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Sun Belt Enjoys Big Weekend

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Sun Belt enjoys big weekend

League picks up key nonconference wins

12:23 AM CDT on Tuesday, September 18, 2007

By Brett Vito/Staff Writer

The Sun Belt Conference finally got a few nonconference opponents where it wanted them last week, and reaped the rewards in the form of perhaps the most impressive weekend in league history.

Troy and Arkansas State beat Oklahoma State and SMU at home, respectively, while Florida Atlantic beat Minnesota in what amounted to a home game at Dolphin Stadium.

That trio of wins marked a watershed moment for the 7-year-old league that has often struggled during the nonconference portion of its season, which reached its pinnacle last week.

North Texas will host Florida Atlantic on Saturday in the first full weekend of league play.

"It's the best weekend that we have ever had that I can remember," said Troy coach Larry Blakeney, who is in his fourth year in the league. "We had three pretty good wins over teams from the Big 12, Big 10 and Conference USA. It shows that there has been improvement in the league."

The Sun Belt finished with just six nonconference wins over Bowl Subdivision (formerly Division I-A) teams last season, including Troy's win over Rice in the New Orleans Bowl.

The league's solid weekend is one coaches and administrators attribute to playing nonconference opponents at Sun Belt venues.

"It's no accident that those wins came at home," Sun Belt commissioner Wright Waters said. "You can see the significance of having fans in the stands for those games."

UNT struggled to a 3-9 record last season, but knocked off rival SMU for just the fourth time in the 32-game series at Fouts Field. ASU beat the Mustangs 45-28 in Jonesboro, Ark., on Saturday, just one year after falling to SMU 55-9 in Dallas.

Sun Belt teams played just four Bowl Subdivision teams in home stadiums last season, a total that will increase to nine this year, 10 counting FAU's game against Minnesota.

"We are becoming a little more demanding as a conference in terms of saying that we will go on the road twice if they come back to our place once," Middle Tennessee coach Rick Stockstill said. "People are starting to understand that if they want us to play on the road, they are going to have to come to our place."

That's a big change from the early years in the league, when the teams in the conference were trying to get on their feet and often went on the road several times a year for big paychecks. MTSU was the only team in the Sun Belt to have a winning record in its first season in 2001, when UNT went 5-1 in league play and represented the Sun Belt in the New Orleans Bowl despite having a 5-6 overall record. MTSU was left at home after finishing 8-3.

The Sun Belt was 1-5 in bowl games before Troy broke through for its 41-17 win over Rice last season, when the league sent two teams to bowl games for the second time in three years. MTSU lost to Central Michigan in the Motor City Bowl just four days after Troy's win.

New UNT head coach Todd Dodge is one of several Sun Belt coaches and officials who believe last weekend's performance was just the latest sign the league is on the rise.

"From what I have seen, this league is up-and-coming and very underrated," Dodge said. "You can see the quality of the teams. I was not surprised at all."

UNT focused on tackling during off week

UNT spent its off week focusing on tackling, one of the problems the Mean Green encountered in its first two games of the season, Dodge said.

UNT gave up a school record for points in a game in a 79-10 loss to Oklahoma in the first week of the season and also struggled defensively in a 45-31 loss to rival SMU.

Dodge said he was particularly concerned with the Mean Green's struggles to tackle in open-field situations.

Schnellenberger: Dodge will be successful at UNT

Florida Atlantic head coach Howard Schnellenberger said Monday that he expects Dodge to be successful at UNT.

"He is a very impressive guy who is probably smarter than half the coaches in the league," Schnellenberger said. "He looks like he will be very successful there with what he wants to do."

Schnellenberger started FAU's program, which played its first game in 2001, from scratch. He has won all three of his games against UNT during his time with the Owls. UNT will open Sun Belt Conference play against FAU on Saturday.

BRETT VITO can be reached at 940-566-6870. His e-mail address is bvito@dentonrc.com. Print E-mail this article Forums

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chrisfisher

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Florida Atlantic head coach Howard Schnellenberger said Monday that he expects Dodge to be successful at UNT.

"He is a very impressive guy who is probably smarter than half the coaches in the league," Schnellenberger said. "He looks like he will be very successful there with what he wants to do."

BRETT VITO can be reached at 940-566-6870. His e-mail address is bvito@dentonrc.com. Print E-mail this article Forums

Dang - Schnelly is pimp slapping other football coaches. I hope we whip their arse this saturday!

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GreenBat

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"He is a very impressive guy who is probably smarter than half the coaches in the league," Schnellenberger said. "He looks like he will be very successful there with what he wants to do."

I hope that after Saturday, Todge proves that Schnelly is one of the coaches he's smarter than.

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