Sun Belt Sports Blog

Despite dominating the time of posession and staying even in most offensive categories, the Blue Raiders of MTSU were not able to give the Sun Belt Conference a perfect 2-0 bowl season as they fell to the Central Michigan Chippewas 31-14. A second-half INT return for a TD by CMU LB Doug Kress put CMU up 28-7 and a late INT sealed the game as the Sun Belt ends their 2006 season with a 1-1 bowl record and MTSU finished the season at 7-6.

Throughout the 2006-2007 basketball season we will be updating you on where the Sun Belt basketball teams stand in the computerized RPI rankings. Today we bring you our December 26th update.

#46 - Western Kentucky - 9-4
#100 - North Texas - 9-3
#112 - Louisiana-Monroe - 7-6
#132 - South Alabama - 5-6
#186 - Florida Atlantic - 5-6
#190 - Florida International - 6-5
#204 - Middle Tennessee State - 4-7
#212 - Troy - 5-7
#216 - Arkansas-Little Rock - 6-7
#225 - Arkansas State - 7-7
#228 - New Orleans - 5-7
#308 - Louisiana-Lafayette - 1-10
#335 - Denver - 1-11

The Sun Belt Conference Champion Troy Trojans began the bowl season on a high note in what could be seen by anyone who follows the Sun Belt as a best-case scenario. The win for Troy comes over the Rice Owls, a Conference USA opponent. With five non-BCS conferences and both Conference USA and the Sun Belt being located in similar geographic regions, any win over a C-USA foe is a good one for Sun Belt schools as the conference looks to build a better name for themselves. The Trojans came out and dominated the Owls en route to a 41-17 victory in the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl on Friday night.
Meanwhile, the other Sun Belt team that is bowling this holiday season is the Middle Tennessee State Blue Raiders. MTSU (7-5) faces the Champions of the Mid-American Conference, the Central Michigan Chippewas (9-4). CMU comes in a 9.5 point favorite after surprising the MAC with a 7-1 conference record and a win over Ohio in the MAC Championship game. MTSU will be making their first-ever bowl appearance at the Division I-A level. The Blue Raiders have an opportunity to make a true statement for Sun Belt football and bring home another big win to complete the 2006 season 2-0 in bowl games for the Sun Belt.

With the New Orleans Bowl featuring a Sun Belt vs. CUSA match-up and the Motor City Bowl featuring a Sun Belt vs. MAC match-up, both opponents have conference fan sites which have released their bowl game previews. The R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl features Sun Belt Champion Troy vs. the Rice Owls and the New Orleans Bowl preview can be found over at CUSA-fans.com. Meanwhile, the Motor City Bowl features the Blue Raiders of Middle Tennessee vs. the MAC Champion Central Michigan Chippewas. The Motor City Bowl preview can be found over at the popular VanDelay Sports MAC fan site.

CollegeSports-fans.com, the head of the fast-growing Dash Fans Network of Independent College Sports Fan Sites, is pleased to announce the launch of the latest addition of their College Sports Message Board Directory. The new Sun Belt Conference Message Boards & Sports Forums section of CollegeSports-fans.com now lists every Sun Belt team as well as popular Sun Belt message boards and ranks every site. With an unbiased ranking system to help fans see the highest traffic sites before they make a decision to visit that fan site, the Dash Fans Network’s goal is to help educate and empower Sun Belt sports fans and provide them with a complete resource.

We hope you enjoy the latest addition to the Dash Fans Network and out College Sports Directory.

http://www.collegesports-fans.com/college-sports-boards/sun-belt-forums/index.html

The Sun Belt Conference will have both of their co-champions from the 2006 college football season participating in bowl games this holiday season. Both Middle Tennessee State and Troy completed their Sun Belt schedules 6-1 and 7-5 overall, and as a result Troy was invited to the New Orleans Bowl and MTSU received an at-large bid to the Motor City Bowl.

Click on the bowl game links below for details on that specific bowl game.

New Orleans Bowl - Troy (7-5) vs. Rice (7-5)

Motor City Bowl - Middle Tennessee State (7-5) vs. Central Michigan (9-4)