Sun Belt Football

Texas State defensive tackle Will Trevillion died at the age of 20 on Wednesday.

The football program tweeted, “Our thoughts and prayers are with friends and family of Will Trevillion. The world lost an amazing young man today.”

Nick Bromberg of Yahoo Sports relayed the news.

Mike Perchick of KVUE in Austin, Texas, noted that Justice of the Peace Beth Smith said Trevillion died at 1:43 p.m. and the cause was unknown. There is an autopsy scheduled for Thursday.

Former Texas State head coach Dennis Franchione, who retired last month, tweeted his support and thoughts:

Trevillion tallied three tackles in four contests during the 2015 campaign for the 3-9 Bobcats as a redshirt sophomore. He also posted nine tackles in 2014.

Georgia State made very happy campers of its financial backers over the last half of this season, going 6-0-1 against the spread over its last seven games. And, it won five games this season outright as betting underdogs. The Panthers will go off as dogs when they meet up with San Jose State in the inaugural AutoNation Cure Bowl in Orlando.

AutoNation Cure Bowl point spread: The Spartans opened as four-point favorites, according to sportsbooks monitored by Odds Shark (line updates and matchup report).

College football pick, via Odds Shark computer: 29.8-28.4 Panthers

Why the Spartans can cover the spread

The Spartans started 2-3 this season, with losses coming at Air Force, at Oregon State and at Auburn. San Jose State then went through a 3-3 stretch in which two of its losses came by a total of four points, one in overtime. The Spartans then had a chance to finish at .500 with a win in their regular-season finale against Boise State; they led the Broncos late into the third quarter but faded and lost 40-23.

San Jose State only lost the yardage battle to BSU by a 497-474 margin, and 88 of the Broncos' yards came on one play.

Even while missing ATS as eight-point dogs against Boise State, the Spartans are 6-3 ATS over their last nine outings. And prior to that defeat, San Jose State had outgained six of its previous eight opponents.

Why the Panthers can cover the spread

GSU is one of the hottest moneymakers in the land at the moment, with four straight wins, three of those outright upsets as underdogs, finishing the season on a 6-0-1 ATS run. The Panthers began 2-6 this year, but three of those losses came by one score or less, and they gave eventual Sun Belt champion Arkansas State a very good battle, easily covering 17 points. They then won their last four games, finishing with a 34-7 romp over Georgia Southern as three-touchdown dogs.

Georgia State outgained the Eagles by 286 yards and has now outgained its last five opponents by an average of 160 yards per game.

Smart pick

The Panthers actually “earned” a bowl bid, winning six games this season, while San Jose doesn't deserve to be here, after going 5-7. Also, Georgia State is playing in its first bowl and should be jacked. Plus, the Panthers are getting points. Take Georgia State.

Betting trends

San Jose State is 3-7 ATS in its last 10 games against the Sun Belt.

Georgia State is 7-23 straight up in its last 30 games.

The total has gone under in Georgia State's last five games.

All point spread and lines data courtesy of Odds Shark. All quotes gathered firsthand unless otherwise noted. Check out Twitter for injury and line movement updates and get the free odds tracker app.

Arkansas State finished the regular season with an eight-game winning streak, going 6-1 against the spread over its last seven outings. Louisiana Tech, meanwhile, is 7-2 straight up over its last nine games but only 4-5 ATS, as it's contended with some tough spreads. In a renewal of an old Big West conference rivalry, the Red Wolves tangle with the Bulldogs in the New Orleans Bowl.

New Orleans Bowl point spread: Red Wolves opened as one-point favorites, according to sportsbooks monitored by Odds Shark. (Line updates and matchup report)

College football pick, via Odds Shark computer: 38.4-34.0 Red Wolves

Why the Red Wolves can cover the spread

ASU opened this season 1-3, with losses to USC, Missouri and Toledo, then swept through its Sun Belt slate, including a 40-27 upset of Appalachian State on the road, to earn its fourth conference title in the last five seasons. The Red Wolves finished with a flourish, hitting the 50-point mark each of their last three times out, capping things off with a 55-17 romp over Texas State in the season finale.

Arkansas State outgained the Bobcats by 144 yards and outrushed them by 179 yards. It has now outgained its last three opponents by an average of 170 yards per game.

On the season, the Red Wolves are outrushing foes by 90 yards per game, and that's usually a good way to win games and cover spreads.

Why the Bulldogs can cover the spread

Tech started this season 1-2, with close losses at Western Kentucky and at Kansas State, and later lost at Mississippi State. But the Bulldogs then won four in a row, setting up a division championship game in the C-USA West against Southern Miss. Unfortunately, Louisiana Tech let a close game get away in a 58-24 defeat.

The Bulldogs only trailed the Golden Eagles 24-17 late in the third quarter, but several big plays by Southern Miss resulted in a slightly misleading final score.

On the season, Louisiana Tech ranks 27th in the country in total offense, averaging 37 points per game, led by former Florida quarterback Jeff Driskel, who's accounted for almost 4,000 yards and 29 touchdowns. Also, the Bulldogs defense ranks 11th against the run, allowing just 116 yards per game on the ground. And a good, stiff run defense might come in handy against Arkansas State.

Smart pick

ASU has outgained each of its last five opponents; Louisiana Tech has been outgained and outplayed its last two times out. The smart money here sides with the Wolves.

Betting trends

Louisiana Tech is 9-0 SU in its last nine games against the Sun Belt.

The total has gone over in Arkansas State's last eight games.

Louisiana Tech is 3-0 ATS in its last three bowl games.

The underdog is 5-2 SU and ATS in the last seven New Orleans Bowls.

All point spread and lines data courtesy of Odds Shark, all quotes gathered firsthand unless otherwise noted. Check out Twitter for injury and line movement updates and get the free odds tracker app.

Things went from bad to worse for the New Mexico State football program Saturday, as the team had its bus burglarized following a 61-13 loss to Florida.

"When I got back to the bus after the postgame press conference, I was informed that the bus had been broken into or left unattended," the school's athletic director, Mario Moccia, told Jason Groves of the Las Cruces Sun-News. "Everyone had stuff on the bus including myself. There were work laptops, keys, identification stolen, but the worst thing was the work that was stolen. We all work when we travel."

He added the "U of Florida athletic [department] were phenomenal this trip and police are doing all they can!" on Twitter while also stating the "bus driver should have never left bus!!" The bus was parked on a street outside of the stadium.

Florida sent its regards to Moccia and the New Mexico State team on Twitter:

This is the second time in the past year New Mexico State has had one of its teams burglarized. Per Groves, the basketball team had uniforms and equipment stolen from a bus in February, though police were able to recover the uniforms.

With most of the football world either still fighting the New Year's Six hangover or focused on the NFL playoffs, the GoDaddy Bowl isn't exactly a marquee event.

But Kareem Hunt made sure America took notice.

The explosive sophomore running back racked up a GoDaddy Bowl-record 271 rushing yards and five scores against Arkansas State, leading the Rockets to an entertaining 63-44 victory on Sunday night.

One of the most productive backs in the nation, Hunt finishes the season with 1,631 rushing yards and 16 touchdowns. CBS Sports' Dane Brugler foresees him as a major part of the draft conversation once eligible next season:

Hunt, who looked like he was operating against defenders stuck in molasses for most of the night, had his biggest run of the day in the first quarter. He took a carry to the left, put one foot into the ground, cut upfield and exploded 44 yards to pay dirt with ease:

While Hunt was the star, Toledo's defense came up with a number of big plays as well.

Junior linebacker Trent Voss recovered a fumble in the end zone on the first play from scrimmage, giving Toledo a lead just 10 seconds into the game.

Just before halftime, the defense did it again, as Allen Covington picked up another fumble and rumbled 67 yards for a touchdown, giving the audience the always-beloved "fat guy TD."

Of course, that's only by definition, as Covington weighs in at 275 pounds. It certainly didn't look like a typical "fat guy TD":

Arkansas State wasn't without its highlights. Fredi Knighten completed 23 of 31 passes for 403 yards and touchdown throws of three, 27, 44, 55 and 66 yards. Three of those went to Booker Mays, who finished with five receptions and 138 yards.

Probably most known as the fainting player in Arkansas State's now-famous fake punt attempt, Mays quadrupled his touchdown total on the season, per CBS Sports CFB:

The Red Wolves also had their own defensive score, as Money Hunter returned an interception 94 yards, cutting the deficit to 11 points late in the third quarter.

But every time Arkansas State got close, Toledo went right back to Hunt, moving the ball on the ground with little resistance. Even when Hunt went down in the fourth quarter with a cramping issue, Damion Jones-Moore came in and added 103 yards and two touchdowns of his own.

The loss ends a two-game winning streak in the GoDaddy Bowl for Arkansas State.

Nevertheless, after amazingly losing Hugh Freeze, Gus Malzahn and Bryan Harsin to head coaching jobs in the last three years, it's an incredible accomplishment by the program to simply keep churning out winning seasons.

As for Toledo, it has some rebuilding to do next season, as it loses all five of its senior starting offensive linemen.

With Hunt, though, it may not matter who's blocking for him. He should keep the Rockets firmly in contention atop the Mid-American Conference in 2015.

Louisiana-Lafayette, Arkansas State and South Alabama will all wear the Sun Belt patch on their jerseys this bowl season, but there's one thing that Georgia Southern has over the trio that can never be taken away.

The 2014 Sun Belt title.

In their first season in FBS, the Eagles cruised through the conference, finishing the season 9-3 overall and 8-0 against Sun Belt foes to claim the outright conference title.

First-year head coach Willie Fritz took a program that had become synonymous with the triple-option and turned it into a more run-based, zone-read team.

It looked a little different than Georgia Southern teams of the past, but the result was the same. The Eagles led the FBS in rushing with 379.92 yards per game and 7.11 yards per attempt, and they did it against competition that was tougher than what the team used to face in the Southern Conference.

"We knew it would be tougher competition," quarterback Kevin Ellison told Bleacher Report. "But we look forward to that competition every single Saturday. We are thankful that we were able to go into FBS and the Sun Belt, be able to compete and come out with the Sun Belt championship."

Ellison rushed for 1,082 yards and 12 touchdowns, running back Matt Breida rushed for 1,485 and 17 scores and fellow running back Alfred Ramsby rushed for 691 yards and 12 touchdowns, as the program took a step away from the old-school, triple-option days and into a new era of Eagles football.

"We want to build a powerhouse here," Fritz said. "I've said this from Day 1, we want to have the same kind of success here at Georgia Southern at the FBS that they're used to having at the FCS level. It's the all-time winningest FCS program in the history of the NCAA with six national championships. Everybody has heard of Boise State, and the reason everybody has heard of them is because of their football program. We feel like we can do that here."

That new era, though, requires baby steps.

Since they are in their first year in the FBS and still considered a transitional program by the NCAA's rules, the Eagles were not eligible to compete in a bowl game unless a waiver was granted by the NCAA.

When Appalachian Sate beat Louisiana-Lafayette on Nov. 22, it gave Georgia Southern at least a share of the Sun Belt title. At that time, athletic director Tom Kleinlein began the process of petitioning the NCAA for a waiver that would allow the Eagles to play in a bowl game, despite their transitional status.

"As a conference champion who, at the time, has the potential of going undefeated, I'm going to ask the NCAA why they wouldn't consider [the waiver process] for a team that was undefeated and a conference champion, when they would make an exception for a team that didn't win six games and would make an exception when there aren't enough bowl-eligible teams," Kleinlein said.

Georgia Southern was denied a waiver request by the NCAA late in the season. The school appealed that decision but had that appeal denied shortly after beating Louisiana-Monroe 22-16 on Nov. 29 to claim the conference title outright and finish off an unblemished conference season.

The late-season fight for a bowl game played out in media reports in late November, but it didn't have any impact on the players, who had one goal in mind.

"Our coaches really tried to tell us to not think about the bowl game," senior linebacker Edwin Jackson said. "Let's go on, finish the regular season and leave with a mark and leave with something that nobody can take away from us. We crossed our fingers [for a bowl], and people really believed in us. That's what I got from Eagle Nation."

The reason for the denial was simple. Georgia Southern isn't technically a member of the FBS yet and would take a spot away from a more deserving team.

"Deserving team? Who's more deserving than an undefeated conference champion from the Sun Belt?" Kleinlein said. "We did not take one of those bowl spots away, us being undefeated took one of those bowl spots away."

Georgia Southern is in college football no man's land, and the only way out is patience.

"It became very clear [during the appeal process] that this was a membership deal," Kleinlein said. "Us being part of the club, so to speak. When you talk to the NCAA in terms of membership, in their world, that's a very black and white, non-negotiable world."

That world's existence really shouldn't apply to Georgia Southern, though. 

Part of the reason the two-year transition rule exists is to prevent teams from loading up on transfers from the higher classification before making the leap themselves, because those players would circumvent the rule that prevents players from being eligible when they transfer within FBS institutions.

Georgia Southern had a few transfers, but none that moved for the purpose of skirting the rules and playing FBS football without sitting out a year.

"We didn't have a bunch of players transfer in and build our roster up and then make an announcement," Kleinlein said. "We didn't do any of that, so we didn't have a competitive advantage when it comes to the transfer rules."

In fact, one Georgia Southern player—reserve quarterback Favian Upshaw—had to sit out a year because of the FBS transfer rule, even though he chose to transfer to the program from Florida International before Georgia Southern even announced it was moving to the FBS.

On top of the rule existing in part for a reason that wasn't really applicable to Georgia Southern, the final element of the appeal process couldn't be pursued due to ongoing changes in the NCAA's governance structure.

"Under the new structure, the next level of appeal was to the administrative cabinet," Kleinlein said. "But that doesn't exist anymore."

As a result, Kleinlein was unable to get in front of a real live group of people and state his case.

"There was no mechanism to get in front of that group of people and talk it out," he said. "You can write it and you can submit it and you can do that stuff, but when you want to make an appeal, you want to talk to people."

Instead of showing off just how good the program is in front of a national audience against a big-time opponent in a bowl game, the Eagles' resume will have to stand as is.

That's just fine, though. The lack of a bowl game doesn't take the shine off what was a tremendous season for Georgia Southern.

"Being here for five years, the biggest thing I've taken away from this journey is patience," Jackson said. "My senior class last year, they weren't able to go. They passed it to the next generation. We're undefeated in the Sun Belt, but we can't go to a bowl game. Next year, we can, and I'm passing it on to the next generation. We beat the Sun Belt in our first year. You're going to beat it next year and you're going to a bowl. It's all about patience."

Georgia Southern announced its FBS presence with authority. On top of their run to the Sun Belt title, the Eagles had tight losses on the road against N.C. State and eventual ACC coastal champion Georgia Tech.

"Being undefeated conference champs, we were hoping they'd look at that and grant us our waiver," Fritz said. "Unfortunately, they didn't and we have to move on from there. That's just part of it. They can't take away that undefeated conference championship."

Barrett Sallee is the lead SEC college football writer and video analyst for Bleacher Report as well as a co-host of the CFB Hangover on Bleacher Report Radio (Sundays, 9-11 a.m. ET) on Sirius 93, XM 208.

Quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. All stats are courtesy of cfbstats.com, and all recruiting information is courtesy of 247Sports. Follow Barrett on Twitter @BarrettSallee.

The Georgia State Panthers, one of the newest teams in FBS football, have reportedly submitted a proposal to repurpose Turner Field, home of the Atlanta Braves, as their new home stadium.

Per Doug Roberson of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution:

University President Dr. Mark Becker and Atlanta real estate development firm Carter provided the Atlanta Journal-Constitution an exclusive look at the proposal on Wednesday. The idea is more than just a stadium. They want to build a $300 million development that will include retail, residential and student housing and will be paid for through a mix of public and private funds.

Turner Field and the surrounding 77-acre area has been the subject of intense speculation since the Braves announced they were to going to build a new stadium in Cobb County that will open in 2017. Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed said on April 17 that he had already received as many as four proposals for the property.

A $300 million development project is a hefty sum for a small athletic university, although according to Roberson, GSU President Mark Becker does not plan on increasing student fees to finance it.

GSU's football program only launched in 2008. Despite going 1-10 against FCS competition and losing nine games by 21 or more points, the Panthers moved up to the FBS ranks in a transitionary phase last season. They promptly went 0-12 as a member of the Sun Belt Conference, improving slightly in the second half of the schedule.

To date, the team has played its games in the 74,000-seat Georgia Dome—home of the Atlanta Falcons—but kept it at a capacity of 31,994. According to Roberson, the highest capacity they have ever reached was a little over 30,000 in their inaugural game four years ago. And it still made the Dome look "cavernous."

If permitted and fiscally possible, the move to Turner Field would prevent GSU home games from feeling so empty, even it's mostly just an optical illusion. It is also unique and would be a boon for the Panthers on the recruiting trail—or at least they hope that's the case.

The Panthers have already fast-tracked their birth and infancy like few (if any) programs before them, and this would be another move toward becoming a legitimate program as soon as possible.

The University of Idaho Vandals needed some help in this recruiting class. Their program has gone 2-22 over the last two seasons, and last year signed only one player who even had a recruiting ranking (2-star guard Nick Edenfield).

Head coach Paul Petrino was able to do a little better with high school recruits this year, getting athlete Michael Garner, running back Aaron Duckworth and offensive lineman Jordan Rose—all with a 3-star ranking—to sign with the Vandals fresh out of high school.

The rest of Idaho's class, however, may be the most unorthodox in the entire country.

Hurting for capable players, Petrino took an unprecedented dip into the junior college ranks, signing an astounding 17 junior college recruits!

While most programs sign a couple of junior college recruits each year in order to help fill an area or two of weakness, Idaho showed that it is in desperate straights and needs all the help it can get immediately.

A couple of the JUCO recruits were highly rated prospects who Idaho did very well to get. Alfonso Hamption, a 4-star defensive tackle, is easily the highest-rated recruit the program has ever gotten. Kenny Torrence, a 3-star wide receiver, turned down bowl teams Fresno State, Kansas State and Washington State in order to sign with the Vandals.

The other 15 JUCO signees were all unrated, however, showing that Petrino is in desperate need of players who can take the field right away for the Vandals this season. While most high school recruits take at least a couple of seasons to get acclimated to college ball and are then able to make an impact, JUCO players come in much closer to the level of play required for a team at the top tier of NCAA football.

Idaho's JUCO recruits come from all over the board—basically every position but quarterback was represented by the Vandals' JUCO signees. What this tells us is that Petrino doesn't believe that the roster he inherited when he was hired before last season has much depth. Instead, he believes he needs a whole lot of instant help.

While his methods were unorthodox, what Petrino did with this year's recruiting class was actually quite smart. The Vandals are one of the worst programs currently at the FBS level of college football. They are moving into their new football home in the Sun Belt Conference this season—pressure is high and patience is low.

Petrino doesn't have the luxury of waiting a few years for his players to develop. He needs major positive results in the next year or two. JUCO players give him the best chance at achieving that, given that a school like Idaho doesn't really have the ability to get many players who are ready to make an impact fresh out of high school.

Idaho signing 17 junior college players may be eye-catching, but it gives head coach Paul Petrino the best chance at making the positive strides forward quickly that he needs in order to keep his job.

The Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin’ Cajuns (8-4) will be making the trip to the Superdome for the third straight season after finishing as co-champions of the Sun Belt Conference.

They will take on New Orleans’ own Tulane (7-5), which is laying -1 in its first bowl appearance since 2002.

Point spread: The Green Wave opened as one-point favorites on the New Orleans Bowl odds menu; the total had not been set as of Dec. 12. (Line updates and matchup report)

Odds Shark computer prediction: 32.0-28.5 Ragin' Cajuns

Why Louisiana-Lafayette can cover the spread

The Ragin’ Cajuns have owned the New Orleans Bowl for the past two years, with victories over San Diego State and East Carolina. They bring with them the No. 1 rushing attack in the Sun Belt, headed by Alonzo Harris with 868 yards and 13 touchdowns. That will allow the Cajuns to control the tempo of the game.

Coach Mark Hudspeth said he expects to have quarterback Terrance Broadway back for the bowl game, despite breaking his arm in the loss to UL-Monroe. Whether it’s Broadway or freshman backup Brooks Haack, they should have no trouble passing on Tulane’s secondary that has allowed 234 passing yards per game.

The computer likes them to cover the New Orleans Bowl odds, which means they will win the game outright if the computer is correct.

Why Tulane can cover the spread

The Green Wave have been good to investors this year, going 9-3 against the spread. They enter the New Orleans Bowl on a three-game cover streak and are 7-1 ATS since October. Despite finishing below Louisiana-Lafayette in most statistical categories, Tulane played much tougher competition in Conference USA.

Tulane matches up well with the Ragin’ Cajuns’ potent rushing attack, with one of the nation’s most stifling run defenses that allows merely 129 yards per game. Nick Montana, son of Hall of Famer Joe, figures to have a good game against the Ragin’ Cajuns’ 81st ranked pass defense.

Smart Pick

Tulane has been through the gauntlet of a much-improved Conference USA and has emerged battle-tested. Louisiana-Lafayette ran rampant on the Sun Belt, but the Green Wave’s front seven is another beast. Rice, which averages 240 rushing yards per game, was only able to muster 124 rushing yards against Tulane.

Louisiana-Lafayette is undefeated when it breaks 200 yards rushing, but it won’t hit that mark. If Broadway is forced to throw, he has proven to be turnover-prone. Combine that with Tulane’s ball-hawking defense, which ranks third in the country in takeaways with 33, and the turnover battle could decide this game.

The OVER has been the best bet in recent years (eight New Orleans Bowl OVERs in a row).

Trends:

• Past 8 New Orleans Bowls played OVER the total
• Tulane is 7-1 ATS past eight games overall
• Tulane won and covered both bowl games since 1998
• U-L Lafayette won and covered both prior bowl games

Note: All spread and odds data powered by Odds Shark—follow on Twitter for injury updates and line move updates.