Sun Belt Power Rankings: Week Two

Okay Cajuns fans, come over here. Look at that. Just look what you've done. Everything was so nice and orderly. All you had to do was beat Louisiana Tech, maintain a little Sun Belt pride, and save the guesswork for conference play when things would sort themselves out naturally.

But, no. You had to go and lose. Supposedly the best we had to offer, the cream of the crop, getting blown out at home by a school from a dry parish. (That's Louisianian for county, FYI.) To paraphrase a famous space captain, now all the conferences are gonna start cracking wise about our mamas.

So, what are we supposed to do now? Who is our champion? After an off-season of foregone conclusions, what does the Sun Belt really look like now? I think Will said it best.

@SunBelt Power Rankings for @underdogdynasty submitted. In conclusion, ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Thanks a lot, Cajuns.

— Will Butler (@THETXSTUniv) September 7, 2014

A little background on this process. I have all the Sun Belt writers for this blog submit ballots ranking each school. This week, we had five different teams receive first place votes. That means, if you have an issue with where a team is ranked, you better make a pretty good case as to why.

Let's get on with this train wreck.

1 Arkansas State Red Wolves 1-1 (0-0)

How sad is it that the top ranked team in our power rankings lost this weekend by 15 points? Yes, it was to a suddenly potent SEC team, and Arkansas State did keep things interesting for a quarter. But there is no other way to say it. Our best team got blown out. Read Rocky Top Talk's full recap here.

2 South Alabama Jaguars 1-0 (0-0)

The Jags may have started a little later than everyone else, but they did not disappoint, with their first points of the season coming on a safety. This game wasn't even really close until the start of the fourth quarter when Kent State brought it within 3, but South Alabama closed out strong.The boys from Mobile might be serious contenders this year. Read the full recap here.

3 ULM Warhawks 2-0 (1-0)

ULM was 2-11 on third downs, and needed a late drive to seal this win against Idaho with nine seconds remaining. They got a conference win, but the less we say about this game, the better. Read the full recap here if you dare.

4 Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns 1-1 (0-0)

So this is what it looks like when Superman dies. Sure the Cajuns can still go undefeated in conference play and win the Sun Belt, but doesn't look nearly as likely anymore. Even worse, the schedule doesn't get easier. The Cajuns may not see a win until October. Read the full recap here.

5 Georgia Southern Eagles 1-1 (0-0)

Look at the newcomers already breaking the top five. That's what happens when you put up nearly 700 yards of offense, 600 of it on the ground. The Eagles averaged 11.3 yards per rush, and did a number of other things to Savannah State that can't be mentioned in polite company. So what if SSU is an FCS school. So was Georgia Southern last year. Read the full, 'R' rated recap here.

6 Texas State Bobcats 1-0 (0-0)

Texas State had a bye week and lost a spot in the rankings. No days off 'round here Bobcats. Read the full recap here.

7 Appalachian St. Mountaineers 1-1 (0-0)

Nothing more clearly illustrates the food chain of college football like the two weeks App State just had. From a 52-14 loss to Michigan, to a 66-0 blowout of poor old Campbell. [606 ERROR: SOUP PUN NOT FOUND] Read the full recap here.

8 Idaho Vandals 0-1 (0-1)

This tragedy again. 115 yards of penalties and three turnovers for the Vandals. I'm telling y'all, it was ugly. Read the full recap here.

9 Troy Trojans 0-2 (0-0)

The Trojans actually came out of the gate firing in this one, leading the Duke Blue Devils 14-3 at one point. Then Duke woke up. Troy managed to keep it respectable at 34-17, but the loss didn't do much for there position in the rankings. This team might actually be pretty good, but right now they are 0-2 with an FCS challenger on the horizon. Read the full DBR recap here.

10 New Mexico State Aggies 2-0 (1-0)
11 Georgia State Panthers 1-1 (0-1)

A few people complained last week that we ranked NMSU below Georgia State. So, there. Fixed it. Read the full recap here.