STAFF ROUNDTABLE: Surprise G5 Conference Championship Contenders in 2024

G5 Football Daily Staff | Aug 12, 2024

Sep 16, 2023; Columbus, Ohio, USA; Western Kentucky Hilltoppers head coach Tyson Helton during the first quarter against the Ohio State Buckeyes at Ohio Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joseph Maiorana-USA TODAY Sports / Joseph Maiorana-USA TODAY Sports

It's fun to predict conference champions in the preseason via media polls and coaches polls. However, it would be foolish to assume that the only teams to watch in those title races are the teams picked first in those polls.

This week, G5 Football Daily managing editor Joe Londergan and staff writer Kevin Barral are joined by Eric Henry of 247Sports and Horns247 to discuss the teams that could fly under the radar and possibly pounce on the chance to claim their respective league crowns.

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JOE: Jacksonville State (CUSA), Fresno State (MWC), Ohio (MAC), Tulane (AAC)

I really tried to convince myself of a few different Sun Belt contenders, but ultimately, I see little reason to doubt a matchup between Appalachian State and Texas State in the championship game, as predicted by the media poll.

In Conference USA, I mentioned it on the podcast, but I like what I see from Jacksonville State. Last year they were extremely strong and a couple bad breaks away from upsetting Liberty. Losing Chris Hardie on defense hurts, but it’s tough to not get excited about some of the pieces they have on offense like Sean Brown and Zion Turner.

If not for Ashton Jeanty at Boise State, I’d say Tulane has the most promising running back in the G5 with Makhi Hughes. Being able to keep him seems like a huge win for Jon Sumrall as he takes over Tulane. The Green Wave could very well give Memphis a run for their money in the AAC.

Fresno State and Ohio both have a great blend of new transfers and retained guys coming back. If not for some unfortunate injuries last season, which clearly affected their respective game plans and execution, they might have 2023 trophies in their offices right now.

KEVIN: Sam Houston State (CUSA), USF (AAC) and Western Kentucky (CUSA)

USF continues to go on an upwards trajectory that will eventually lead them to the top of the AAC, but after an impressive season, they can potentially contend in the American.

Sam Houston State has the chance to really make some noise in Conference USA that is fairly wide open despite thoughts on Liberty taking it all. The Bearkats kept it close with almost every single conference opponent and that can translate into year two at the FBS level.

Western Kentucky saw some major changes to the offense, but they still will go pass heavy with a strong run game and they are the most likely to hand Liberty their first loss in CUSA.

ERIC: South Florida (AAC), Western Kentucky (CUSA), Marshall (SBC)

I can understand that some people will read this and not consider South Florida as a “surprise” contender for a league crown, especially considering the fact that they finished fourth in the preseason media poll. 

However, context matters. 

365 days ago, nobody could have fathomed S.Florida as a team remotely worth paying attention to, let alone one that would make a bowl and develop one of the top quarterbacks in the nation. The Bulls were ahead of schedule last year, can they do the same this year?

I’m not 100% sure why more people aren’t talking about Western Kentucky entering the season. Hilltoppers head coach Tyson Helton is a top-3 head coach at the G5 level, whose gameplans consistently get his team an additional win or two each year. 

The addition of T.J. Finley gives Helton a supremely talented signal-caller at the controls of the offense and there isn’t a game in conference play outside of Liberty that shouldn’t be at least a 50/50 contest. 

This last pick is more with my heart than my head. Marshall is a program with a proud fanbase who feel that they should be competing for conference titles yearly, rightfully so. When they made the moves away from Doc Holliday to Charles Huff and to the SBC from CUSA, both were with conference championships in mind, which haven’t come. 

Huff is one of the top recruiters at the G5 level and hasn’t quite been able to find the right equation (certain variables out of his control) to win a league title. Now in his fourth season, there’s plenty of talent on the roster – it’s just a matter of it coming together on Saturdays.