Other than the usual suspects (Troy, FIU) that could win the SBC, what team could considered the dark horse of the conference?

ARK St., if Aplin stays hot....or ULM, lots of talet and experience

dont count out UNT...i know we may be undersized, but you saw what the coaching change did for us last year ( beating MTSU on the road and staying within 7 to troy and 8 to kansas st) i feel mccarney can lead us to a good sunbelt record even in his first year.

I can see UNT spoiling one or more team's shot at the title but doubt UNT will actually contend this year for the title.

ULM is most likely a darkhorse with the talent and experience returning. Ark. St. it depends on how they play but outside of those 2 teams i can't see anyone being a darkhorse. But if i had to choose 1 team as a darkhorse i'd have to say ULM.

Arkansas State has to get an essentially brand new offensive line to come together and has to respond well to a very new defensive scheme. ASU is two deep at QB and that's a bad thing in the spread because you do expect a QB to run and the risk of both Aplin and Butterfield being less than full power or unavailable is high.

I'll throw Middle out there. I don't think we can actually win the conference, but I think we'll be alot better than people think after the loss of Dasher. Maybe even challenge for one of the bowl slots.

Dasher singlehandedly lost games for us last year and was a turnover machine. Had we had anyone behind him (both backups were hurt), he would have been on the bench. We should be able to get more consistent play from the new QB.

I'm thinking 6-6 next year, but with a couple of good bounces (which we got none last year except the FIU fumble), we could be 7-5.

It's the Sun Belt. Anyone can put together a run and win the title in any given season.

The Dasher Distraction killed MT last year in my opinion. Stability even with a lesser talent under center could be a big benefit.

Louisiana will whip some asses before its over. I'll let you know about it as soon as it happens.

Book it.

Z

oh yeah...ps have a great weekend and a fantastic Fathers Day!

I think the Sun Belt darkhorse this season will be Louisiana Tech......oh, wait a minute.

(06-17-2011 12:16 PM)fauowls561 Wrote:  It's the Sun Belt. Anyone can put together a run and win the title in any given season.

Anyone? Well, I'll have to disagree unless a miracle happens along, ULM, WKU and FAU will be hard pressed to make a run. Louisiana is going to surprise some teams and make a strong run, but MTSU and Troy seem to be the cream at the top to me.

(06-17-2011 02:37 PM)JoeJag Wrote:  

(06-17-2011 12:16 PM)fauowls561 Wrote:  It's the Sun Belt. Anyone can put together a run and win the title in any given season.

Anyone? Well, I'll have to disagree unless a miracle happens along, ULM, WKU and FAU will be hard pressed to make a run. Louisiana is going to surprise some teams and make a strong run, but MTSU and Troy seem to be the cream at the top to me.

I disagree about ULM. I think they are definitely in the thick of things. I say ULM finishes 3rd, or could surprise with a conference title.

Dark horse would have to be ULM. Too much coming back for them not to compete game in and game out. The question is, can they put together enough, for long enough, to make a serious run at the title. I doubt it, but they have the personnel with experience.

Competing for the title will be Troy, FIU and Ark St.

Troy has filled some defensive holes, but lost some offensive depth at receiver, and the offensive line has depth issues. The skill players on the Troy offense are going to be real good. On defense, the LBs, and most of the DL are experienced. The secondary is going to be a mix of new guys and guys from last season.

FIU has TY Hilton back along with Wes Carroll, but what they lost was an explosive utility guy that kept Hilton from being keyed on every play. This year, Hilton will have the bullseye squarely on him, and Carroll is not a QB that is going to break a game open. His surrounding cast does all his heavy lifting, and I see lots of people putting pressure on him this year.

Ark St. has the explosive fire power on offense, with a group of skilled players that is back and is playing for the same guy they played for last season, but he has a different hat this year. The Ark. St. question is their defense. If they have any this year, they have a shot, but if they are only marginally better than last year, they will be back in the middle again.

(06-17-2011 03:00 PM)SkullyMaroo Wrote:  

(06-17-2011 02:37 PM)JoeJag Wrote:  

(06-17-2011 12:16 PM)fauowls561 Wrote:  It's the Sun Belt. Anyone can put together a run and win the title in any given season.

Anyone? Well, I'll have to disagree unless a miracle happens along, ULM, WKU and FAU will be hard pressed to make a run. Louisiana is going to surprise some teams and make a strong run, but MTSU and Troy seem to be the cream at the top to me.

I disagree about ULM. I think they are definitely in the thick of things. I say ULM finishes 3rd, or could surprise with a conference title.

And I'll disagree with your disagreement. It's the coaching that's going to make the difference. Berry cost them a couple of games last year. Easily. You can't fix that kind of problem.

And I also think that the returning starters issue is a bit of a myth. On balance the Cajuns, and a lot of the other SBC teams, may have less returning starters than ULM but more overall returning depth.

Tell me that won't make a difference when the injury bug comes-a-callin' as it always does.

They've got an OOC schedule that leaves them 1-3 at best and they aren't going to go on the road and beat Troy and the Cajuns.

(06-17-2011 02:35 PM)Green Menace Wrote:  I think the Sun Belt darkhorse this season will be Louisiana Tech......oh, wait a minute.

Maybe in 2014?

I'm aware that until WKU does something, any prognostications are pipe dreams at best ....but...given that Last year a young WKU team got the psychological monkey off their back and won a couple games (both in conference) and lost four other conference games by 1 TD or less and was tied going into the fourth against Troy and the Toppers have had two very highly regarded recruiting classes in a row, I'm cautiously optimistic that this may be the year where we finish near the middle of the conference or better. Also, a lighter schedule to start the year may also contribute to a better season as well.

ULM or WKU. ULM is bringing a ton back, and I really think WKU is set up to make a big move soon. Though im not sure it will be this year

ASU we'll either be in the top 3 of the league if its Offensive Line can do its job and the Defense is improved, or middle of the pack if one or neither happen

ULL and FAU are at the bottom this year, with UNT hanging around above them

(06-17-2011 06:27 PM)chiefsfan Wrote:  ULM or WKU. ULM is bringing a ton back, and I really think WKU is set up to make a big move soon. Though im not sure it will be this year

ASU we'll either be in the top 3 of the league if its Offensive Line can do its job and the Defense is improved, or middle of the pack if one or neither happen

ULL and FAU are at the bottom this year, with UNT hanging around above them

I'm beating UL isn't at the bottom this year, in fact I think they will be somewhere in the middle of the pack. I think a few programs have set themselves up with good schedules, while others have front loaded a number of losses with their out of conference schedules. Then there are few that have over evaluated their talent, but this is why the game is played on the field. As in every year, there will be a few surprises and disappoints.

(06-17-2011 06:27 PM)chiefsfan Wrote:  ULM or WKU. ULM is bringing a ton back, and I really think WKU is set up to make a big move soon. Though im not sure it will be this year

ASU we'll either be in the top 3 of the league if its Offensive Line can do its job and the Defense is improved, or middle of the pack if one or neither happen

ULL and FAU are at the bottom this year, with UNT hanging around above them

MTSU seems to get it going in conference when it needs to do so. With Dasher gone, they may well surprise. I personally think it will be ULM just because of the returning starters and the number of players who got playing time due to injuries last year

WKU is the team that scares me. They got that first win and they have been close so much. They could have a break out year.

NT could be interesting. They played much better once Dodge was fired. How will they do with the new "new" coach? ASU has a good QB and good receivers. Will be interesting to see if the line come around.