Three things we learned from the Sun Belt in Week 6

Texas State is Texas Toast

The Bobcats have had no shortage of frustrations under their current head coach, or indeed since they made the move to FBS. Those frustrations are beginning to boil over in San Marcos after a 42-27 blowout home loss to the Ragin’ Cajuns, dropping Texas State to 0-2 in conference play.

You could feel the frustration emanating off head coach Everett Withers, this really says it all:

Or, to put it another way, fans arriving at Bobcat Stadium on Saturday were treated to this thoughtful gentleman:

Allegedly this maverick thinker was eventually escorted out of Bobcat Stadium, but you can only ignore the will of the people for so long. Eventually, something has got to give. The Bobcats play Georgia Southern in San Marcos on a short week this week, and it looks like the frustrations will continue.

South Alabama doesn’t deserve this

While frustrations in Mobile maybe haven’t reached the levels currently in San Marcos (though Twitter will be sure and let us know), the Jaguars are currently 1-5, 1-2 after getting smashed by Georgia Southern on Saturday.

Despite the record, the Jags really... aren’t that bad. QB Evan Orth threw for 197 yards in the loss, and even out-passed Appalachian State the week before, 225 yards to 169 yards, amidst a crushing 52-7 defeat.

Where Texas State’s frustrations seem ongoing, South Bama generally seems to have its stuff together, despite the lack of any standout running back to shoulder the load.

They’ll have a better chance to show off their strengths next week, when they host FCS Alabama State. And they should savor what we presume will be a victory, because the week after that, they return to Mobile to host their in-state rival, the Trojans of Troy.

Week 7 is the biggest week yet

Through six weeks we’ve learned a lot about the conference, but a handful of teams stand on the precipice of a much better record than what we’re seeing right now.

For South Alabama, it will surely be the FCS competition for a tune-up and ULM— definitely better than their 2-4, 0-2 record— will take on Coastal Carolina, who at 3-2, 1-1 will finally be a fair match-up for the Warhawks, their first since Troy a couple of weeks ago.

But the big one will be Appalachian State (3-1, 1-0) at Arkansas State (3-2, 0-1). The Red Wolves have been the standout from the Sun Belt West, but dropped their last game to Georgia Southern, 28-21. If they can’t win next week, the West will indeed be up for grabs.

The Mountaineers, on the other hand, have obliterated every opponent they’ve faced except one, a week one loss to a top 10 Penn State team, by a mere touchdown. Since then, their opponents have been clearly overmatched, but that will all change next week as they travel to Jonesboro.