Three things we learned from the Sun Belt in Week 12

Texas State is as impatient as the rest of us

After three seasons and a 7-28 record, Everett Withers is out for the Texas State Bobcats. Fans are unhappy in San Marcos, and when fans start calling for AD Larry Teis to step down, Teis only had one move left.

The search for the new Bobcats head coach will have to get creative, since despite Withers’ success at FCS James Madison, he could never quite turn the corner at Texas State. In two seasons at JMU, Withers won 18 games. For those saying three years was not enough at his newest job, the answer is 2-10, 2-10, and 3-8. Withers will not coach the final game against Arkansas State, which is probably for the best.

Teis has also had a beleaguered time at Texas State, and his name should be mentioned in the same breath for not just this hire, but the next one as well. We’re sure Teis is impatient to win, but not nearly as much as the fans, who are finishing up year eight since leaving the Southland Conference, and are still waiting for on-field success.

The West will indeed come down to the final week

Last week we said the ULM Warhawks were in the drivers seat, and in Week 12, they crashed.

A win over the Arkansas State Red Wolves would have sealed the deal, but one thing everyone knows about Sun Belt football rang true yet again: Do not sleep on the Arkansas State Red Wolves. The Warhawks fell 31-17 on Saturday, leading to an interesting turn of events in divisional play.

We will enter the final week with three teams tied atop the Sun Belt West at 4-3 in conference play. Two of those teams play each other, as ULM hosts Louisiana. The third, Arkansas State, plays Texas State in a game the Red Wolves are practically guaranteed to win.

With a Red Wolves victory, should ULM beat the Ragin’ Cajuns, Arkansas State will reach the title game based on the tiebreaker. If the Cajuns beat ULM, then it’s Louisiana that will head to the title game based on their victory over Arkansas State in week nine.

Who will the West victor clash with? Interesting you should ask...

Despite the loss to Georgia Southern, App State could still win the East

Isn’t college football great?

Apparently everything awesome happened in week nine and we didn’t realize it at the time: two days before the Cajuns capped the Red Wolves in a close one, Georgia Southern dropped the Mountaineers in a shocker that was supposed to set the Eagles up for life, or at least the remainder of 2018.

Well, life had other plans, and Georgia Southern fell to ULM the very next week. Now, after week twelve, it’s Troy that sits atop the Sun Belt East, with their final game against— WAIT FOR IT— the Appalachian State Mountaineers.

Since the Eagles took the conference L, Troy is now the only Sun Belt team undefeated in conference play. A win for them would lock up a spot in the title game against Louisiana (whom they’ve played), ULM, or Arkansas State (whom they have not played).

If the Mountaineers win this one, then they’re right back in the title game thanks to Georgia Southern’s two conference losses. That one could get ugly— Appalachian State didn’t play ULM this year, but beat Arkansas State and Louisiana by a combined 59-26.

Yeah, college football is pretty damn great.