Our conference preview series rolls on with the Sun Belt. Alex and Richard have something to be excited about, something to be worried about, and a point of curiosity for every team in the league. We go in reverse standings order from last year:

- 2:43: James Madison

- 10:14: Old Dominion

- 13:32: Coastal Carolina

- 16:35: Georgia Southern

- 28:01: Marshall

- 31:50: Appalachian State

- 38:48: Georgia State

- 40:56: Troy

- 46:00: Southern Miss

- 48:32: Louisiana

- 53:03: Arkansas State

- 54:21: South Alabama

- 58:03: ULM

- 1:00:50: Louisiana Tech

Producer: Anthony Vito

THE CONFERENCE PREVIEW INDEX

You can catch up on all of our season preview dives by scrolling down on your podcast app of choice. You can also find our published previews here:

* Conference USA

* American

* Big 12

* Independents and Pac-12

* ACC

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Ralph Russo spent many years as a college football writer for the AP and an administrator of the AP Top 25. Now a senior writer for The Athletic, Ralph joins Richard for a preseason chat about the poll everyone loves to hate. In two decades at the AP, Ralph saw just about everything. How does the poll come together? What does it say about the history of college football? It’s imperfect, but it’s also our best record of how seasons played out across 90 years. Ralph takes us through the AP Poll’s history, its current status in the CFP era, and why, in a way, it matters now more than ever. Producer: Anthony Vito

Richard and Alex preview the 2026 season in Conference USA. Last year, the richest school in the league went 4-8, while a recent FCS team that looked like a disaster a few months earlier went ahead and won the league. Go figure. Here’s what we’re thinking about this season for:

- 1:42: Kennesaw State

- 6:49: Jacksonville State

- 10:34: Western Kentucky

- 14:16: Missouri State

- 17:55: FIU

- 23:36: Delaware

- 28:17: Liberty

- 35:56: Middle Tennessee

- 38:16: New Mexico State

- 43:39: Sam Houston

- 49:37: Preseason honors

Producer: Anthony Vito