State of the Sun Belt: The Sun Belt was untouched by the conference alignment last year. Thanks to the exodus of top teams from the WAC, 2011 will likely be the last season where the Sun Belt is the worst FBS conference. South Alabama will join the Sun Belt as a football member in 2013.
The Favorite: FIU won its first conference title, attended its first bowl game and earned its first bowl victory last season. With most of important contributors back, I'm calling for FIU to make it back-to-back Sun Belt championships.
The Challenger: Troy is always going to be in the discussion for top dog in the Sun Belt. The Trojans have won outright or shared the conference title for the past five years. They won their second ever bowl game last season.
The Sleeper: I was not a fan of Louisiana-Monroe firing Charlie Weatherbie and hiring Todd Berry, but the move worked out better than I expected. The WarHawks won five games and barely lost two others. The WarHawks could be even better this season, especially with three brand new coaches in the conference.
The Letdown: With FAU opening a new stadium and Howard Schnellenberger entering his final season, some may expect the Owls to send him out on a high note. I'm not buying into it though. I doubt FAU will be playing in the postseason.
Conference Player of the Year: Troy's quarterback Corey Robinson had a great season in 2010 (3726 yards and 28 touchdowns) despite being a redshirt freshman. He's probably going to get better as he gains more experience. Also pay attention to two running backs who finished last season with spectacular stats on bad teams: Lance Dunbar of North Texas (1553 yards and 13 touchdowns) and Bobby Rainey of Western Kentucky (1649 yards and 15 touchdowns.)
I Wrote What?: In last year's preview, I missed badly on MTSU for the second straight season. I expected them to win ten games, but instead they finished with a losing record after getting beaten in the GoDaddy.com bowl. I also was surprised by FIU's breakout season.
Non-conference Games to Watch:
* Troy at Clemson, September 3 - Troy hasn't beaten a BCS school since upsetting Oklahoma State in 2007, but they have come close a few times. Here's the best opportunity this season.
* UCF at FIU, September 17 - FIU hosts fellow Florida school UCF. A win here would do great things for the program.
* Georgia Tech at MTSU, September 10 - MTSU knocked off Maryland in "The Skillet" in 2008. The Blue Raiders could collect another ACC scalp at home in this game.
* Western Kentucky vs Kentucky at Nashville, September 1 - Two Bluegrass State schools travel a little south to play in one of the first games of the season.
* Indiana at North Texas, September 24 - Two schools breaking in new head coaches trying to get their tenures started on the right foot.
FIU | 7-5 | 6-2
Troy | 7-5 | 6-2
MTSU | 6-6 | 5-3
FAU | 4-8 | 4-4
Louisiana-Monroe | 5-7 | 4-4
Arkansas St | 5-7 | 4-4
North Texas | 3-9 | 3-5
Western Kentucky | 3-9 | 2-6
Louisiana-Lafayette | 3-9 | 2-6
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