Texas State at Rutgers
The Scarlet Knights are my sleeper pick for the East. Seven out of their first eight games are winnable.
Chris Ash has a more experienced team and if his offense can be more productive, I think Rutgers wins six games. This will be one of those six. Scarlet Knights 34-6.
Appalachian State at Penn State
This is a tricky game for the Nittany Lions. They are considerably better and should easily win, but the Mountaineers are good team that will likely win the Sun Belt this year.
Appalachian State played both Georgia and Wake Forest tough last year, but that was with quarterback Taylor Lamb who graduated.
Starting a new quarterback in Beaver Stadium is a difficult challenge and I expect Penn State to capitalize.
We’ll get a glimpse of how the Nittany Lions will look without Saquon Barkley. Something tells me life won’t be much different. They are stacked with talent and will cruise to a 41-17 win.