Sun Belt Predictions 2026: Odds, Best Bets & Expert Picks

It’s been a long and eventful offseason, and the 2026 college football season is nearly upon us. The battle for a spot in the newly revamped 12-team College Football Playoff begins on August 29 and won’t stop until we crown a champion in January. Last season’s CFB National Championship Game saw Indiana complete a perfect season with a win over Miami to claim a third straight National Championship for the Big Ten. Who will we see reach the pinnacle of the sport this season? It’s almost time to find out.

With the offseason chaos in the rearview mirror, it’s time to delve into the futures market for each conference, and here we’re taking a look at the Sun Belt. This is a league with a number of contenders at the top, but without a surefire favorite heading into the campaign. Let’s look at the latest college football odds for the Sun Belt, along with our NCAAF picks to win the Sun Belt Conference before the 2026 season starts.

Be on the lookout for all of our college football futures coverage leading up to Week 0, including previews for each conference

2026 Sun Belt Conference Odds

Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook and available at time of publishing.

• James Madison +290
• Old Dominion +450
• Louisiana +850
• Troy +850
• Marshall +950
• Louisiana Tech +1100
• Arkansas State +1200
• South Alabama +1400
• Appalachian State +1500
• Georgia Southern +1700
• Coastal Carolina +2500
• Southern Miss +6000
• Louisiana Monroe +8000
• Georgia State +13000

See our Big 12 preview and predictions, with three best bets from our expert

2026 Sun Belt contenders

James Madison Dukes (+270)

James Madison has been one of the best programs in the Group of 5 since making the jump to the FBS level a few years ago, but things look a lot different for the Dukes heading into this season. Bob Chesney had done a masterful job following up the success of Curt Cignetti in his time at James Madison, but the prodigious coach has left to become the head coach at UCLA with the hope of revitalizing that program. Chesney has taken a ton of players from last season's College Football Playoff team with him, including star running back Wayne Knight, defensive end Sahir West and a pair of All-Sun Belt offensive lineman. As a team, the Dukes are ranked 136th in returning production, with 13 of their top 14 players from last year's offense (including quarterback Alonza Barnett III) and 12 of their top 14 players on defense no longer on the roster.

Make no mistake, this is a program that spends plenty of money and provides their fans with a winning product each season. However, this is a complete reset and it's hard to see James Madison see a similar level of success given that the roster is primarily made up of transfers and a new coaching staff. From a long term perspective, I do see head coach Billy Napier seeing some success at a program that is used to winning consistently, but this year's schedule is pretty difficult right out of the gate. A season opener against Liberty should come down to the wire, and games against San Diego State, Old Dominion and Marshall by Week 5 aren't ideal either. The Dukes should finish the season strong with a pretty manageable slate down the stretch, but I can't bet them as the favorite to win this conference given the uncertainty involved.

Old Dominion Monarchs (+425)

There is another team in Virginia that is coming off a strong season in this conference, and Old Dominion should be in the mix to take home its first Sun Belt title in program history this fall. The Monarchs finished with a 10-3 record in 2025, but they will be breaking in a new quarterback and offensive coordinator to replace Colton Joseph (now at Wisconsin) and former OC Kevin Decker. Much like James Madison, this is a team that lost a ton of key pieces, as the Monarchs are ranked 114th in returning production heading into this season. Outside of quarterback, the other losses were at essential areas too, including three wide receivers and the entirety of its offensive line — a unit that was filled with seniors who played virtually every snap a season ago.

The good news for Ricky Rahne's team is the defense should be one of the better units in the Sun Belt. The Monarchs are expected to bring back a decent amount of their top players in snap counts, even as a handful of players ended up transferring to Power 4 schools. There is still talent here and that gives Old Dominion a fairly high floor on that side of the ball. The schedule isn't the most challenging in the league, with the Monarchs only expected to be a double-digit underdog in one game. However, there will likely be five or six additional games with spreads under a touchdown, so there are certainly some potential landmines in conference play. Ultimately, I can't get there with a play on Old Dominion to win the league, but I don't think they'll take a massive step back either.

Don't miss our full Big Ten preview and predictions, including a +270 best bet!

Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns (+750)

Compared to some of the other teams in this league, Louisiana is relatively healthy when it comes to returning production (ranked 81st) and other typical indicators of success. It's a relatively home grown roster in Lafayette, with the focus of this program being on development rather than just blindly selecting players out of the transfer portal and hoping that things work out on the field. That aspect certainly makes the Ragin Cajuns an interesting team this season, especially compared to the mercenary feel of James Madison or the inexperience of Old Dominion. However, despite bringing back quarterback Lunch Winfield and an offense that is filled with upperclassmen, it's not all sunshine and rainbows with this team.

The issue for Louisiana is on defense, as the Ragin Cajuns lost a number of players that were multi-year starters and a couple of other pieces that logged a ton of snaps a season ago. That is certainly a cause for concern, but at least there are nine players with either junior or senior eligibility set to replace them in starting roles. More importantly, the schedule is quite favorable, especially in conference play. Louisiana hit the lottery by getting to avoid James Madison, Old Dominion and Marshall from the East Division, and the Ragin Cajuns also get to host Troy, Arkansas State and South Alabama — a trio of teams that are expected to be their primary contenders in the West Division. With that in mind, I've got Louisiana essentially winning this division by default and getting back to the Sun Belt title game for the second time in three seasons.

Troy Trojans (+800)

Troy has been a proud program in this league for quite some time and the Trojans have either won the Sun Belt or appeared in the conference title game in three of the last four seasons. Gerard Parker has done a solid job as the head coach to this point, but he certainly has his work cut out for him heading into his third season at the helm of this program. The Trojans were an extremely experienced bunch in 2025, but they are now a whopping 119th in returning production and those losses included their top six wide receivers and a trio of offensive lineman. At least Troy brings back running back Jordan Lovett and starting quarterback Goose Crowder, who was mostly a game manager a season ago. There are a lot of questions elsewhere on this offense, so the Trojans are going to need a very strong season from their quarterback if they want to get back to the Sun Belt title game.

Much like the offense, the defense lost a myriad of starters from last year's team. This is a unit that has been the calling card of this team over the last four seasons, but it's poised to take a significant step back this fall, unless some of the Power 4 and JUCO transfers can step up on the defensive line and in the secondary. The good news is the Trojans have a couple of built-in wins in the nonconference, and they likely have the easiest Sun Belt home schedule (Southern Miss, Louisiana Monroe, Louisiana Tech, Georgia Southern) amongst all of the top teams in this league. On the flip side, it's entirely possible that they go 0-6 on the road this season, including trips to Missouri and Utah State out of conference in September. Troy should be a well-coached side, but too much of this team is an unknown for me to consider backing them in the futures market.

Dive into our expert's full SEC preview and predictions, including a +330 best bet!

Marshall Thundering Herd (+950)

Marshall is not priced at a premium like James Madison or Old Dominion, but the Thundering Herd have a real chance to shake things up in this league and they are probably being a bit undervalued in the market heading into this season. Tony Gibson's group was projected to be among the worst teams in this conference prior to the 2025 season, but they actually overachieved a bit to even finish with a 5-7 record. In fact, Marshall would've made a bowl game had it not gone 1-4 in one-score games, and if starting quarterback Carlos Del Rio-Wilson didn't miss time in multiple games due to injury. The former Florida quarterback was rock solid when he stayed on the field (23 total touchdowns to just five interceptions), and he'll now get to lead a veteran offense that has been restocked with talent — including multiple Power 4 transfers at the skill positions and offensive line.

On defense, the Thundering Herd suffered a couple of notable losses, but this was a unit in dire need of a refresh by the end of the season anyway. A pair of NC State transfers will step in to take over key roles on the defensive line and in the secondary, while some of the depth was filled out with transfers from Kentucky, Wake Forest and Iowa State, among others. There's also the matter of the schedule, which features a nice runway from Weeks 2-4 to get ready for James Madison on October 3, and Marshall gets to play Old Dominion on extended rest later that month. I can certainly get to 9 wins on this schedule if things break right, and even when factoring in potential losses in all of their coin flip games in conference, I still have the Thundering Herd at 8-4. With that in mind, I've already taken a position on Over 7.5 wins at plus-money.

Now, check out our expert's full ACC preview and predictions, including a +2000 best bet!

2026 Sun Belt Championship best bet: Marshall (+950)

Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook at time of publishing. Playable to +800.

There is a lot to like with what this Marshall program is building, and I'm completely onboard with a Sun Belt title ticket at this number. As previously mentioned, the Thundering Herd would have likely ended up with seven or eight wins last season had they not suffered some really unfortunate injury and turnover luck in a myriad of key games. Despite breaking in dozens of new players heading into the 2025 campaign, the Thundering Herd were still able to exceed their win total and that speaks to Gibson's talent and strength as a head coach. As long as Del Rio-Wilson is able to stay upright, Marshall should have the best quarterback in the conference, and I'll bank on the Thundering Herd getting at least a split against James Madison and Old Dominion to put themselves in decent position for a Sun Belt title game appearance. From there, a ticket at this number holds plenty of value and potentially creates a profitable hedge opportunity, if you so choose.

2026 Sun Belt win total best bet: Southern Miss under 3.5 wins (+105)

Odds courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook at time of publishing. Playable to -115.

This was another win total that I pounced on early in the offseason, and I still think there's some room to run with this number. Despite how depleted some of these Sun Belt rosters are, few have underwent anywhere near as much change as Southern Miss did in the offseason. The Golden Eagles are ranked dead last (138th) in returning production across the nation following Charles Huff's exit to Memphis, and they essentially have a brand new two-deep filled with tons of unproven transfers from the FCS and JUCO ranks. A once veteran-laden offense is completely decimated and the vast majority of the defense followed Huff to Memphis, leaving behind a number of holes for first-time defensive coordinator Joe Bolden — a former special teams coach. To add insult to injury, Southern Miss drew James Madison and Old Dominion from the East division, in addition to facing Tulane and Auburn in the nonconference. This is a team that is only projected to be favored in one game all season, so I'll gladly take the under on this win total at plus-money.

Don't miss our expert's National Championship predictions and +800 best bet!