:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/71177617/1343618045.0.jpg "2022 Sun Belt Football: Advanced stats including returning players, recruiting rankings, schedule strength")
The Sun Belt will enter the 2022 season as an immediate beneficiary of the latest round of conference realignment. Marshall, Old Dominion, and Southern Miss have been added to the ranks and that makes for an interesting year of #FunBelt football.
Below, we'll look at a handful of advanced stats for the Sun Belt ahead of the 2022 season.
SP+ rankings
Entering the season, there's a cluster of five teams at the top of the league with Appalachian State, Marshall, Coastal Carolina, Louisiana, and Georgia State all within 16 spots of each other in preseason SP+ rankings. App and Marshall are well balanced while Coastal and Louisiana have one unit a step ahead of the other.
The only other teams checking in within the top 100 of SP+ are Troy at 87, Southern Miss at 93, and Old Dominion at 98.
| Ranking | Team | Offense SP+ | Defense SP+ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ranking | Team | Offense SP+ | Defense SP+ |
| 58 | App St. | 30.4 (51) | 26.1 (66) |
| 122 | Arkansas St | 20.4 (110) | 37.3 (121) |
| 65 | Coastal Caro | 35.5 (23) | 33.5 (109) |
| 114 | Georgia Southern | 20.2 (111) | 33.2 (105) |
| 73 | Georgia St | 26.0 (78) | 26.5 (68) |
| 107 | JMU | 22.5 (95) | 33.0 (104) |
| 70 | Louisiana | 25.4 (83) | 24.7 (55) |
| 63 | Marshall | 28.9 (62) | 25.9 (64) |
| 97 | ODU | 23.2 (93) | 30.8 (93) |
| 108 | South Alabama | 18.6 (120) | 29.2 (81) |
| 93 | Southern Miss | 17.9 (123) | 24.7 (54) |
| 123 | Texas St | 20.8 (106) | 39.3 (128) |
| 86 | Troy | 19.3 (116) | 24.0 (48) |
| 128 | UL-Monroe | 16.2 (128) | 38.9 (127) |