Some Sun Belt stuff

MeanGreen61 · July 26, 2005

From a longer NOTP article.

UP IN THE AIR: ULM quarterback Steven Jyles, who was charged June 25with aggravated resistance by flight, which is a felony, was in New Orleans on Monday.

Jyles, a 6-foot-1, 191-pound senior, also was charged with running a stop sign and a red light, which are misdemeanors.

ULM sports information director Judy Wilson said school officials will have no comment until the judicial process is over.

Jyles, the conference's all-time leader in passes (1,094), completions (586) and passing yards (6,752), said he plans to play when the Indians open the season Sept. 4 at Auburn.

"I'm not going to miss any games. That's still going through the process," he said. "I'm real excited. I can't wait to get back out there with the guys and be a family out there. I'm putting that behind me. I'm looking forward to this season being like my first one."

WELCOME ABOARD: Unlike last season when FAU and FIU were in their first year of Division I-A, the teams will compete for the Sun Belt title this season.

FAU, coached by Howard Schnellenberger, who guided Miami to its first national title in 1983, could be the surprise team of the conference.

Last season the Owls were 9-3, including victories over Hawaii (35-28 in overtime) and North Texas (20-13). This season the Owls have non-conference games at Kansas, at Minnesota, at Louisville and they host Oklahoma State.

"To do that in your fifth year of existence is magnificent," Schnellenberger said. "This is the most exciting thing to happen to us since the development of our football team (in 2000). The Sun Belt Conference was a real blessing for us."

FIXING THE HOLES: One of ULL's biggest problems last season, when the Ragin' Cajuns went 4-7 overall and 2-5 in the Sun Belt, was its inability to stop the run.

ULL allowed 213.5 yards per game. But the team is hoping for better results.

"Our biggest challenge will be stopping the run," ULL defensive end Eugene Kwarteng said. "We have to take what we learned and accomplished at the end of the season and kind of pick up where we left off."

meanrob · July 26, 2005

Anybody who says anything about Jyles not missing any games has a really short memory.

Just putting that out there before anybody makes an ass of themselves.

PlummMeanGreen · July 26, 2005

FAU, coached by Howard Schnellenberger, who guided Miami to its first national title in 1983, could be the surprise team of the conference.

And now that FAU has graduated almost 30 seniors from last years team and have completely crossed over to NCAA D1-A and all its rules PLUS don't have 1-AA transfers who can gain immediate elgibility----lets see who gets surprised the most.

I think some on this board now know what the power of celebrity can do at some NCAA D1-A quarters, though. Some of us have seen it happen first-hand. Even with the alleged scandal of Mike Price at Alabama, he has worked some obvious magic at UTEP with his own semblance of celebrity.

North Texas still just needs to take care of business at Eagle Point Campus no matter who our president or our other leaders are, because we all know who will still be around all this no matter whose in charge, now don't we?

Edited July 26, 2005 by PlummMeanGreen

NT80 · July 27, 2005

Schnellenberger said. "This is the most exciting thing to happen to us since the development of our football team (in 2000). The Sun Belt Conference was a real blessing for us."

"was" a real blessing... (as in past tense?)...... Howard said last year you can't win a National Championship in the Sun Belt and that FAU has higher goals.... it's time we set him back a notch in his Master Plan.

Seminole Indian · July 27, 2005

[it's time we set him back a notch in his Master Plan.

It is nice to see another school, along with Troy last year, come into the Belt with the idea of putting a championship team on the field. UNT cannot carry this league by itself so we need a couple of other schools, other than Troy who already is, playing good football in the Belt. If that happens, then the Belt will move past the MAC (if it has not already) and close in on the WAC.