Non B C S Conferences Highlights From E S P N

[MeanGreen61]

Newcomer of the Year (Sun Belt )

QB Giovanni Vizza, North Texas

In a season of few bright spots at North Texas, Vizza boosted hope for the future with a solid performance under center. The 6-foot-1 true freshman wound up third in the league in passing (238.8 ypg) and sixth in quarterback rating (115.1). He set the NCAA single-game freshman record for passing touchdowns with eight against Navy. Florida Atlantic redshirt freshman cornerback Tavious Polo (7 INTs) was another notable newcomer.

Biggest disappointment (CUSA)

SMU

The Mustangs were picked third in the West division before the season but ended up advancing the theory that the program will never recover from the death penalty sanctions. SMU went winless in league play and 1-11 overall, prompting the firing of coach Phil Bennett with four games remaining. The nation's 116th-rated defense doomed SMU, which once again got decent production from quarterback Justin Willis. Preseason East division favorite Southern Miss had a wave of injuries and finished 7-5, though the bigger disappointment was the idiotic dismissal of longtime coach Jeff Bower.

Biggest disappointment (MWC)

TCU

Tabbed as this season's non-BCS darling back in August, TCU dropped two of its first games and finished a pedestrian 7-5 despite returning nine starters from a defense that ranked second nationally last year. Star defensive end Tommy Blake twice took a medical leave from the team, and TCU struggled with ball discipline (27 giveaways, minus-.5 turnover margin). Colorado State dropped nine of its first 10 games in coach Sonny Lubick's final season.

HIGHLIGHT NON-BCS SEASONS

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=3149256

[Dodge2007]

Biggest surprise was TCU and how inept they were on offense and overall team play.

I'll take Dodge's spread any day over watching TCU offensive football.

[JesseMartin]

I think TCU based their whole season on beating UT and fell apart when that didn't happen.