A Sun Belt Fiasco ..?

[Cane from the Bend]

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Gotta say, I'd be a little flustered if I were James Madison ...

Coastal Carolina is representing the Sun Belt East in the Conference Championship. However, Coastal Carolina & James Madison have the same conference record [6-2], with James Madison holding the head to head victory over the Chanticleers, 47-7.

Usually there is a hold for a year on Post Season play, when a team jumps from the FCS to the FBS.

However, that is generally due to remaining contractual obligations, and having to fulfill a set of games vs previous opponents from the lower division. Often times, because said team will still need to play 3, even 4 FCS schools.

James Madison, though, has played an 11 team schedule, finishing 8-3, with 10 FBS opponents. One of their losses being out of Conference to Louisville.

Coastal Carolina, on-the-other-hand, had their game versus Virginia cancelled, finishing with a 9-2 record; but those two losses were in Conference.

Coastal also played 1 FCS program, as did James Madison.

Maybe it wouldn't leave one to wonder, had their game been played early in the season, during an arbitrary stretch of outings, where someone could finagle an explanation to sweep this under the rug, like an after thought.

But this game took place this past Saturday the 26th.
JMU beat them soundly, 47-7.
Total Yards; JMU 502/CC 183
Time of Possession 30 mins/30 mins

They had the ball for the same amount of time, and it was an absolute drubbing.

The worst part is, that Troy, who is the Sun Belt West representative, is actually a really decent team. Coastal Carolina may win, but has not played great at times. JMU is clearly the better match up for the Trojans, so we won't wind up with the best two teams playing for the conference title.

And, by all accounts, in the current system of FBS competition, that is what they tell us the Criteria for the playoffs are, and what they want from the conference representatives.

It would seem to me, that if there were some holdout rule for first year FBS programs, yet when a program meets all the generalized conference requirements; there should be a way to petition your team's entry into a Conference Title game, the way a 5-7 team can make said petition to appear in a Bowl game [as we've seen in the past].

Though, what do I know ..? Logic be dam'ned.

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