App State Is a -175 Favorite to Win 2019 Sun Belt Title

• Appalachian State is the defending Sun Belt champion
• There are three teams inside of 6/1 to win the 2019 Sun Belt title; the rest are at 14/1 or longer
• Troy will host their all-important game with the Mountaineers this season

The Appalachian State Mountaineers enter the year as a heavy favorite to win the Sun Belt conference. As a matter of fact, outside of Alabama and Clemson, App State has the best conference championship odds in the country. Are they the best bet or is there value elsewhere on the board?

Odds to Win 2019 Sun Belt Conference Title

Clear Division Between Contenders, Pretenders

One quick look at the betting odds indicates that there is a clear division between the contenders and pretenders in the Sun Belt conference. App State, Arkansas State and Troy are all at +600 or shorter; every other team in the Sun Belt is at +1400 or longer.

Both Appalachian State and Troy will enter the season with new head coaches, but both are expected to duke it out for the top spot in the East Division. Meanwhile, the Ragin’ Cajuns are expected to be the top team in the West Division.

App State Is The Team To Beat

Head coach Eli Drinkwitz is the man tasked with leading the defending Sun Belt champions. He’s inheriting a fairly strong team, though, so that should make his first year on the job much easier. Zac Thomas is arguably the conference’s top quarterback. He had 21 touchdown passes and just six interceptions last year.

In front of him is what should be the top offensive line in the conference along with one of – if not the best – running games.

One thing to note about the Mountaineers is the schedule isn’t too bad. They will play at Louisiana but don’t have to face Arkansas State this season. Georgia Southern will be a tricky game but they’re at home for that one. The key game for them is the season-ending contest with Troy, which they’re hosting. That likely decides the Sun Belt.

Can Arkansas State Contend?

Blake Anderson is a coach you can count on but he’s got a lot of work cut out for him this season. The team has won at least seven wins in each of his five years with the team but he has some big losses to contend with. Quarterback Justice Hansen has to be replaced and that’s a big loss. The replacement isn’t clear. The offensive line lost a lot of quality too.

If they couldn’t win a title with Hansen, I can’t see them doing it with a pair of quarterbacks that have no experience. They’ll win seven games again but they won’t be a real threat for the title.

Is Troy Good Enough?

Head coach Chip Lindsey will take over at Troy and similar to Drinkwitz, he’s in a good position in his first year too. The Trojans bring back 12 starters. They need to sort out the receiving corps and hope for a healthy quarterback but that’s about it. 1100-yard rusher B.J. Smith is back and so are three all-conference offensive linemen.

In terms of the quarterback situation, Kaleb Barker is recovering from a torn ACL but he’s supposed to be ready for camp. If he’s not in good shape, the team could be in trouble as veteran Sawyer Smith has left the school.

On top of that, Troy might be coming off what is either their best or one of their best recruiting classes ever. This is a program that should be about as steady and strong as any team in the Sun Belt. And don’t forget, they get to host the App State showdown.

What’s The Best Bet?

Troy looks steady, Arkansas State is cute but Appalachian State is a juggernaut. They’re kind of the Sun Belt version of Alabama as they keep on bringing in awesome talent, reloading on the fly and winning non-stop.

They have the Sun Belt Offensive Player of the Year back (Thomas), a star in the making in wideout Corey Sutton and they’ll be back by a defense that allowed 15.5 points per game last season (fourth best in the country).

You can see the difference in quality in the regular season win totals as Troy is sitting at 6.5 while Appalachian State is at 9. That shows you just how wide the gap is right now. That’s why App State is such a heavy favorite to win the conference and that’s why they’re the right bet.