Arkansas State, Louisiana-Lafayette and South Alabama received the Sun Belt Conference’s bowl invitations, leaving out a pair of seven-win programs.
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The Sun Belt Conference pales in comparison to most of the other FBS conferences, yet still produced five seven-win teams, including first-year FBS programs Georgia Southern and Appalachian State.
Due to the NCAA’s ruling that keeps first-year FBS teams from playing in a bowl game, Arkansas State, Louisiana-Lafayette and South Alabama received bowl bids on Wednesday, leaving 7-5 Texas State on the outside looking in. Arkansas State will play in the GoDaddy Bowl on January 4, with Louisiana-Lafayette playing in the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl. while South Alabama will participate in the Raycom Media Cameilla Bowl.
Georgia Southern (9-3) won the Sun Belt outright, while Appalachian State (7-5) placed third.
Texas State still has a chance to receive an at-large bid to a bowl, yet faces long odds in the Bobcats’ attempt to appear in its first FBS bowl since coming up from the FCS in 2012. Texas State defeated Arkansas State, but lost to both Louisiana-Lafayette and South Alabama.
Louisiana-Lafayette will be appearing in its fourth straight New Orleans Bowl. The Ragin Cajuns have won their previous three trips, including a victory over in-state foe Tulane last year. Arkansas State is making its fourth consecutive GoDaddy Bowl trip, having won the last two, while South Alabama is in its first bowl in the program’s three-year history.
The Sun Belt was able to announce its bowls early because Georgia Southern was ineligible. The entire bowl field will be announced on Sunday.
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