2010 Sun Belt Conference football season explained

2010 Sun Belt Conference football season
Color:
  1. FCA120
League:NCAA Division I FBS (Football Bowl Subdivision)
Sport:football
Pixels:200px
Duration:September 2, 2010 to January 6, 2011
No Of Teams:9
Tv:ESPN
Draft:2011 NFL Draft
Draft Link:2011 NFL Draft
Top Pick:TE Rob Housler, Florida Atlantic
Picked By:Arizona Cardinals, 69th overall
Season:Regular season
Season Champ Name:Champion
Seasonslistnames:Football
Prevseason Year:2009
Nextseason Year:2011

The 2010 Sun Belt Conference football season was the 10th season of college football play for the Sun Belt Conference. The season began September 2, 2010 and concluded January 6, 2011 as part of the 2010-11 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Sun Belt Conference consists of 9 football members: Arkansas State, Florida Atlantic, Florida International, Louisiana-Lafayette, Louisiana-Monroe, Middle Tennessee, North Texas, Troy, and Western Kentucky.

Previous season

Troy (9-4) was the Sun Belt champions and lost to Central Michigan in the GMAC Bowl 44-41 in overtime. Although Troy was the conference champion, the team decided to accept an invitation to play in the GMAC Bowl, giving another Sun Belt team the privilege of playing in the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl. That team was Middle Tennessee (10-3), who became the Sun Belt's first ever 10 win team since the league began playing FBS football in 2001. The 10-3 record earned Middle Tennessee a trip to the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl where they faced Southern Miss and won 42-32.

One other Sun Belt team, Louisiana-Monroe, was bowl eligible with record of 6-6 but was not invited to a bowl game.

Preseason

Sun Belt Coaches Poll

The 2010 Sun Belt coaches preseason poll was announced during a two-day media web-based event on July 19 and 20. Middle Tennessee was selected as the favorite to win the conference.

First Place Votes in Parentheses

  1. Middle Tennessee – 75 (5)
  2. Troy – 73 (3)
  3. Arkansas State – 53
  4. Louisiana-Lafayette – 49 (1)
  5. Florida Atlantic - 45
  6. Florida International – 42
  7. Louisiana-Monroe – 32
  8. North Texas – 27
  9. Western Kentucky - 9

[1]

Pre-Season All-Sun Belt Team

[2]

Offense

Defense

Special teams

Offensive Player of the Year

Defensive Player of the Year

Postseason

All three bowl-eligible Sun Belt teams were invited to participate in bowl games. These teams compiled a 2-1 record in postseason play.

Bowl Date Time SBC team (Record) Opponent (Record) Site TV Result Attendance
December 18 9:00 PM Troy (7-5) Ohio (8-4) ESPN W 48-21 29,159
December 26 8:30 PM Florida International (6-6) Toledo (8-4) ESPN W 34-32 32,431
January 6 8:00 PM Middle Tennessee (6-6) Miami (OH) (9-4) ESPN L 21-35 38,168

Notes and References

  1. http://www.sunbeltsports.org/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=4100&ATCLID=204968709 Preseason Sun Belt Coaches Poll
  2. http://www.sunbeltsports.org/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=4100&ATCLID=204968933 Preseason All-Sun Belt Team