Scheduling non-conference games in the Sun Belt has never been an easy thing.

And while it's getting better, many league schools still have schedules that make it difficult to win a lot of OOC games.

This year, eight of the eleven SBC schools are playing six home games.  Two of those schools are playing a Power 5 team at home (Missouri at Arkansas State, NC State at South Alabama.)  South Alabama, Troy and New Mexico State have just five home games.

Five schools are playing at least two games on the road against Power schools.  Troy is playing three (at NC State, at Wisconsin, at Mississippi State).  New Mexico State has road games at Ole Miss and Florida.  ULM goes to Georgia and Alabama.  Georgia Southern has West Virginia and Georgia.  Idaho is at USC and Auburn.

Of the seventeen road games against Power 5 conferences, eight are against SEC schools.  Only one school, Georgia Southern, has a game against a Big 12 school (West Virginia).  Two schools, Idaho and Arkansas State, are playing at USC.  Georgia State is playing at Oregon (ouch.)

Only one school, New Mexico State, is playing an all-FBS schedule.  Every other school has a home game against an FCS opponent.

What schools have a legitimate chance to have a 3-1 non conference record?

Appalachian State has Howard and Wyoming at home and travels to Old Dominion.  Texas State has Southern Miss and Prairie View A&M at home and travels to Houston. And, Louisiana has Northwestern State and Akron at home and travels to Louisiana Tech.

For all the other schools, 2-2 is about the best they'll do.  Some will have a tough time even doing that.

The days of four home games are gone.  And, hopefully, five will soon be a thing of the past.  Having six home games is the first step toward giving teams a fighting chance in non league play..and fortunately, most athletic directors have been able to accomplish that.

 

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