SunBelt Football Schedule 2020

[asu66]

Back to back Wednesday night games. Super.

To borrow a line from (I believe) Chuck...we've gotta get out of this place!

Come on Man - that's The Animals - 1965

Hey, don't leave my 'ol Brit buddy Eric Burdon outta this "Animals" deal!

Actually, I believe Doug Glenn, aka AppMan, was first to use the Eric Burdon "line" way back in our "SoCon era." I used it for a brief time when it began to look as if we'd never escape the grip of Bork, Laney and the revolving SoCon "commish" door. Now, we're trapped again (at least for the moment)! I hope and pray the Sun Belt isn't "the last thing we ever do!"

[mike87]

Already a W beside Sept 19th. Bold.

[BambooRdApp]

Some of us need a reality check. Whether we agree or not, the Sunbelt is considered a second tier G5 conference nationally. We have a "G" and not a "P" before the "5' when they refer to the group of conferences we are associated with. For this past year, most of our games are on ESPN+ which is not even a TV network. As such, I will take any opportunity to get some national exposure. This is what weekday games provide...and only one takes away from a potential Saturday home game. I look forward to being at the Wednesday home game and several others. If we want change, sell out The Rock for every home game (including the conference championship), see substantial fan support in Madison and dominate fan attendance in Winston Salem....maybe one day that leads to a conference change..Go App. St!!

[proasu89]

Back to back Wednesday night games. Super.

To borrow a line from (I believe) Chuck...we've gotta get out of this place!

Come on Man - that's The Animals - 1965

Oh I’m well aware of the origins (song), but I think Chuck used to have it in his signature as well.

Believe that was AppManDG’s sig.

[WataugaMan]

I see nothing wrong with this schedule, looks good to me. Then again, that's just me.

[App74]

The schedule....got it....I'll be there.

[Stonewall]

My top concern, short weeks for the athletes to recover , has been addressed so I have no room to complain. I do have a room reserved for the LaLa game.

[asu66]

Back to back Wednesday night games. Super.

To borrow a line from (I believe) Chuck...we've gotta get out of this place!

Come on Man - that's The Animals - 1965

Oh I’m well aware of the origins (song), but I think Chuck used to have it in his signature as well.

Believe that was AppManDG’s sig.

Your memory was two keystrokes better than mine. I left out the "DG." see top o' page

[TurfMonkey]

Old man's perspective. I would guess the players don't care what day of the
week is game day. They're the ones I'm cheering for. Give 'em Hell

[Mjohn1988]

Like some others have said, we can either play on two week nights per year or we can be a middle of the pack or lower G5 team. I’m looking forward to a bunch of week night games!!!

[JMappfan5]

Not a bad schedule but three tough games in a row: ULL/GaSo/Ark St. Gotta stay healthy.

[CoachRob]

If I had a choice between the two, I'd take the Wednesday night game on ESPN2 with no competition vs a Thursday night game on the U competing against an ACC game.

Worst part of this schedule by far is Wake on Friday night ... leave Friday nights to high school football please!

[moonshine]

If I had a choice between the two, I'd take the Wednesday night game on ESPN2 with no competition vs a Thursday night game on the U competing against an ACC game.

Worst part of this schedule by far is Wake on Friday night ... leave Friday nights to high school football please!

Agreed on the Wednesday duece take over the U on Thursday plus you can add NFL Network Thursday night game to the eyeball competition.

[AppSt94]

So after reading the complaints about weekend games and Thanksgiving weekend and how the Sun Belt sucks and we need a better conference, I ran some numbers by G5 Conference on Non weekend games. (I did not include Fridays in the sample). In 2020, the Sun Belt has 7 games conference games scheduled for either Wed or Thursday night. The AAC has 5 and the MAC has 14. Most of them are in November on Tues, Wed, and Thurs. Additionally, there are 7 non -conference home games involving G5 schools. AAC-3 CUSA-3 MWC-3 and MAC-2. So in essence there is one more AAC game that stands to be affected at the gate by non weekend games than the Sun Belt. There are no week night conference games scheduled for CUSA or MWC, which makes sense as their primary deals are not with ESPN.

These numbers were almost identical to 2019 sans one less CUSA game on a weeknight.

Another interesting factoid is that of the 7 scheduled Sun Belt tilts on the slate, all of them are ESPNU except for 2. Both of the games involving App get the upgrade to the Duece. You're welcome #FailSouthern and #Lafayette.

Seems pretty standard across the G5.

[canes_mj]

The schedule overall looks good to me. Only 1 non-Saturday home game. My only gripe is that the 2-week day games are on back-to-back weeks, especially given the fact that Southern will have 11 days off to prepare for us. But look at the positive side, as others have said, weekday games mean nationally televised, which is good for the program. Especially if we look good in those games.

[AppSt94]

The schedule overall looks good to me. Only 1 non-Saturday home game. My only gripe is that the 2-week day games are on back-to-back weeks, especially given the fact that Southern will have 11 days off to prepare for us. But look at the positive side, as others have said, weekday games mean nationally televised, which is good for the program. Especially if we look good in those games.

This isn’t meant as argumentative, but I don’t think that the extra four days is as big of an advantage as some. They will be five games into the season so they will probably get a couple of days off and the coaches will be out recruiting on Friday. I wouldn’t anticipate a substantial increase in prep.

[WVAPPeer]

The schedule overall looks good to me. Only 1 non-Saturday home game. My only gripe is that the 2-week day games are on back-to-back weeks, especially given the fact that Southern will have 11 days off to prepare for us. But look at the positive side, as others have said, weekday games mean nationally televised, which is good for the program. Especially if we look good in those games.

This isn’t meant as argumentative, but I don’t think that the extra four days is as big of an advantage as some. They will be five games into the season so they will probably get a couple of days off and the coaches will be out recruiting on Friday. I wouldn’t anticipate a substantial increase in prep.

They have already beaten us on short weeks - don't see where a longer period would be of any advantage to them -

[AppinVA]

The schedule overall looks good to me. Only 1 non-Saturday home game. My only gripe is that the 2-week day games are on back-to-back weeks, especially given the fact that Southern will have 11 days off to prepare for us. But look at the positive side, as others have said, weekday games mean nationally televised, which is good for the program. Especially if we look good in those games.

I’m not sure the week and a half the gnats will have will make that much difference.I am confident the seven days we will have will feel like an open week following the last few years.

[T-Dog]

The shortest gap between games is the six days between Morgan State and Wake Forest the following Friday, which is a short bus trip for the team.

Last two losses in Sun Belt play have come on five-day turnarounds, so I feel the Sun Belt did App a favor by not having any.

The Wednesdays suck, but for the Louisiana game, Fall Break begins that weekend and goes through the next Tuesday, the day before Statesboro.

Another positive is that there's no game on the third Saturday of October, which is Woolly Worm and Valle Country Fair weekend. That should please the tourism industry that had an App home game the same day as those festivals the past several years.

The Coastal game is on a November Saturday, which is perfect for App fans to attend. Easier to find lodging and I can vouch that it's a fun trip.

Another positive is two home games every month, which helps those who get monthly paychecks. I've noticed in the past if we have three home games in a month, the lesser of the three games usually sees a dip in attendance.

I know some people will want App to cancel classes for the Wednesday home game. With Fall Break that weekend, I dunno if it'll happen. I think cancelling classes after 1 p.m. would be a good move, but Wednesday is a big class day so that might see pushback. The day could be added on to the end of the semester, IMO.

[T-Dog]

Here's how many Saturday home games Boise State has had compared to all their home games since they beat Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl, putting them on the national stage.

2007: 3 out of 7* -- 10-3
2008: 3 out of 6 -- 12-1
2009: 5 out of 7* -- 14-0 Fiesta Bowl
2010: 4 out of 6 -- 12-1
2011: 6 out of 6 -- 12-1 (move to Mountain West)
2012: 5 out of 6 -- 11-2
2013: 5 out of 6 -- 8-5
2014: 5 out of 7^ -- 12-2 Fiesta Bowl
2015: 3 out of 6* -- 9-4
2016: 3 out of 6 -- 10-3
2017: 5 out of 7^ -- 11-3
2018: 5 out of 7^ -- 10-3
2019: 5 out of 7^ -- 12-2

*Opening weekend home game not on Saturday
^ Hosted conference championship game on a Saturday

57 out of 84 home games in the last 12 seasons have been on Saturday, if my math is correct. And that's for the standard of the Group of Five/non-BCS.

Point being, having 5 of 6 home games on a Saturday is as good as we're getting right now.