Oct. 31 * Louisiana-Lafayette at FIU - 11 a.m. * Middle Tennessee at Florida Atlantic - 3 p.m. * WKU at North Texas (Sun Belt Network) - 3:15 p.m. Arkansas State at Louisville - 3:30 p.m. * ULM at Troy - 6 p.m.
Nov. 7 Florida Atlantic at UAB - 1 p.m. * ULL at Arkansas State (Sun Belt Network) - 2:30 p.m. * ULM at North Texas - 3 p.m. * FIU at Middle Tennessee - 3:30 p.m. (ESPN360) * Troy at WKU - 4 p.m.
Sun Belt Conference News & Notes
Sun Belt Attendance on the Rise Teams from the Sun Belt Conference helped the league to a new all-time single season attendance record for both overall and per game average attendance last year. Last season's numbers were also the largest increase in average in all of the Football Bowl Subdivision. The league also averaged nearly 2,000 more fans per game than the Mid-American Conference.
Sun Belt in the BCS The Sun Belt Conference is a BCS Conference. In fact, the Sun Belt Conference is one of just 11 BCS Conferences. The Sun Belt Conference champion will earn an automatic berth in a BCS bowl game if that team is ranked in the top 12 of the final BCS standings or if that team is ranked in the top 16 of the final BCS standings and its ranking is higher than that of a champion of a conference that has an annual automatic berth in one of the of BCS bowls. In the first 10 years of the BCS arrangement, more than $100 million was distributed to conferences that do not have an annual automatic berth to one of the BCS bowls. In 2009, nine percent of the net revenues from the BCS arrangement (approximately $9.5 million) is guaranteed in aggregate to Conference USA, the Mid-American, Mountain West, Sun Belt, and Western Athletic Conferences for their participation in the BCS arrangement. When a team from one of those five conferences plays in BCS bowl game, those conferences receive an additional nine percent of net revenues. When more than one team from those conferences play in a BCS bowl game, those conferences will receive an additional $4.5 million for each additional team.
Sun Belt Football Membership The Sun Belt Conference is currently comprised of nine football playing members - Arkansas State (founding football member in 2001), Florida Atlantic (joined league as football member in 2005), FIU (joined league as football member in 2005), Louisiana-Lafayette (founding football member in 2001), ULM (founding football member in 2001), Middle Tennessee (founding football member in 2001), North Texas (founding football member in 2001), Troy (joined league as football member in 2004) and Western Kentucky University (will begin full competition in 2009) The league will expand to 10 football playing members when South Alabama enters in 2012.
Sun Belt Boasts Winning Bowl Record in Last Three Seasons Over the last three seasons the Sun Belt Conference has represented itself well in the postseason. In fact the Sun Belt Conference boasts a winning record of 3-2 in its five bowl appearances in the last three seasons.
2006 R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl - Troy 41, Rice 17 2006 Motor City Bowl - Central Michigan 31, Middle Tennessee 14 2007 R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl - Florida Atlantic 44, Memphis 17 2008 R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl - Southern Miss 30, Troy 27 (OT) 2008 Motor City Bowl - Florida Atlantic 24, Central Michigan 21
Sun Belt Ties Conference Mark for Bowl Eligible Teams A record tying number of teams reached bowl eligibility last season when four teams (Troy, Florida Atlantic, Arkansas State, and Louisiana-Lafayette) reached the six-win plateau to become eligible for a postseason bid. In 2006 the Sun Belt also had four bowl eligible teams (Troy, Middle Tennessee, Louisiana-Lafayette, and Arkansas State) and two of those teams were selected to bowl games. 2008 also marked the first time that a 6-6 Sun Belt team (Florida Atlantic) was selected for a postseason bowl game.
Sun Belt Sends Two to Bowls For the third time in the Sun Belt Conference's brief eight year history of football the league sent multiple teams to postseason bowl games in 2008. Outright league champion Troy represented the league in the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl. It was the Trojans second trip to that bowl game, having played in the Superdome in 2006 as well. Troy has played in three bowl games since joining the Sun Belt in 2004. In their inaugural season in 2004 the Trojans played in the Silicon Valley Football Classic. Joining Troy in the postseason was Florida Atlantic, which rolled to a victory over Central Michigan in the Motor City Bowl. The Owls made their second postseason appearance in as many years, having defeated Memphis in the 2007 R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl. The two other seasons the Sun Belt sent two teams to bowl games were 2006 (Troy - R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl, Middle Tennessee - Motor City Bowl) and 2004 (North Texas - R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl, Troy - Silicon Valley Football Classic).
Notable Wins Bolster Sun Belt Conference By playing at the highest level of collegiate football - the Football Bowl Subdivision and the Bowl Championship Series - Sun Belt Conference teams continue to face noted big name programs. Sun Belt teams don't just compete though - teams from the SBC are consistently notching wins in these contests. In the opening week of the season last year, Arkansas State defeated Texas A&M which snapped the Aggies' 20-game winning streak in home openers and handed them just their fourth loss over their last 50 non-conference home games. The next week Middle Tennessee won its first-ever home game against a team from a BCS guaranteed conference with the win over Maryland. In previous season teams from the Sun Belt have taken down powers such as Alabama, Missouri, Minnesota, and Oklahoma State.
Sun Belt Conference Sweeps Mid-American Conference in 2008 Season A year after finishing ahead of the Mid-American Conference in the USA Today Sagarin Ratings, the Sun Belt Conference took advantage of its opportunities against teams from the MAC in 2008. Louisiana-Lafayette defeated Kent State 44-27 on September 13 and FIU took a 35-16 win at Toledo on September 27. To cap off a perfect season against the MAC, Florida Atlantic defeated Central Michigan 24-21 in the Motor City Bowl.
Sun Belt Conference Bowl Partners In addition to the Sun Belt Conference's tie-in with the BCS, the league has been a proud and successful partner with the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl since its inception in 2001. A team from the Sun Belt Conference will play a Conference USA opponent on December 20th in the Louisiana Superdome in that game. Additionally, teams from the Sun Belt Conference can be selected to play in the Papjohns.com Bowl, St. Petersburg Bowl, and Independence Bowl if the primary contracted partners are unable to fulfill their obligations to those bowl games.
Florida Atlantic Takes Back-to-Back Bowl Wins Florida Atlantic became the first team to win bowl games in back-to-back seasons since the Sun Belt began sponsoring football in 2001. The Owls defeated Central Michigan 24-21 in the 2008 Motor City Bowl and defeated Memphis in the 2007 R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl for the front end of the achievement.
Sun Belt Conference and ESPN Agree to New Deal A new agreement with ESPN will give the Sun Belt Conference's rising football league a minimum of two games on either ESPN or ESPN2 each season. Additionally, ESPN Regional Television will have the right to produced, distribute and syndicate up to five football games each year. ESPN, ESPN2, and ESPNU, the 24-hour college sports network, will also be granted additional opportunities to select games to air. This trio of networks will be granted a 12 day rolling window during the season to select additional games to televise. Games available for selection are after the third Saturday of the season. This provides the Sun Belt Conference additional opportunities for exposure previously not available.
Five Trojans Named to Lombardi Watch List Oklahoma, Florida, and Troy. How is that for a 1, 2, 3 ranking? When the 40th annual Rotary Lombardi Award Watch List was announced this preseason that is exactly how teams in the FBS ranked based on the number of players on the list. Five members of the Troy squad were listed and only Oklahoma (7) and Florida (6) had more players on the list, which included 153 players from 79 teams and 11 conferences. The five Trojans on the list are senior defensive ends Brandon Lang and Cameron Sheffield, senior linebackers Boris Lee and Bear Woods and senior center Danny Franks.
Arnold Takes Aim at Joining Elite List Arkansas State's Reggie Arnold enters his senior campaign as the nation's third leading rusher among active players with a career total of 3,210 yards. Arnold can also become just the eighth player in NCAA history to post four consecutive 1,000-yard rushing seasons if he can surpass the mark again in 2009. Tyrell Fenroy, Tony Dorsett, Amos Lawrence, Denvis Manns, Ron Dayne, Cedric Benson and DonTrell Moore are the only players in NCAA history with four 1,000-yard rushing seasons.
Blakeney a Hall of Famer Larry Blakeney entered his 40th year as a football coach this fall as he leads the Troy University Trojans onto the field. But the veteran coach added to his list of accomplishments this offseason as he was named to the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame. Joining Blakeney in the class of 2009 are Steve Bolt, Tommy Brooker, Jimmy Key, Janelle Godfrey, Charley Hannah, Lee May and John Mitchell. The class will bring the total number of members of the Hall of Fame to 281, a list that includes five of the top 15 all-time athletes, according to ESPN.
Sun Belt Conference Alumni In the 2008 NFL Draft the Buffalo Bills selected three time All-Sun Belt Conference performer Leodis McKelvin from Troy with the 11th overall pick in the first round of the Draft. McKelvin signed a five-year, $19.4 million contract with the Bills with up to $12.6 million in bonuses. McKelvin, a defensive back and explosive kick returner, was named NFL Defensive Rookie of the Month for November 2008. In the five November games, McKelvin compiled five tackles, three pass breakups, two interceptions including one that he returned 64 yards for a touchdown in a win at Kansas City. McKelvin also exploded onto the national stage as a premier kick returner taking one back for a 98-yard touchdown in the Monday Night Football game against Cleveland.
2007 Sun Belt Conference Defensive Player of the Year Tyrell Johnson from Arkansas State was drafted by the Vikings in the second round of the 2008 NFL Draft. Johnson, a safety, finished his rookie season starting 7 of 16 games, recording 31 tackles. His seven starts helped propel the Vikings to the NFC North Division Championship and a playoff berth for the Vikings - the first playoff appearance for the Vikings since 2004.
2004 Sun Belt Conference Defensive Player of the Year DeMarcus Ware from Troy was drafted 11th overall by the Dallas Cowboys in the first round of the 2005 NFL Draft. Ware has quickly turned into one of the NFL's premier defensive players as he has been selected to the Pro Bowl in three of his four seasons with the Cowboys. So far in Ware's young career he has recorded 299 tackles, 53.5 sacks, 61.0 tackles for a loss, 18 forced fumbles, 2 fumble recoveries (one of which he returned 69 yards for a touchdown) 13 passes defended and 1 interception which he returned 41 yards for a touchdown in 64 NFL games. Ware had a league-high 20 sacks in 2008 and finished second in the voting for the NFL Associated Press' Defensive Player of the Year Award.
Osi Umenyiora is another noted talent making headlines in the NFL. Umenyiora played for Troy and is currently a member of the New York Giants defensive front. Umenyiora, a two-time Pro Bowl selection, had 13 sacks in 2007 and helped the Giants to an NFL regular season-leading 53 sacks. This pass rush was pivotal in the Super Bowl XLII victory over the New England Patriots.
Louisiana-Lafayette has a history of sending talented players to the NFL. Brian Mitchell was one such player to make an impact in the NFL from Louisiana-Lafayette. Mitchell is the NFL's second all time leader in total yardage. In his second season with the Washington Redskins, Mitchell led the NFL in punt return yards (600) and punt return touchdowns (two), assisting his team to a championship appearance in Super Bowl XXVI, where Washington defeated the Buffalo Bills 37-24. Mitchell continued to play for the Redskins until 1999, leading the NFL in punt return average(14.1) and touchdowns (two) in 1994, and making a Pro Bowl selection in 1995.
Another former Louisiana-Lafayette player to make and impact in the NFL is Jake Delhomme of the Carolina Panthers. Delhomme was selected to the 2005 Pro Bowl and led the Panthers through to Super Bowl XXXVIII to face the New England Patriots. Charles Tillman of the Chicago Bears was selected with the 35th overall pick, third in the second round, of the 2003 NFL Draft from Louisiana-Lafayette.
Notable former professional football players from Sun Belt schools include Joe "Mean Joe" Greene (North Texas), and Stan Humphries (Louisiana-Monroe). Former Cleveland Browns Head Coach Romeo Crennel is a graduate of Western Kentucky University.
Sun Belt Conference Team News & Notes
Arkansas State Red Wolves ASU won its seventh consecutive Homecoming game and improved to 7-1 under head coach Steve Roberts in Homecoming games. ASU improved to 28-9 at ASU Stadium under Roberts, including a 19-4 record over the last five seasons. ASU improved to 19-4 under Roberts when holding its opponent to 17 points or less. ASU won its 28th consecutive game when holding an opponent to 10 points or less.
Quarterback Corey Leonard rushed for a career-high 120 yards, including his longest rush of the season of 23 yards. It was his first career 100-yard rushing game. Leonard threw his sixth touchdown pass of the season and 46th of his career, leaving him two shy of tying the school record for a career.
Running back Reggie Arnold rushed for 104 yards, marking the second time this season and 16th time of his career he's rushed for over 100 yards in a game. Arnold's 16 100-yard rushing games are the 2nd most in school history and two short of the school record.
Linebacker Demario Davis recorded the first two sacks of his career, which is also the most by an ASU player this year during a game. Davis and junior safety M.D. Jennings both finished with a game-high eight tackles, marking the second straight game and third game overall Davis has tied or led ASU in tackles.
ASU held FIU to a season-low 10 points, which is also the fewest amount of points given up by the Red Wolves against an FBS opponent since holding North Texas to 10 points during the 2006 season
ASU faces Louisville in its final non-conference game of the regular season, taking a 1-2 non-conference record and 0-3 road record into the game. The game will be the first ever meeting between ASU and Louisville, which will be just the second Big East opponent the Red Wolves have ever played.
Florida Atlantic Owls Florida Atlantic picked up its second win in as many weeks with a 51-29 victory over the University of Louisiana-Lafayette, Saturday.
The Owls opened the game with a five play 85 yard drive in less than a minute and a half to set the tone of the game, played before 21,135 ULL fans on homecoming.
The first quarter of the game ended with the two teams knotted at 14. FAU would score twice in the second quarter and scored on every drive of the second half.
The Owls had a career day with 624 total yard of offense, were plus one in turnovers, were 9 of -14 in third down conversions and scored four of five time in the red zone.
Individually, quarterback Rusty Smith completed 60 percent of his passes including tossing four touchdowns. Smith hit eight receivers , no one more than four times, for 359 yards.
Alfred Morris continued to showcase his skills with 183 yards with 24 carries and two scores. His longest run was for 47 yards.
Chris Bonner celebrated his 23 birthday with two catches for 134 yards and two TDs. Ed Alexander had eight including one for a loss of two and he had a big tackle follow a catch in the open field.
Defensively, FAU's Edward Bradwell led all with 10 tackles while Michael Lockley added nine tackles.
FIU Golden Panthers The FIU football team (1-6; 1-3 SBC) gave Arkansas State (2-4; 1-2 SBC) all it could handle, and had the ball in the fourth quarter down by seven with a chance to tie the game. However, a fumble deep in FIU territory allowed ASU to score a quick touchdown that made the score 24-10 as the Red Wolves eventually pulled away for a 27-10 victory.
FIU's defense played a bend but don't break game, keeping the Panthers in the game despite giving up 433 total yards. However, FIU's offense could never get in a rhythm as they totaled just 223 yards.
Paul McCall finished the game 17-31 passing for 173 yards. Ty Frierson caught three passes for 48 yards to lead all FIU receivers. On defense, Armond Willis made six tackles and had two sacks. Senior safety Jeremiah Weatherspoon had one of his best games this year, leading all FIU tacklers with five solo stops & seven total tackles. He also recovered a fumble deep in FIU territory.
With 7 tackles against ASU, Scott Bryant now has 270 for his career, placing him third on FIU's all-time tackles list. He passed Nick Turnbull who had 265.
Despite being limited to one of his lowest offensive outputs of the season, T.Y. Hilton extended his streak of consecutive games with at least one reception to 18. He has caught at least one pass in every game of his career except his collegiate debut.
Up next for the Panthers is a home meeting with the Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns on Halloween at noon. Last year ULL beat FIU 49-20 in Lafayette.
Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns The Cajuns begin a three-game road trip starting with FIU on Halloween. ULL is 6-0 all-time versus the Golden Panthers. Trips at Arkansas State and Middle Tennessee follow before the team returns home to finish the season vs. La.-Monroe and Troy. Cajun Field saw 21,135 for homecoming last Saturday, increasing the four-game total this season to 91,064 (22,766 avg.) - the highest total attendance in the Sun Belt so far this season.
The Cajuns blocked a pair of kicks vs. FAU (one field goal and one extra point) to increase their total under head coach Rickey Bustle to 40 since 2002. ULL has feasted on Owls kicking, blocking seven kicks (four FG, three PAT) since 2005.
Dwight Bentley scored on a defensive extra point, just the second such play in school history. Ironically, a player wearing the same jersey number (#5) scored a defensive PAT at UAB in 2000 - former Cajuns great and current Chicago Bears defensive back Charles Tillman.
Redshirt freshman Yobes Walker ran for 105 yards on 21 carries in his first career start. Walker became the 12th Cajuns freshman (true or redshirt) to rush for 100 yards in a game.
Brad McGuire scored three rushing touchdowns (on seven carries) - the first three rushing touchdown game by a player not named Fenroy since Chester Johnson scored three vs. Idaho (10/25/03).
Marlin Miller led the team with seven receptions for 115 yards and a touchdown, the first 100-yard receiving game of his career and first by a Cajuns wide receiver since Jason Chery had 123 yards on three catches at North Texas (10/11/08).
ULM Warhawks Redshirt freshman quarterback Cody Wells made his first career start and set new career-highs in numerous passing categories including completions (21), attempts (44) and yards (267). Wells also threw his second touchdown pass of the season. Wells finished the contest 10-of-14 on third downs for 141 yards. Nine of Wells' 10 third-down completions resulted in first downs.
Senior linebacker Cardia Jackson recorded 15 total tackles in the contest, giving him a team-best 67 on the season. Jackson now also has 332 total tackles in his career, moving him into eighth in ULM history and third in Sun Belt history.
ULM recorded two pass break ups in the contest, giving the Warhawks 36 on the season. ULM entered the game ranked fourth in the nation in pass break ups (34).
ULM attempted a season-high 46 passes, the Warhawks previous season-high was 36 against FIU.
Sophomore defensive back Nate Brown intercepted a pass in the first quarter. It is the second-straight contest in which Brown has recorded an interception. Brown has two career interceptions.
Senior wide receiver Darrell McNeal recorded one catch for 18 yards. McNeal has recorded at least one reception in 29 consecutive games.
Junior running back Frank Goodin's third quarter rushing touchdown was his 19th career rushing touchdown, tying him for fourth all-time in ULM history with Joe Profit (1967-70). The touchdown run was also Goodin's ninth of the season, putting him alone in fifth-place in ULM history in single-season rushing touchdowns. Goodin entered the game ranked fourth in the country in rushing touchdowns this season.
Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders Dwight Dasher, who struggled in his previous two games, was back to his old tricks in the win over WKU. The junior accounted for 421 (5th most in school history) of Middle Tennessee's 646 yards of total offense while adding three touchdown passes and a touchdown run. Dasher entered the game ranked 10th nationally in total offense and first in the Sun Belt Conference. For the year, Dasher now has 2,174 yards of total offense and with his effort against WKU he surpassed Clint Marks, Billy Walker and Andrico Hines on the single-season list to rank eighth.
Sophomore PK Alan Gendreau ran his consecutive made field goal streak to nine to establish a new school record when he nailed a 38-yarder in the first quarter against WKU. Gendreau broke the previous mark set by himself last year and again this year and by Kelly Potter in 1984. His first quarter field goal put his career point total at 102 to surpass M.A. Robinson for 10th place on the Blue Raiders' all-time points scored by kickers list. He needs seven more points to take over eighth from Dick Martin who had 117 points from 1985 to 1986.
Middle Tennessee churned out 646 yards of offense and 62 points in the win over WKU. The yardage total went down as the most under Rick Stockstill, breaking the previous best mark of 555 yards set against Louisville in 2007. The 62 points also went down as the most ever by a Rick Stockstill coached team and the most by the Blue Raiders since they put up 70 in a win over Idaho on Oct. 6, 2001. The 646 yards rank third on the program's all-time list and is the second most Middle Tennessee has put up in a Sun Belt Conference game, trailing only that Idaho game when the Blue Raiders gained 685 yards.
Middle Tennessee's defense has been known for its disruptive play under Manny Diaz and it was on full display against WKU. The defense accounted for 12 tackles for loss, five sacks and gave up just 250 yards with most of that coming in the second half.
North Texas Mean Green Junior quarterback Nathan Tune started the second game of his career, replacing injured starter Riley Dodge. Tune earned his first career start earlier this season against No. 2 Alabama.
The 17-0 deficit for North Texas in the first quarter was the most points the Mean Green has been down in the first quarter this year. The Mean Green was down 14-0 at Alabama after one period.
Sophomore running back Lance Dunbar recorded his 11th rushing touchdown of the year on a 3-yard run in the second quarter. With that score Dunbar now has 11 of the team's 15 rushing touchdowns.
Tune broke his career-best passing day in the first half when he had 152 yards passing. His previous high was last week when he had 129 yards in the loss to Florida Atlantic.
North Texas gave up six plays of 20 yards or more in the first half, including five passing plays of 20 yards or more.
Jamaal Jackson had a 53-yard kickoff return in the first half which was the second-longest by a Mean Green player this year.
Tune threw his second interception of the season when he was picked off in the second quarter. He hadn't thrown an interception since his third attempt of the year in the second game of the season against Ohio.
Troy Trojans With the victory over North Texas, the Trojans improved to 6-1 all-time against the Mean Green and to 25-8-1 against all teams from Texas. Troy has won five straight against UNT and is 10-1 this decade against teams from Texas.
Trojans coach Larry Blakeney improved to 55-17-1 in his career during the month of October, a .753 winning percentage for the month. Blakeney also improved his career mark in homecoming games to 17-1-1 with his 12th consecutive homecoming victory. In his 19 seasons at Troy, Blakeney is 81-12-1 at Movie Gallery Veterans Stadium, an .862 winning percentage.
With the 50-26 victory over UNT, the Trojans improved to 56-1 all-time under Larry Blakeney when scoring at least 35 points.
Troy improved to 22-3 vs. Sun Belt Conference foes over the last three-plus seasons with the victory over North Texas. The Trojans' .880 winning percentage in league games going back to 2006 ranks as the fourth best in the nation over that time, trailing only Boise State (25-1), BYU (25-3) and Ohio State (26-3).
Troy teams under Larry Blakeney improved to 26-9 all-time when the team has a player pass for at least 250 yards in a game. Senior Levi Brown hit that milestone for the 10th time in his 15 career starts and is 7-3 when he passes for at least 250 yards in a game.
QB Levi Brown continues to climb the career passing charts at Troy. With his performance against UNT, Brown moved up to fourth in career passing yards with 4,278. He also moved into a tie for seventh in TD passes with 25.
WKU Hilltoppers Jake Gaebler caught finished with a season high in catches with six and receiving yards with 100 Saturday at Middle Tenneseee. He also caught a pair of touchdowns - the first multi-TD game of his Hilltopper career.
Gaebler is now just 10 catches away from tying Curtis Hamilton's school record of 149.
Despite the loss, the Hilltopper scored a season-high 24 points against the Blue Raiders, racking up 250 yards of offense.
True freshman Kareem Peterson led the Hilltoppers in tackles on Saturday, posting 11. It was the fourth straight game that a WKU defender has posted 10 or more stops.
Punter Jeremy Moore continued his impressive season as he averaged 42.1 yards per kick on his eight punts. That included tying a career-long with a 56 yard punt.
