Writer Billy Connelly (ESPN) has been previewing the different conferences and conference divisions and release his Sun Belt East article today. It's very in-depth and covers a lot of content regarding The Herd.
Sun Belt East Preview
It's Premium content so I don't want to get anyone in trouble but I will share some snippets:
"My anti-divisions stance is on the record, and I'm slowly getting my way. The Pac-12, ACC and Mountain West have all ditched their divisions in favor of more sensible scheduling and potentially stronger title games, and only four of 10 FBS conferences still use divisional structures. It's great when sense occasionally takes over this sport.
I don't want change to ever touch the Sun Belt East, however. It's perfect. It's geographically sensible -- as far as my Google Maps skills can take me, only one matchup is more than an eight-hour drive away (and Marshall vs. Georgia Southern is still less than nine) -- and competitive: At least three of its current members have finished in the SP+ top 75 for five straight years."
"There's room for another East contender. Is it Marshall or App State? (Or both?)"
"...Marshall's trajectory was the direct opposite. Charles Huff's Thundering Herd started just 4-4 due to a dismal offense and frustrating losses to Bowling Green and Louisiana, but the offense improved just enough behind freshman quarterback Cam Fancher to get out of the dominant defense's way. They won their last five games, averaging just 23.8 points per game in that span but allowing a paltry 13.6. SP+ ranked the Herd 122nd on offense (and 121st in special teams) and eighth on defense.
SP+ likes Marshall a bit more than App this season, but I can't decide. Fancher had a run of strong November performances, but the offense still must replace last year's three best players in running back Khalan Laborn, receiver Corey Gammage and left guard Cedrice Paillant. The return of Rasheen Ali from injury will help; he rushed for 1,401 yards in 2021, then knocked out 273 in the last three games of last season. The line should still have solid experience, but there are no proven big-play threats in the receiving corps. Scoring some easy points via chunk plays could be important if or when the defense regresses. Of the 14 defenders who logged 300-plus snaps, eight are gone. So is coordinator Lance Guidry, who was promoted to the same job at Miami.
New coordinator Jason Semore will inherit some excellent pieces in each unit, from ace pass rusher Owen Porter to linebacker Eli Neal to corner Micah Abraham, but Huff felt the need to bring in eight transfers -- including App State linebacker KeSean Brown and former Texas A&M four-star corner Josh Moten -- to keep standards high. After ranking eighth, the defense has almost nowhere to go but down, so the offense will need to lurch forward a good amount."
Sun Belt East Preview
It's Premium content so I don't want to get anyone in trouble but I will share some snippets:
"My anti-divisions stance is on the record, and I'm slowly getting my way. The Pac-12, ACC and Mountain West have all ditched their divisions in favor of more sensible scheduling and potentially stronger title games, and only four of 10 FBS conferences still use divisional structures. It's great when sense occasionally takes over this sport.
I don't want change to ever touch the Sun Belt East, however. It's perfect. It's geographically sensible -- as far as my Google Maps skills can take me, only one matchup is more than an eight-hour drive away (and Marshall vs. Georgia Southern is still less than nine) -- and competitive: At least three of its current members have finished in the SP+ top 75 for five straight years."
"There's room for another East contender. Is it Marshall or App State? (Or both?)"
"...Marshall's trajectory was the direct opposite. Charles Huff's Thundering Herd started just 4-4 due to a dismal offense and frustrating losses to Bowling Green and Louisiana, but the offense improved just enough behind freshman quarterback Cam Fancher to get out of the dominant defense's way. They won their last five games, averaging just 23.8 points per game in that span but allowing a paltry 13.6. SP+ ranked the Herd 122nd on offense (and 121st in special teams) and eighth on defense.
SP+ likes Marshall a bit more than App this season, but I can't decide. Fancher had a run of strong November performances, but the offense still must replace last year's three best players in running back Khalan Laborn, receiver Corey Gammage and left guard Cedrice Paillant. The return of Rasheen Ali from injury will help; he rushed for 1,401 yards in 2021, then knocked out 273 in the last three games of last season. The line should still have solid experience, but there are no proven big-play threats in the receiving corps. Scoring some easy points via chunk plays could be important if or when the defense regresses. Of the 14 defenders who logged 300-plus snaps, eight are gone. So is coordinator Lance Guidry, who was promoted to the same job at Miami.
New coordinator Jason Semore will inherit some excellent pieces in each unit, from ace pass rusher Owen Porter to linebacker Eli Neal to corner Micah Abraham, but Huff felt the need to bring in eight transfers -- including App State linebacker KeSean Brown and former Texas A&M four-star corner Josh Moten -- to keep standards high. After ranking eighth, the defense has almost nowhere to go but down, so the offense will need to lurch forward a good amount."
