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Sun Belt Conference
Last Year's Winner: Arkansas State & Appalachian State
When looking at the Sun Belt, it really comes down to three teams, Arkansas State, Appalachian State and Troy. The Red Wolves are coming off a season where they stared 0-4, but fought their way back to win a share of the Sun Belt Title. They return Junior QB Justice Hansen and a number of weapons for him to throw to. The big concern is the 5 new starting linemen in front of Hansen. If they can overcome some early offensive struggles with a new O-line, Arkansas State poses a big threat to winning the Sun Belt again. Defensively, they return one of the best players in the Conference, and arguably the nation. Ja'Von Rolland-Jones finished last season with 13.5 sacks, so he'll be a force to watch on defense for Arkansas State. Troy is coming into the 2017 season lead by senior QB Brandon Silvers. Silvers is the top QB in the conference and lead the best scoring offense in the Sun Belt in 2016 averaging 33.7 points per game. Having to play Arkansas State on the road could be difficult at the end of the season, but look for the Trojans to be near the top of the conference again this season. Finally, when looking at Appalachian State, they look the strongest. The Mountaineers offense was 10th overall in rushing last season, averaging 250.92 yards per game and averaged just under 30 points per game as well. Star RB Jalin Moore will look to build on his stellar Sophomore season where he rushed for 1402 yards and 10 TDs. He'll be the go-to back as a Junior this season, but has a lot of help behind him with Senior Power Back Terrance Upshaw. Upshaw was academically ineligible last year, but has gotten back on track and is ready to provide some carries in between Moore's. I picked the Mountaineers last season, and they got a share of the title with the Red Wolves. South Alabama and new comer Coastal Carolina may be trap games for the top 3 candidates, but I expect Troy, Arkansas State and Appalachian State to remain at the top. I'm going with the Mountaineers again this season. In my opinion, Jalin Moore is one of the best kept secrets in the nation, although I think the rest of the conference might know his name now!
Conference USA
Last Year's Winner: Western Kentucky
The Hilltoppers are looking for their third straight Conference USA Championship and have a new coach to lead them towards it. Former Notre Dame assistant Mike Sanford has taken the reigns as former Head Coach Jeff Brohm left for Purdue. Sanford will likely lean on Senior QB Mike White who threw for 4363 yards last season while posting a 67.3% completion rating and a 37:7 TD to INT ratio. I expect WKU to have a very high powered offense yet again. Middle Tennessee is probably their biggest threat in the East Division, but Florida Atlantic could be a sleeper with new Head Coach Lane Kiffin. However, I think some of the hype is a little too high on Kiffin, so I'm going to wait for some proof before I make any claims on what he can accomplish with FAU. Middle Tennessee will be looking for revenge against WKU after falling to them in a 44-43 Double OT thriller last season. We'll see if their offense can keep up after I'Tavius Mathers' departure to the NFL. The QB-WR duo of Stockstill and James will be fun to watch this fall. In the West Division, Louisiana Tech is the favorite yet again. Even though QB Ryan Higgins and top Wideouts Trent Taylor and Carlos Henderson have moved on, young stud J'Mar Smith looks to be a star in the making. He'll have quite a bit of help with a solid RB duo behind him with Juniors Jarred Craft and Boston Scott. The two backs accounted for 1589 yards and 15 TDs in 2016, so look for them to be a heavy focus for the Bulldogs' offense and 2017. Their defense will be lead by Junior DL Jaylon Ferguson who recorded 14.5 sacks last season. Southern Miss and UTSA could cause some headaches throughout the season for the Bulldogs in the west, but with only second year coaches, I think it will be a few more seasons before they catch up. I'm looking for a great championship match-up between WKU and LA Tech. I want to see the Bulldogs dethrone the Hilltoppers, but WKU is still my pick to top the Conference USA Hill yet again. We'll see what the new coach can do!
Mid-American Conference
Last Year's Winner: Western Michigan
The MAC will be a very interesting conference to watch this fall. PJ Fleck has left for Minnesota, so Western Michigan will be moving in a different direction with new Head Coach Tim Lester. He'll have to replace one of the most efficient QB-WR duos in the nation as Zach Terrell and Corey Davis are gone now. The Broncos' run game should still be a factor as they return both Jarvion Franklin and LaVante Bellamy. Franklin rushed for 1353 yards and 12 TDs last season while Bellamy returns from an early injury that sidelined him for the majority of 2016. WMU also returns 8 starters on a defense that was tops in the MAC last season giving up only 19.8 points per game. They have a tough schedule starting off with road games to USC and Michigan State, and then finishing the season with a road trip to West Division rival Toledo. Speaking of the Rockets, they're a very big threat to take over the MAC crown. Logan Woodside looks to continue his impressive numbers from last season with another strong receiving corps. The Rockets will be looking for a new leader in their rushing attack as Kareem Hunt has moved onto the NFL. They do return 7 starters on defense which means the Glass Bowl game between the Rockets and Broncos on November 24th will be a good one to watch! Looking to the East Division, the Ohio Bobcats and Miami (OH) RedHawks are the teams to watch. The Bobcats won the Division last year with the tie breaking win over the RedHawks, but the script could be flipped this season. RedHawk QB Gus Ragland returned mid-season from an injury last year and finished with 1537 yards, 64.2% completion rating and an incredible 17:1 TD:INT ratio. Plus, the RedHawks return 16 starters from a year ago, so there is a lot of experience with this team. Frank Solich will be counting on Sophomore QB Quinton Maxwell to lead the team, but I think Ragland's going to beat him out. RedHawks and Rockets meet in Detroit for the MAC championship in my opinion, and I think the Rockets have the edge. I'm picking Toledo to win the MAC, but watch Miami (OH), they're sneaky!
Mountain West Conference
Last Year's Winner: San Diego State
The Mountain West will be one of the more interesting stories to watch this season, especially in the Mountain Division. San Diego looks to hold onto the West Division Title, even with lots of roster turnover. Hawaii and UNLV have potential to cause some headaches, but the Aztecs are still too strong in my opinion. The exciting stories will occur mostly in the Mountain Division, where Boise State, Colorado State and Wyoming will be battling for the bid to the Conference Championship. The Cowboys surprised everyone last season, and Junior QB Josh Allen will look to continue his success from a year ago. Last season, Allen threw for over 3200 yards along with 28 TDs and 15 picks. He progressed later in the year, so look for those numbers to be much more stellar this season! Wyoming will have to break in a new running back, but the Cowboys defense returns 8 starters from a year ago, so look for lots of improvement on that side of the ball. The Broncos up in Boise looked good when I peaked in on practice about a month ago! I was visiting family in Boise and took a visit to Boise State and walked by the Team's Fall camp on the way to see the Blue Turf! Third-year starting QB Brett Rypien will be looking for a new running back, but still has big play wideout Cedric Wilson. The defense only returns four starters from a year ago, so there is a steep learning curve. Finally, looking at the Rams from CSU, there's no better place to start than the offense. The QB-WR duo of Nick Stevens and Michael Gallup have already caused havoc in 2017 by blowing out Oregon State 58-27 on Saturday. With 13 returning starters and a brand new stadium, the Rams are a team to watch this year in the Mountain Division. When looking at the schedules, Boise gets Wyoming at home, but has to travel to Ft. Collins to take on the Rams. The Cowboys do get the Rams in Laramie, but follow that game with a tricky trip to Air Force. Overall, it looks to be a pretty tight race for the Mountain Division, but I'm going with the Cowboys of Wyoming! I think Josh Allen is one of the most dynamic QBs in the nation, and with an experienced defense, they have a great shot at repeating. I'm also picking them to beat San Diego State and win the Mountain West Conference, watch out for Josh Allen!
American Athletic Conference
Last Year's Winner: Temple
The Owls are coming off back to back Conference Championships, but will be breaking in a new coach and 14 new starters in 2017. They will be a strong contender again, but with so many new faces, it could be hard to repeat a third time. The Golden Knights of UCF improved greatly under 1st year head coach Scott Frost, so we'll see what type of encore performance they can come up with! The Knights return 9 starters on offense, so look for them to put up some points this season. The main story of the conference comes from Tampa Bay where the USF Bulls are a heavy favorite to win it all in the American. QB Quinton Flowers is one of mine (and most everyone's) Dark Horse Heisman picks, and he started off the season with a solid 282 total yard performance along 2 TDs on Saturday against San Jose State. If he has the season everyone believes he can have, look for the Bulls to be very successful this year. In the West Division, there are a number of teams crowding for the top spot. Houston, Navy and Memphis all have great arguments to win the division, and schedules could play a big factor. When looking at Houston, they lost their Head Coach and star QB from last year. But new HC Major Applewhite and Texas A&M transfer Kyle Allen is more than capable of filling those shoes. The offense should still be a threat, even with the transition, and the Cougars' defense is anchored by DT Ed Oliver, one of the best in the nation. They're lucky enough to get both Memphis and Navy at home, but are also unfortunate enough to have a road game against USF. The Tigers return star QB Riley Ferguson, and a lot of talented wideouts for him to throw to. Second-year coach Mike Norvell will be looking for improvement on defense, as they gave up nearly 29 points per game last year. Finally, we look to Annapolis, MD at the reigning division champs. Although the Midshipmen return only 10 starters from a year ago, their offense should be hard to stop yet again. They have a very experienced offensive line to lead the way for rising QB Zach Abey and a horde of RBs and FBs that teams always struggle to stop. It's always hard to predict what Navy will do, but with road games to Tulsa, Memphis, Temple and Houston, it will be very tough to repeat. I'm going with the Cougars in the West simply because they get Memphis at home. That game could go either way, but we'll give home field advantage for now. No matter what, I think the Bulls win it all in the American this year, Flowers is too hot to handle!
This is going to be a fun season to watch, so I hope you're all ready for some Football! Here's my picture from visiting the Blue Turf at Boise State! Thanks for reading and GO BIG RED!
#CollegeFootballKnowItAll
Alex Fernando
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