NEW ORLEANS – Georgia Southern was picked as the favorite to repeat and win the conference championship in the 2015 Sun Belt Conference Football Preseason Poll, voted on by the league’s 11 head coaches.

The Eagles received six of the 11 first-place votes and tallied 110 points, narrowly surpassing the UL Lafayette Ragin’ Cajuns who tallied 108 points and three first-place votes. The Eagles claimed the 2014 Sun Belt regular season title with a perfect 8-0 conference record. The Cajuns finished 7-1 in league play and won their fourth consecutive R+L New Orleans Bowl.

Arkansas State was chosen third with 96 points and one first-place vote and was followed by Appalachian State in fourth with 82 points. The Red Wolves made their fourth consecutive appearance in the GoDaddy Bowl in 2014 as they look for yet another stellar campaign. The Mountaineers closed out 2014 with six consecutive victories – one of the five longest win streaks in the country heading into the 2015 season.

Texas State, with 78 points, was picked to finish fifth to round out the top five. South Alabama was picked to finish sixth and received the final first-place vote; UL Monroe was seventh followed by Troy in eighth. Georgia State was picked ninth, New Mexico State tenth and Idaho 11th.

The Eagles return 13 total starters to the team that finished 9-3 a year ago. A few key returners are dual-threat quarterback Kevin Ellison, All-Conference running back Matt Breida, running back L.A. Ramsby and All-Conference defensive back Matt Dobson.

The 2015 Sun Belt Conference Football Media Day begins on Monday, July 20 at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, LA. Live coverage from the event will be available on Sun Belt social media platforms, including Twitter and Instagram (@SunBelt) with #SunBeltMediaDay serving as the official hashtag of the event. ESPN3 will broadcast live from the annual event from 1-3 p.m. CT.

2015 SBC Coaches Predicted Order of Finish (first place votes)

1. Georgia Southern (6) - 110 pts

2. UL Lafayette (3) - 108 pts

3. Arkansas State (1) - 96 pts

4. Appalachian St. - 82 pts

5. Texas State - 78 pts

6. South Alabama (1) - 68 pts

7. UL Monroe - 59 pts

8. Troy - 39 pts

9. Georgia State - 32 pts

10. New Mexico St. - 30 pts

11. Idaho - 24 pts