Sun Belt Football

In sports to say that there's a special aura around something is very cliche. We assign that whenever a contending team manages to have various breaks go their way, followed by said team capitalizing on those breaks. 

But at Florida International University its a different kind of special. Not one meant to last for this year, but lay the foundation for the next five.

It was a beautiful Saturday afternoon in Sweetwater, the neighborhood in Miami that has been home to FIU since the school opened its doors in the late-60's on what was then the original site of an airport (the school still has the original Air Traffic Control tower on campus, but if you're familiar with FIU I don't have to tell you that nor delve into its history).

The parking lots were jammed, and there were tailgaters all over the place, some for FIU, others from UCF. 

The consensus was that UCF would win, at least it felt that way when you asked the UCF fans in attendance. UCF not only recruits a good amount of their football players from Miami, but also manages to get a good amount of applicants (I was one of them back in 2002). The Knights fan base was out in full force, and could be heard walking into Alfonso Field all the way from the UCF campus. 

As they walked out after seeing their boys lose 17-10, they were either as quiet as a field mouse or just plain condescending. 

"I can't believe we lost to FIU," said one fan as he passed by my good friend Albert and I. The gold and black makeup on his face almost completely off. Was it the sweat that wiped it off, or was it the tears?

UCF came into the game 3-0, with Orlando Sentinel columnist Mike Bianchi, who if others in Miami knew who he was would join the illustrious list of Michelle Beadle, Skip Bayless and many other prominent sports media personalities as "Most hated in Miami," suggesting that UCF should be a BCS team and predicting them to bust the BCS this season.

He's even at times suggested that UCF is more "worthy" of being an SEC team than Vanderbilt. 

Except SEC teams don't lose to FIU, especially when T.Y. Hilton is injured before halftime and is held to only three catches for thirty yards, and only one rush for six yards with no touchdowns. At least not right now. 

But that will change in due time. 

In 2015 FIU will be celebrating the school's 50th anniversary. In only 50 years of existence, the school has plenty to be proud of academically. They're the only public university in Miami, and their law school ranks first in the state as far as their students passing the bar exam, and their business school has been ranked one of the best in the country.

Their football progress mirrors that of the school as a whole. So what better way to celebrate "FIU at 50" than for the Golden Panthers to compete in a BCS Bowl Game. 

It sounds crazy now, but I see it happening sooner than you think.

As the wave of conference expansion continues, odds are while UCF gets the call up to the Big East, FIU will likely take their place in Conference-USA. 

But if I'm the Big East, I'd just skip the middle man and invite FIU now, they already beat one of their teams on the road, then came back and beat a future member of their conference..

Thomas Galicia is a Miami Dolphins Featured Columnist. Follow him on Twitter, and for more of his opinions on other subjects, visit www.thomasgalicia.com.  

It was just a week ago when the Baylor Bears and quarterback Robert Griffin were about to take the field and play the heavily favored TCU Horned Frogs.

For many, it was the first time they had a real chance to see the quarterback in action. Only a handful who had seen him previously thought he had a chance to be the dark horse for the Heisman Trophy.

After a 50-48 upset, 359 passing yards and five touchdown passes later, Griffin's name is buzzing around the whole college football landscape. The handful that thought he had a chance to win the Heisman, has now turned into thousands, and many eyes will be on him and the Bears for the rest of the season.

We fast-forward a week later and the FIU Panthers are going to take on the favored Louisville Cardinals Friday night on ESPN. This will be one of the few times a national audience gets the chance to see the Panthers play. 

Much like the Bears, the Panthers have a great player as well, that few have seen play believe he can also win the Heisman. 

His name is T.Y. Hilton and he is a senior wide receiver for the defending Sun Belt conference champions.

Hilton is not just the most exciting player on his team but the most electrifying player in the entire Sun Belt conference. Over his three-year career he has 2,493 receiving yards and 17 receiving touchdowns. Those numbers may not be that impressive but take into account he plays for a team that runs the ball every chance they get. The Panthers run the ball at least double the amount of times they pass.

He holds pretty much every FIU receiving record and is the first player in the program to catch a touchdown, rush for a touchdown, pass a touchdown and return a kick and punt for a touchdown in the same season. He does everything for the school.

He is also the main reason the Panthers won their first bowl game ever last year. It was his hook and lateral play on 4th-and-17 that kept the drive alive and eventually led to a victory.

Already this season Hilton has seven receptions for 132 receiving yards which is good for 18th in the country, and one receiving touchdown. He also has two rushing attempts for 49 yards.

It appears he is off to another great season and the people that have seen him play, believe he should have an opportunity to win the Heisman Trophy.

Maybe Hilton can have the college football world talking about him as well, after an upset on a Friday night.

Randy Chambers is a B/R Featured Columnist that covers College Football and the NFL. You can contact him @Randy_Chambers or Randy.Chambers7@yahoo.com

Two straight bowl games have put the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders closer to the national spotlight than ever before, and they'll look to continue that rise by pulling off an upset against Purdue on Saturday.

This game should end up having a similar look to last year's contest against Minnesota at the start of the season, when the Golden Gophers established the run against a smaller Blue Raiders squad.

If the Blue Raiders want to shock the college football world, then they'll have to stop the run early and often to force Purdue to rely more on the pass.

They failed to do that against Minnesota last season, and still only lost by a touchdown.

The Blue Raiders defensive line is relatively young and inexperienced, so penetrating the much bigger Purdue offensive line will be a huge challenge.

The offensive linemen of Purdue all way upwards of 300 pounds, while the Blue Raiders defensive line does not have one guy who weighs that much.

For that reason, the linebackers will play a bigger role in contributing in stopping the run. Stephen Roberts, a redshirt sophomore linebacker, is expected to have a huge first season with the Blue Raiders and will need to be effective against the run.

It's vital that the Blue Raiders keep the score low in this game because quarterback Logan Kilgore is also inexperienced and will most likely not put up too many points.

The way the Blue Raiders will win this game is by playing scrappy, roughneck football. That starts by winning in the trenches.

To do that, they'll have to figure out a way to slow down Ralph Bolden, a guy who rushed for nearly 1,000 yards in 2009.

Bolden missed 2010 with a knee injury.

Perhaps the best thing working in the favor of the Blue Raiders is they will be facing a backup quarterback for Purdue in Caleb TerBush.

If the Blue Raiders silence the run, then the Boilermakers will have to figure out a way to beat the Blue Raiders behind the arm of an inexperienced quarterback.

The Blue Raiders were not shy about scheduling tough opponents in their non-conference schedule, so an opening win against Purdue would put them in good shape for qualifying for their third-straight bowl game.

The Sun Belt conference is made up of two parts, football members and non-football members.  Unlike the Big East, which could really be two separate conferences due to that split, the Sun Belt could not. 

In fact, it wouldn’t surprise me if the conference were made up of football-playing institutions only in the very near future. 

Of the non-football members, South Alabama, who has been a member since 1976, will be upgrading to be a full member including football. 

The University of Denver is leaving the conference to join the WAC.  Arkansas-Little Rock is the only school that does not have a football team. 

The Sun Belt is greatly regarded as the weakest FBS conference but with the recent raid of the WAC by the Mountain West, I think the Sun Belt may have moved up a notch in the pecking order. 

The conference has actually had quite a bit of in and out from various institutions.  Schools like Louisiana Tech, Idaho, Utah State, and New Mexico State were all recent members.  They left for what was at the time an upgrade to the WAC. 

Recently, the Sun Belt has made it known that they are entertaining the idea of adding another member. 

They have stated that they would only add a school with an established FBS-level program.  The other part of the criteria is that any new member must be within the geographic footprint of the conference. 

I honestly can’t see a Conference USA school wanting to leave that conference for the Sun Belt.  There is a small chance that a school that is constantly at the bottom of that Conference might entertain an invite if they feel they could be more competitive. 

A team such as Rice or Tulane could possibly do better in the Sun Belt than they do in Conference USA, but are wins worth what might be viewed as a step down?

The Mountain West has really only one candidate in New Mexico but I think that they, too, would view this as a step down. 

The MAC isn’t really a candidate due to their location. Western Kentucky puts them somewhat close but even the southern-most MAC schools are a bit far. 

The WAC has been raided and has always had an outlier in Louisiana Tech, who, as I mentioned before, is a former member of the Sun Belt. 

Louisiana Tech fits all criteria for what the Sun Belt is looking for.  New Mexico State is another former member that at least has the FBS status but is a bit outside the area. 

There are a few other things to consider. 

Mainly, what will the other conferences do? Many think the Big East is going to look to expand in the near future and the success of their last raid on Conference USA in 2005 may have them eyeballing them again.

If Conference USA loses any teams, they may go after Louisiana Tech themselves.  On the other hand, they may try to fill any holes they have by making a play at some Sun Belt schools. 

Troy has established themselves at the top of the conference.  They have not had fewer than eight wins and have won or shared the conference title for the last five seasons. 

Florida International is coming off their best season which includes a conference title and bowl win.  While this is a new position for them, they could be an attractive target for Conference USA if they lose UCF to the Big East, as the popular fan choice would have it. 

If the conference can both expand and hold on to their current members I think the future could be bright. 

If they lose one of their top teams, any ground they have gained in the conference strength standings may drop them back down.   

Florida Atlantic University hasn't had a quarterback competition in five years. But that's all about to change in one offseason.

With the departure of senior quarterback Jeff Van Camp, a new quarterback competition is brewing between redshirt juniors Graham Wilbert and David Kooi.

"Last spring there wasn't as much pressure on us, for me and Graham, to get things done," Kooi said in regard to the difference between this spring and last. "This year, this is actually our team now, so one of us has to step up."

Wilbert served as Van Camp's backup last season and was the early favorite to win the job this spring.

Throughout the spring Wilbert worked to improve his footwork, accuracy and consistency among other aspects of his game. But the one thing he is confident in is his mentality.

"Just really mentally knowing what everyone's got to do," he said about his biggest strength, "and taking control of everything and running things the way they should be run."

Kooi had his share of struggles throughout the spring, with accuracy and holding strong in the pocket, but he showed progress as practices wore on. His biggest strengths, including his arm strength, were on display.

"I think I gradually got better," he said. "I started off a little slow but as it went on I got a lot better. I’ve still got a lot to learn. It’s a mental game being a quarterback, especially in this offense.”

With the competition set to roll over into training camp, Kooi recognizes the importance of working hard to improve his play in the offense.

"I’ve just got to get better and go into camp strong," Kooi said, "and try to win the starting job."

With the battle for the starting role expected to intensify heading into training camp in August, is there going to be any strain amongst the friends?

"We're buds," Wilbert said. "We're going to be buds no matter what happens."

The highly touted quarterback competition that began at the start of spring football hit a standstill following FAU's Spring Game on April 23.

Wilbert, who was the presumed front-runner for the starting job, sustained an injury to his index finger when his hand smacked into the hand of defender David Hinds as he followed through on a pass just before the end of the first half.

Wilbert spent the remainder of the afternoon as a spectator on the sidelines.

"I lost reps today, which I am pretty bummed about," he said. "I don't like any setbacks and I won't be able to workout or throw for awhile, but we'll see what happens."

But Wilbert believes that the injury to his index finger isn't as bad as the broken thumb injury that he suffered last year during a game against the University of South Florida, an injury that required surgery and kept him out for the remainder of the season.

"I'll be fine," Wilbert said. "It's not nearly as bad. I'm not going to need surgery, but it's probably too early to tell."

An X-ray revealed that Wilbert's finger wasn't broken, just badly bent. He will miss four to six weeks as offseason conditioning gets underway but he should be healthy by the start of training camp in August, said Coach Howard Schnellenberger.

But the twist in the story surrounding the quarterback competition came from Schnellenberger himself.

During a postgame press conference following the spring game, Schnellenberger said that the battle for the starting quarterback job is as unclear as ever with Wilbert's injury.

What was thought to be a two-man race for the starting job, between Wilbert and Kooi, will turn into a three-man race between Wilbert, Kooi and redshirt freshman Nick Bracewell.

"It's needless for us to talk about who's No. 1 for a long time," Schnellenberger said.

Let the games begin.

Florida Atlantic University’s athletic department received a $2 million donation toward the new on-campus football stadium from the Schmidt Family Foundation on May 4.

The 30,000-seat stadium is the centerpiece for FAU’s Innovation Village, a $70 million project which will also include two housing dorms and shops, which has already helped garner interest from prospective students and the community.

The stadium is scheduled to be completed by Oct. 7, with the first home game slated for Oct. 15 against Western Kentucky.

The donation secures the foundation a permanent place on the scoreboard upon its completion.

“We are extremely grateful to the Schmidt Family Foundation for this gift,” said FAU President Mary Jane Saunders. “The support FAU has received from the Schmidts over the years has helped it become the internationally recognized university it is today.

With these funds for the stadium, the Schmidt family continues to leave its mark on FAU, and we will be reminded of the extraordinary generosity every time we look at the scoreboard that bears their family name.”

This donation is the largest to date for the stadium.

“Through the Schmidts' generosity, this gift becomes the largest donation to the stadium thus far and really gives the project vital credibility in the community,” said FAU Director of Athletics Craig Angelos. “We cannot thank them enough.”

FAU will open the new stadium on Oct. 15 against Western Kentucky.

“October 15 will forever be a day of great significance in FAU history, as we play for the first time in our on-campus stadium,” said head football coach Howard Schnellenberger.

“On behalf of the players, coaches and fans, I thank the Schmidt Family Foundation for their commitment to the future of Owl football and for their generous gift to our new home.”

For more information about the the new stadium, visit www.fausports.com.

The Sun Belt Conference is contemplating the addition of another FBS-level football program, according to The Miami Herald's Adam Beasley.

"Sources close to the situation would not specify which school is atop the list of contenders, but the pool of potential programs is relatively shallow when the conference’s top two criteria are factored in," Beasley reports.

The Sun Belt is home to football programs in Texas, Florida, Louisiana, Tennessee, Kentucky, Arkansas and Alabama; any prospective member to be added would likely reside in those states.

Judging by the report in The Miami Herald then you can scratch off any FCS power, such as Appalachian State, from making the jump to the conference.

Don't count on any member of an automatic-BCS bid conference from making the jump to the Sun Belt either, which leaves options from Conference USA and the WAC as the only other options for the Sun Belt.

Conference USA is in a better situation in college football than the Sun Belt is perceived to be, so do not expect any Conference USA members to make a switch, which leads back to the WAC.

At first glance, it would appear that Louisiana Tech would be the top candidate to switch conferences. The move would make geographical sense for the conference and the university, who would be able to drastically reduce travel expenses playing in their own time zone more than they are doing in the WAC.

One drawback is having three potential conference members within the state of Louisiana; Louisiana at Monroe and Louisiana at Lafayette are also Sun Belt Conference members. Would a third program in the state already dominated by LSU of the SEC be an advantage for the Sun Belt Conference?

The Sun Belt Conference currently has nine football members lined up, but will be adding a tenth football member starting in 2012 when South Alabama will debut their football program. South Alabama is a conference member in other sports.

It would make sense that the Sun Belt hope to welcome their potential 11th member at the start of the 2012 season, which means the deadline to fine a program to welcome is starting to wind down.

Any university hoping to switch conferences has until July 1 to declare their intentions.

The Sun Belt's football and athletic meetings will be held from May 22-26, which is when a vote should be expected to be held to determine if expansion will occur and which university will be invited.

It does not appear the conference will make a move to add a 12th program in order to satisfy the NCAA minimum to conduct a conference championship game.

“We’re not afraid to expand if there’s someone out there who will add value to the league, but we’re not going to expand just to reach some arbitrary number,” Sun Belt commissioner Wright Waters said in the Miami Herald report. “I think we’ve got to find people who bring value to the conference.”

The WAC is losing Boise State to the Mountain West Conference starting this season and Fresno State and Nevada will follow the Broncos in 2012.

The WAC is working to preserve the future of the conference by expanding in their own respect, with Texas-San Antonio and Texas Southern slated to join the conference in the next couple of years, but it is clear the WAC is left gasping for air in collegiate athletics, at least in football.

The possibility of losing Louisiana Tech may actually benefit the WAC as it takes one school that is far out of the core of the conference footprint, reducing travel expenses for all parties involved.

Kevin McGuire is the national college football writer for Examiner.com. Follow his college football discussion on Twitter @CFBExaminer.

As spring practice continues, fans are anxious to see what their Blue Raiders will bring to the field this fall. 

One area that will see a lot of new faces is the defensive line.

Coach Palermo and new defensive coordinator Steve Ellis will certainly have their work cut out for them.

They have the tough task of replacing three starters, one of them being Jamari Lattimore, the Sun-Belt Conference Defensive Player of the Year. The other two seniors, right tackle Dwight Smith and defensive end Emanuel Perez, were valuable as well.

The three seniors led a unit that produced 22.5 sacks, 51 tackles for loss and 20 quarterback hurries.

Keep in mind that these numbers came from a defense that was almost constantly on the field. Middle Tennessee was last in the conference in time of possession, often only giving the defense a minute or two before they had to be back out on the field.

While the time of possession can be remedied this season, one problem that will remain is a lack of experience.

This year’s line will only feature one senior, Sacoby Carter. As a defensive tackle, Carter had a solid ’09 campaign, but saw a significant reduction in his stats last year, producing only seven tackles.

Joining Carter on the interior, I expect Derrek Upshaw, Paramore Tapa, Jesse Kirkland and Patrick McNeal to all see the field.

Upshaw is a redshirt sophomore that produced well in the 11 games that he played in last year. In addition to blocking two kicks on special teams (one in the bowl game), he contributed nine tackles, 2.5 for loss and a forced fumble.

Tapa was a late signee this spring, but put up great numbers in junior college. As a sophomore, Tapa registered 43 tackles and 3.5 sacks.

Like Tapa, Kirkland is a transfer from the California junior college ranks and turned in 32 tackles in ’09, before taking a redshirt season last year.

McNeal is another tackle that I expect to do well this year. He started hot last year, racking up three tackles against Minnesota, but an injury in the Austin Peay game led to a medical redshirt. A monster three-star recruit coming out of high school, I expect a fully a healthy McNeal to make a big impact for the Blue Raiders this year.

The defensive ends have some big shoes to fill and will be in the shadow of Jamari Lattimore.

Omar McLendon is the natural successor, playing in all 13 games last season as a backup for Lattimore and Perez. McLendon put up solid numbers, receiving nine winning grades from the coaches and registering 18 tackles. 

Joining him this season, I expect Dearco Nolan, Jimmy Staten and possibly Morris Moore to see playing time.

Nolan is a redshirt sophomore who played in 11 games last year, racking up six tackles, two for loss and a sack; also a redshirt sophomore, Staten saw action in all 13 games, picking up five tackles and six winning grades from the coaches.

Moore is an unknown, but after a redshirt his freshmen year, the 6-4, 270 pound defensive end has a lot of potential.

Another x-factor is three star recruit Alexandro Antoine. A local product of Antioch, he put up solid numbers his senior year and has the potential to suit up on Saturdays for the Blue Raiders.

Replacing talented players is never an easy task, especially when experience is lacking.

Thankfully, Palermo is a talented coach and if the players can match Steve Ellis’ intensity, the Blue Raiders will be just fine.

Here are some key college fantasy football questions to ponder as the Sun Belt embarks on spring ball.

Arkansas State

Can the Red Wolves establish any sort of running game in 2011? Last year, their leading rusher Derek Lawson only compiled a measly 500 yards. Incoming true freshman Artez Brown could get a shot at early playing time. 

Florida Atlantic

With all of the skill position players around him graduating, can RB Alfred Morris shoulder more of the load in 2011? His production dipped in the last fall after a stellar 2009 campaign. 

Florida International

How will the carries be split between Darriet Perry and Darrian Mallary? Mallary came on strong at the end of the year with 118, 84, 83 and 104 yard rushing performances in his final four games. But the bigger, stronger Perry led the team with a whopping 16 rushing TDs. 

La.-Lafayette

Can RB Aaron Spikes build upon a productive freshman campaign where he totaled 737 yards from scrimmage? The Ragin' Cajuns are in dire need of another offensive playmaker to go along with stud tight end Ladarius Green. 

La.-Monroe

Is Jyruss Edwards ready to fill the shoes of departing veteran running back Frank Goodin? As a freshman last fall, Edwards showed some signs of life late in the year.

Middle Tennessee

The only two notable offensive stars for the Blue Raiders, quarterback Dwight Dasher and running back Phillip Tanner, are moving on. Who will step up and fill their shoes? 

North Texas

What type of offense will new head coach Dan McCarney employ and how will it effect stud running back Lance Dunbar? McCarney spent 12 years as head coach at Iowa State. 

Troy

The good news is that budding star quarterback Corey Robinson returns for the Trojans.  The bad news is that his receiving corps and offensive line have been decimated by graduation.  

With DuJuan Harris out of the picture, can Shawn Southward take over as a true feature back? At 5'8 and 184 pounds, it's unlikely he can handle a huge workload. 

Western Kentucky

How much bubble wrap will the Hilltopper coaching staff have around star running back Bobby Rainey this spring? He was the entire offense in 2010 and will need to rest up if he plans to match his 340 carries from last fall.

Todd DeVries is the founder of CollegeFootballGeek.com, the nation's foremost authority on college fantasy football.  Prolific and deadly accurate.