time since 2012...if they can survive the BRUTAL schedule.... (OOC games include @Memphis, @Florida State, @Auburn, hosting Southern Miss) not to mention having to travel to South Al and Idaho in consecutive weeks (AND...lets not forget having to play App and Arkansas State).

While there are A TON of question marks regarding Texas State and virtually nobody thinking they'll remotely be a player in 2017, this schedule seems much more manageable than ULM's...

OPPONENT	RESULT/TIME	RECORD/TICKETS
Sat, Sept 2	vs Houston Baptist	7:00 PM ET	55 available from $28
Sat, Sept 9	@ Colorado	2:00 PM ET Pac-12 Network	1,450 available from $15
Sat, Sept 16	vs Appalachian St	7:00 PM ET	66 available from $31
Sat, Sept 23	vs UTSA	TBD	41 available from $42
Sat, Sept 30	@ Wyoming	TBD	485 available from $11
Sat, Oct 7	vs UL Monroe	TBD	70 available from $31
Thu, Oct 12	@ Louisiana	7:30 PM ET	40 available from $29
Sat, Oct 28	@ C. Carolina	TBD	4 available from $40
Sat, Nov 4	vs New Mexico St	TBD	70 available from $31
Sat, Nov 11	vs Georgia State	TBD	70 available from $31
Sat, Nov 18	@ Arkansas State	TBD	226 available from $5
Fri, Nov 24	@ Troy	TBD

Ultimately, there's NO pressure on Withers or company in San Marcos, and honestly that (along with maybe getting some type semblance of a defense and consistent offense) could be all the breaks they need to be the surprise of '17.

WILL SOUTH ALABAMA RETAIN OR CUT TIES WITH JOEY JONES

Joey Jones is essentially the father of Jaguars football. Since his introductory press conference as the first ever head coach of the program, he has been though every single moment that has occurred for the football program-from the first kick off ever, to their first season in FBS and Sun Belt play to their current two bowl appearances. He's laughed, cried, screamed and bled (as you can see above I'm not being poetic) with South Alabama football and I'm sure there are countless of indviduals---players, fans, mangers and more-who will forever be appreciative of Coach Jones and the hard work he's done.

With that said, Jones is approaching his final year of his contract in Mobile and as of this post, there seems to be no movement whatsoever from the athletic administration to get the ball moving and Renegotiate a deal. And honestly I can't say I really blame them. Make no mistake, when you consider the amount of hardwork and dedication it takes when being the first to lead a collegiate football team from scratch, JJ certainly hasn't failed....BUT, he hasn't necessarily been lights out either.

In eight seasons, Jones has gone 48-42 overall as the Jaguars head man but overall he's been pretty inconsistent. On one had, he's scored tremendous upset victories over the likes of Mississippi State, Mountain West champions San Diego State and AAC member Tulane in recent seasons; however, he's yet to have his Jaguars in contention for a sun belt title (posting a 14-17 record in conference play).

There's a ton of potential for USA to be a real force to be reckon with in the 'Belt, but going 6-7 every year isn't going to help elevate the competitiveness of your program. For now, it seems the South Al brass is waiting to see how this 2017 seasons goes before deciding on JJ's future and I would imagine unless he can light a fuse and get his Jaguars to become a factor in the League race, his days in Mobile maybe numbered.

Funbelt Storylines and Questions in 2017, Part 1

Another exciting season awaits for the Sunbelt league and although we still have quite a lot of time to kill before the first game kicks off, no doubt their are quite a bit of tantalizing storylines and questions to address in the meantime. Like for starters...

"Will the Mountaineers finally claim an all out Conference Title?"

Make no mistake about it-Appalachian State has been incredibly successful since their jump up to FBS back in 2014 (Who wouldn't love their worst FBS regular season record to be 7-5 after all??). Even though the 'Neers have only been competing at the highest level in collegiate football for three short years, it seems like they've done it all-host Power 5 programs in Boone, play in the post season and win bowl games, win outright confer-

....Well. Not quite. At least not yet. After coming darn close in 2015, they nearly had an outright SBC title last season but were tripped by a critical November conference showdown yet again, this time coming at the hands of Troy (Arkansas State the season before).

But in 2017, App has NO REASON not to win this thing outright: Not only are they returning virtually their entire offense that boasts one of the most dominating rushing attacks in college football (Mountaineers are 23-1 when they rush for 200 yards or more), but the schedule includes neither defending co champs Arkansas State or air raid happy Trojans. In fact, with the exception of their annual heated rivalry game against Georgia Southern and MAYBE the Cajuns (if they can ever get their crap sorted out but more on that later), the only other game as of now that appears to be their toughest challenge will be traveling to Moscow to take on the Vandals.

The old saying is "the third time is the charm" and if you're an Appalachian State fan, you're hoping that is totally the case in 2017.

"How big (or little) of splash will Chauncey and the Coastal crew make in their debut season?"

Man...it really seems like yesterday when after the smoke cleared from the massive reshuffling that was realignment. And after losing the old guard that was WKU, F_Us, Middle and UNT the Belt wound up with a texas school, two Georgia Schools and that little North Carolina school that was still partying nearly ten years after upsetting Michigan in the Big House.

Now once again the Sunbelt is evolving yet again, adding its latest recruit to the fold-little ole Coastal Carolina out of Conway, South Carolina. But don't "Pfft" at the Chants (however teal they maybe)...though they've only had their football program running since 2003, they've been a remarkable competitive squad considering what a late start the university had in establishing the sport.

While both App and Georgia Southern certainly made a tremendous splash in their debut into the league (Southern won the damn conference!), I think it's going to be a little bit more of a rough first go around for CCU--several holes and replacements have to be filled on both sides of the ball and for whatever reason the QB situation is still rather muddled in South Carolina despite returning all three QBs that saw playing time last year.

Anything more than four wins and I'll be HIGHLY impressed, even with the likes of a rebooted UAB team, along with UMass, ULM and Texas State who all went a combined 7-29 last season--from there their are no breaks in the schedule and I think it's going to be a season long process for the Chants to sort out there personnel flaws.

Last Call for Aggies and Vandals

Say what you will about their time in the league, but no matter what you can't help but feel bad for both Aggie and Vandal fans regarding their respective teams future status' going forward after 2017. It's hard to say whether anyone or anything is at fault let alone if it was simply "bad luck", but it'll certainly be interesting to see how these two teams perform as they play their last season in the 'Belt before going off into the sunset and their separate ways.

While many Vandal fans (least the sentiment I've read on message boards as I've never been to Idaho lol) are seemingly split right down the middle regarding their return to the Big Sky Conference (hence FCS) it would appear if they actually have enough returning pieces in place to land just their third bowl berth since 1999.

The Aggies of New Mexico State would KILL for a bowl game (hell I'd imagine they would tangle with an Alligator for their first winning season since 2002). On paper, you would think that certainly wouldn't be asking for a lot as they return nearly everybody on both sides of the ball from a year ago--but that's the problem. Despite having explosive moments on offense, the D was simply atrocious. Furthermore, this schedule ain't no joke: on top of their traditional rivalry games with the Lobos and UTEP, the Aggies will take a beating from both Arizona State and Arkansas along with having to contend with App, Arkansas State and Troy (least they get Red Wolves and Trojans at home right?)

It would be a REMARKABLE storyline if either Idaho or New Mexico State could contend or even win the league and while I think Idaho has a slight chance at getting back to bowl egibilty I'm not so sure for our friends in Las Cruces.

New Stadium, New Coach, New Era for the Panthers?

The title pretty much says it all doesn't it? The GSU program certainly has had some really bummer times, but the Panthers have still found ways to rally and have some high moments (2015 Cure Bowl anyone?). But as estastic as Panther fans were about that bowl game, I'm sure it can't even compare to the excitement of August 31st when Georgia State officially kicks off in their new stadium. (Well, kinda sorta new).

Regardless, actually having a facility to call your own, draped with that blue and white and least we forget having the monster dog from "Ghostbusters" covered all throughout that facility certainly should make 2017 season a win for GSU fans even before playing a first down.

But least we forget on top of the new digs big Blue also has a new chief leading the charge! Shawn Elliot gets his first shot at being the head honcho in charge. It's an interesting hire (and if you're an App State fan you're very familiar with him as both a former player and coach!). After leaving Boone, he landed in South Carolina where after several seasons and stints as both Offensive line coach and Offensive coordinator, he abruptly became interim coach after Spurrier's sudden resignation last season. While the Gamecocks went 1-5 during his brief time as HC, it's hard to really gauge his potential based on that.

Despite the buzz and anticipation for both Elliot and the new stadium, it's still probably asking a little too much for this Georgia State squad to immediately turn around and get back to six wins. However, as a Panthers fan you've gotta have strong confidence in the future outlook of this program, with administration investing very heavily in trying to build from few bricks laid by past successors and getting this still relatively young program into a more consistently competitive squad.

Who Has the Hottest Hot Seat in '17? Probably Hudspeth...no, IT'S TOTALLY HUDDY

My, my how things can certainly change on a whim. At one time, Mark Hudspeth had his Cajuns in the thick of things in Funbelt play and dominating the New Orleans Bowl for four straight seasons, beating the likes of East Carolina, Tulane, Nevada & San Diego State. His name was almost always mentioned time and time again whenever the next "big" job opportunity opened up. With stadium expansion under his watch, a co Conference championship in 2013 and strong attendance than compared to years past, it certainly appeared Huddy could do absolutely no wrong.

I'm sure you can see where this is going...

It began when a former coach was ousted for falsifying ACT scores for multiple prospective student athletes. After the investigation, the Cajuns program was forced to vacate their 2013 SBC Conference title, 22 wins stemming from 2012-2014 and among those also had to vacate their 2011 and 2013 New Orleans Bowl victories. Then former AD Scott Farmer abruptly resigned his position (some Cajun fans would say this was a positive) amid rumors and speculations, though Farmer maintained it was due to "family and stress."

Then this past spring, 13 Cajun players were arrested on charges of "criminal conspiracy to commit theft." Per the ULL University Police, the players were caught on camera breaking into a fellow football players dorm room and stealing $2.400 worth of belongings.

While Huddy was able to rebound from last season's 4-8 mark and get his Cajuns back into the New Orleans Bowl, it wasn't fun night as Southern Miss completely dominated Louisiana Lafayette, ending the '16 campaign for the Cajuns at 6-7.

I don't think there needs to be much more said than the obvious--in baseball terms, Hudspeth is down to his final out with NO RUNNERS on and needing multiple runs to win. His fanbase are proud and loud...ESPECIALLY when they're angry and if coach can't get his football team to rebound from the bad spotlight and back to being their old, competitive selves of past season, Mark might be trying to land a gig back at North Alabama again by seasons end.