Sun Belt Preview: Appalachian State, Texas State Are Early Season Favorites

Appalachian State is looking to add another big Sun Belt Conference accomplishment this season. Maybe more than one.

Like another conference title. And maybe a spot in the expanded, 12-team College Football Playoff.

Appalachian State was picked to win the Sun Belt East Division in the preseason polls, and with quarterback Joey Aguilar expected to be the offensive player of the year, coach Shawn Clark believes his team is ready for something special.

Appalachian State, a school of about 19,000 students in the Blue Ridge Mountains, has overcome big adversity before, most memorably in 2007, when the then-FCS program beat fifth-ranked Michigan in the Big House, 34-32. Since joining the Sun Belt, the Mountaineers have won two league titles, in 2018 and 2019.

The Mountaineers enter the season with plenty of momentum after closing out 2023, having won six of their last seven games to go 9-5. Their only loss during that span came in the Sun Belt title game, a 49-23 loss at Troy. But they rebounded by defeating Miami (Ohio) 13-9 in the Cure Bowl.

Clark said his team fought hard all season but was unlucky to start the season with a 3-4 record.

“I knew we had a great football team, but sometimes the ball just doesn’t bounce back,” he said. “It was about getting the message across to our players that we were so close and that all we had to do was keep working.”

Under Aguilar, there was little to convince App State’s offense. Aguilar set school records with 3,757 yards, 33 touchdowns, 4,002 yards of total offense and 293 completions. Aguilar was passed over by bigger programs, playing at Diablo Valley College in California before the Mountaineers contacted him.

“I just have to make the most of this opportunity and we have some unfinished business to take care of next season,” Aguilar said.

And perhaps it will add another milestone to Appalachian State history.

If not Appalachian State, then who?

Texas State, in its second season under coach GJ Kinne, was projected to win the West Division and bring its potent offense to the league championship game.

The Bobcats led the Sun Belt with 36.7 points and 458.5 yards per game last season. Last year’s 8-5 record included a 45-21 victory over Rice in the First Responder Bowl, Texas State’s first FBS bowl appearance.

The Sun Belt’s top team last year, James Madison, reached its first bowl game and went 11-2 in just its second season as an FBS member. The Dukes, whose coach Curt Cignetti left for Indiana, were picked to finish second in the East behind App State.

Two-time defending league champion Troy was selected second in the West. The Trojans also lost their coach, as Jon Sumrall left for Tulane.

Players to watch

Aguilar is expected to dominate the offense. But he’s not alone. Jordan McCloud, the 2023 All-Conference Offensive Player of the Year for James Madison, transferred to Texas State, where he’s expected to lead a productive offense that also includes Ismail Mahdi, who rushed for 1,331 yards and 10 touchdowns last season.

Former Washington recruit Dylan Morris takes over as point guard for the Dukes.

Linebacker Jason Henderson of Old Dominion is the preseason defensive player of the year. Henderson led the nation with 14.2 tackles per game and his 170 total tackles ranked second in the nation behind Iowa’s Jay Higgins.

New coaching faces

There was a lot of turnover in the Sun Belt, starting with Cignetti leaving James Madison for the Big Ten and Indiana. He was replaced by Holy Cross coach Bob Chesney.

In Troy, Notre Dame offensive coordinator Gerad Parker looks to keep the championship program on track.

Major Applewhite is being promoted from offensive coordinator to head coach at South Alabama following the departure of Kane Wommack to Alabama, where he will serve as defensive coordinator. Applewhite, a former Houston head coach, helped the Jaguars win 10 games two years ago and a bowl game last season.

Bryant Vincent replaced Terry Bowden at Louisiana-Monroe, and Dell McGee got the call when Georgia State head coach Shawn Elliott became the quarterbacks coach at South Carolina.

Quarterback action

There were a number of other notable quarterbacks heading to the Sun Belt. Michigan State’s Noah Kim went to Coastal Carolina and should replace Grayson McCall, the three-time Sun Belt offensive player of the year, who went to North Carolina State.

Former Florida State tight end Tate Rodemaker has committed to Southern Miss, while Georgia State has landed two top-tier quarterbacks: Christian Veilleux from Pitt and Zach Gibson from Georgia Tech.

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