2011 Sun Belt Conference football season | |
Color: |
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League: | NCAA Division I FBS (Football Bowl Subdivision) |
Sport: | football |
Pixels: | 150px |
Duration: | September 1, 2011–January 8, 2012 |
No Of Teams: | 9 |
Tv: | ESPN |
Draft: | 2012 NFL Draft |
Draft Link: | 2012 NFL Draft |
Top Pick: | LB Demario Davis, Arkansas State |
Picked By: | New York Jets, 77th overall |
Season: | Regular season |
Season Champs: | Arkansas State |
Second Place: | Western Kentucky |
Seasonslistnames: | Football |
Prevseason Year: | 2010 |
Nextseason Year: | 2012 |
The 2011 Sun Belt Conference football season was the 11th season of college football play for the Sun Belt Conference. The season began September 1, 2011 and concluded January 8, 2012 as part of the 2011-12 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The 2011 season consisted of nine members: Arkansas State, Florida Atlantic, Florida International, Louisiana–Lafayette, Louisiana–Monroe, Middle Tennessee State, North Texas, Troy and Western Kentucky.
The 2011 season was last with nine members as South Alabama became the conference's tenth member for the 2012 season.
The following Sun Belt players were named to preseason award watch lists.Maxwell Award
During the Sun Belt media days on July 18–19 via videoconferencing, Florida International was selected as the favorite to win the conference in the coaches poll.[13] They five first place votes. Troy received two first place votes while Arkansas State and Western Kentucky each received one.
The conference's head coaches selected their all–conference team during media days.[14]
Offense
QB Corey Robinson–Troy
RB Lance Dunbar–North Texas
RB Bobby Rainey–Western Kentucky
WR Dwayne Frampton–Arkansas State
WR T. Y. Hilton–FIU
WR Luther Ambrose–ULM
TE Ladarius Green–ULL
OL Tom Castilaw–Arkansas State
OL Caylin Hauptmann–FIU
OL Ryan McCaul–ULM
OL Matt Tomlinson–North Texas
OL James Brown–Troy
OL Wes Jeffries–Western Kentucky
Defense
DL Dorvus Woods–Arkansas State
DL Tourek Williams–FIU
DL Ken Dorsey–ULM
DL Jonathan Massaquoi–Troy
LB Demario Davis–Arkansas State
LB Winston Fraser–FIU
LB Xavier Lamb–Troy
DB Kelcie McCray–Arkansas State
DB Jonathan Cyprien–FIU
DB Marcus Bartels–FAU
DB Darius Prelow–ULM
Specialists
PK Alan Gendreau–Middle Tennessee
P Mickey Groody–FAU
KR T.Y. Hilton–FIU
The coaches also selected conference players of the year. T.Y. Hilton of Florida International and Lance Dunbar of North Texas were selected as the preseason co-offensive players of the year and Jonathan Massaquoi of Troy was named the preseason defensive player of the year.
NOTE: Stats shown are before the beginning of the season
Team | Head coach | Years at school | Overall record | Record at school | Sun Belt record |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Arkansas State | Hugh Freeze | 1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 |
Florida Atlantic | Howard Schnellenberger | 11 | 157–140–3 | 57–63 | 22–13 |
Florida International | Mario Cristobal | 5 | 16–33 | 16–33 | 13–17 |
Louisiana–Lafayette | Mark Hudspeth | 1 | 66–21 | 0–0 | 0–0 |
Louisiana–Monroe | Todd Berry | 2 | 34–67 | 5–7 | 34–67 |
Middle Tennessee | Rick Stockstill | 6 | 33–30 | 33–30 | 25–12 |
North Texas | Dan McCarney | 1 | 58–85 | 0–0 | 0–0 |
Troy | Larry Blakeney | 23 | 161–82–1 | 161–82–1 | 40–12 |
Western Kentucky | Willie Taggart | 2 | 2–10 | 2–10 | 2–6 |
Date | Visitor | Home | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|---|
September 1^ | Kentucky 14 | Western Kentucky 3 | Played at LP Field in Nashville, Tennessee | |
September 3 | Arkansas State 15 | Illinois 33 | ||
September 3 | Florida Atlantic 3 |
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September 3 | Louisiana–Lafayette 34 |
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September 3 | Louisiana–Monroe 0 |
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September 3 | Middle Tennessee 24 | Purdue 27 | ||
September 3 | Troy 19 | Clemson 43 | ||
September 9 | Florida International 24 | Louisville 17 | FIU's first ever win against a BCS team | |
September 10 | Florida Atlantic 0 | Michigan State 44 | ||
September 10 | Georgia Tech 49 | Middle Tennessee 21 | ||
September 17 | Arkansas State 7 |
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September 17 | North Texas 0 |
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September 17 | Troy 28 |
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September 24 | Florida Atlantic 14 | Auburn 30 | ||
September 24 | Louisiana–Monroe 17 | Iowa 45 | ||
September 24 | Indiana 21 | North Texas 24 | ||
October 1 | Duke 31 | Florida International 27 | ||
November 5 | Middle Tennessee 0 | Tennessee 24 | ||
November 12 | Western Kentucky 9 | LSU 42 | ||
November 26 | Louisiana–Lafayette 37 | Arizona 45 | ||
^Denotes neutral site game |
Index to colors and formatting | |
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Sun Belt member won | |
Sun Belt member lost | |
Sun Belt teams in bold |
All dates, times, and TV are tentative and subject to change.
The Sun Belt has teams in 2 different time zones. Times reflect start time in respective time zone of each team (all teams central time except for Florida Atlantic and Florida International which are in eastern time). Conference games start times are that of the home team.
Rankings reflect that of the USA Today Coaches poll for that week until week eight when the BCS poll will be used.
Date | Time | Visiting team | Home team | Site | TV | Result | Attendance | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
September 1 | 7:00 PM | North Texas | Florida International | FIU 41–16 | 17,568 | |||
September 1 ^ | 8:15 PM | Western Kentucky | L 3–14 | 24,599 | ||||
September 3 | 11:00 AM | Middle Tennessee | L 24–27 | 42,110 | ||||
September 3 | 2:30 PM | Arkansas State | BTN | L 15–33 | 45,154 | |||
September 3 | 2:30 PM | Louisiana–Monroe | ESPNU | L 0–34 | 72,226 | |||
September 3 | 2:30 PM | Troy | ESPN3 | L 19–43 | 74,135 | |||
September 3 | 6:00 PM | Louisiana–Lafayette | L 34–61 | 55,382 | ||||
September 3 | 7:00 PM | Florida Atlantic | ESPNU | L 3–41 | 88,708 |
Players of the week:[15]
Date | Time | Visiting team | Home team | Site | TV | Result | Attendance | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
September 9 | 7:00 PM | Florida International | W 24–17 | 47,228 | ||||
September 10 | 12:00 PM | Florida Atlantic | L 0–44 | 70,249 | ||||
September 10 | 6:00 PM | Arkansas State | W 47–3 | 29,872 | ||||
September 10 | 6:00 PM | Louisiana–Lafayette | W 20–12 | 10,386 | ||||
September 10 | 6:00 PM | Louisiana–Monroe | W 35–7 | 26,532 | ||||
September 10 | 6:00 PM | Middle Tennessee | ESPN3 | L 21–49 | 30,502 | |||
September 10 | 6:00 PM | North Texas | ESPN3 | L 23–48 | 28,075 | |||
September 10 | 6:00 PM | Western Kentucky | ESPN3 | L 14–40 | 19,409 |
Players of the week:[16]
Date | Time | Visiting team | Home team | Site | TV | Result | Attendance | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
September 17 | 1:00 PM | Louisiana–Monroe | L 17–38 | 32,719 | ||||
September 17 | 3:00 PM | Arkansas State | FSN | L 7–26 | 66,233 | |||
September 17 | 6:00 PM | Florida International | FIU Stadium • Miami, Florida | ESPN3 | W 17–10 | 20,205 | ||
September 17 | 6:00 PM | Louisiana–Lafayette | ESPN3 | W 38–21 | 28,741 | |||
September 17 | 6:00 PM | Western Kentucky | Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith Stadium • Bowling Green, Kentucky | ESPN3 | L 16–44 | 15,793 | ||
September 17 | 6:30 PM | North Texas | FSN | L 0–41 | 101,821 | |||
September 17 | 6:30 PM | Troy | L 28–38 | 69,861 |
Players of the week:[17]
Date | Time | Visiting team | Home team | Site | TV | Result | Attendance | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
September 24 | 11:00 AM | Louisiana–Monroe | BTN | L 17–45 | 70,585 | |||
September 24 | 3:30 PM | Middle Tennessee | Troy | Veterans Memorial Stadium • Troy, Alabama (Battle for the Palladium) | TROY 38–35 | 20,185 | ||
September 24 | 6:00 PM | Louisiana–Lafayette | Florida International | FIU Stadium • Miami, Florida | ESPN3 | ULL 36–31 | 16,780 | |
September 24 | 6:00 PM | Florida Atlantic | L 14–30 | 82,249 | ||||
September 24 | 6:00 PM | North Texas | Apogee Stadium • Denton, Texas | ESPN3 | W 24–21 | 21,181 | ||
September 24 | 7:00 PM | Arkansas State | ASU Stadium • Jonesboro, Arkansas | W 53–24 | 27,918 |
Players of the week:[18]
Arkansas State kicker Brian David was also named one of three Lou Groza Award Stars of the Week and the College Football Performance Awards' National Placekicker of the Week after going making 6 field goals and 5 extra points in the Red Wolves win over Central Arkansas.[19]
Date | Time | Visiting team | Home team | Site | TV | Result | Attendance | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
October 1 | 3:00 PM | Arkansas State | Western Kentucky | Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith Stadium • Bowling Green, Kentucky | Sun Belt Network | ASU 26–22 | 10,813 | |
October 1 | 6:00 PM | Florida Atlantic | Louisiana–Lafayette | Cajun Field • Lafayette, Louisiana | ESPN3 | ULL 37–34 | 26,339 | |
October 1 | 6:00 PM | Florida International | FIU Stadium • Miami, Florida | ESPNU | L 27–31 | 22,682 | ||
October 1 | 6:00 PM | Memphis | Middle Tennessee | Johnny "Red" Floyd Stadium • Murfreesboro, Tennessee | ESPN3 | W 38–31 | 20,098 | |
October 1 | 6:00 PM | North Texas | L 24–41 | 21,240 | ||||
October 1 | 6:00 PM | Troy | Veterans Memorial Stadium • Troy, Alabama | W 24–23 | 18,044 |
Players of the week:[20]
Louisiana-Lafayette kicker Brett Baer was also named one of the Lou Groza Award Stars of the Week after making 3 field goals including the game winner as time expired. He also made 4 extra points in the Cajuns win over Florida Atlantic.[21]
Date | Time | Visiting team | Home team | Site | TV | Result | Attendance | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
October 6 | 6:30 PM | Western Kentucky | Middle Tennessee | Johnny "Red" Floyd Stadium • Murfreesboro, Tennessee | ESPNU | WKU 36–33 | 23,307 | |
October 8 | 6:00 PM | Troy | Louisiana–Lafayette | Cajun Field • Lafayette, Louisiana | ESPN3 | ULL 31–17 | 29,775 | |
October 8 | 6:00 PM | Arkansas State | Louisiana–Monroe | Malone Stadium • Monroe, Louisiana | ASU 24–19 | 15,027 | ||
October 8 | 6:30 PM | Florida Atlantic | North Texas | Apogee Stadium • Denton, Texas | Sun Belt Network | UNT 31–17 | 13,142 | |
October 8 | 2:00 PM | Florida International | W 27–17 | 16,016 |
Players of the week:[22]
Date | Time | Visiting team | Home team | Site | TV | Result | Attendance | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
October 15 | 4:00 PM | Western Kentucky | Florida Atlantic | FAU Football Stadium • Boca Raton, Florida | WKU 20–0 | 29,103 | ||
October 15 | 4:00 PM | North Texas | Louisiana–Lafayette | Cajun Field • Lafayette, Louisiana | ESPN3 | ULL 30–10 | 32,823 | |
October 15 | 6:00 PM | Louisiana–Monroe | Troy | Veterans Memorial Stadium • Troy, Alabama | ESPN3 | ULM 38–10 | 19,818 |
Date | Time | Visiting team | Home team | Site | TV | Result | Attendance | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
October 18 | 7:00 PM | Florida International | Arkansas State | ASU Stadium • Jonesboro, Arkansas | ESPN2 | ASU 34–16 | 15,573 | |
October 22 | 3:00 PM | Louisiana–Lafayette | Western Kentucky | Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith Stadium • Bowling Green, Kentucky | WKU 42–23 | 15,122 | ||
October 22 | 4:00 PM | Louisiana–Monroe | North Texas | Apogee Stadium • Denton, Texas | UNT 38–21 | 17,815 | ||
October 22 | 8:00 PM | Middle Tennessee | Florida Atlantic | FAU Stadium • Boca Raton, Florida | Sun Belt Network | MTSU 38–14 | 16,344 |
Date | Time | Visiting team | Home team | Site | TV | Result | Attendance | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
October 25 | 8:00 PM | Troy | Florida International | FIU Stadium • Miami | ESPN2 | FIU 23–20 OT | 15,852 | |
October 29 | 2:30 PM | Western Kentucky | Louisiana–Monroe | Malone Stadium • Monroe, Louisiana | WKU 31–28 OT | 13,428 | ||
October 29 | 6:00 PM | North Texas | Arkansas State | ASU Stadium • Jonesboro, Arkansas | ASU 37–14 | 19,761 | ||
October 29 | 6:30 PM | Louisiana–Lafayette | Middle Tennessee | Johnny "Red" Floyd Stadium • Murfreesboro, Tennessee | Sun Belt Network | ULL 45–20 | 13,500 |
Date | Time | Visiting team | Home team | Site | TV | Result | Attendance | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
November 5 | 2:30 PM | Troy | CBS Sports Network | L 14–42 | 33,359 | |||
November 5 | 6:00 PM | Middle Tennessee | Fox Sports South | L 0–24 | 88,211 | |||
November 5 | 2:30 PM | Louisiana–Monroe | Louisiana–Lafayette | Cajun Field • Lafayette, Louisiana | Sun Belt Network | ULL 36–35 | 28,176 | |
November 5 | 3:00 PM | Florida International | Western Kentucky | Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith Stadium • Bowling Green, Kentucky | WKU 10–9 | 15,293 | ||
November 5 | 6:00 PM | Arkansas State | Florida Atlantic | FAU Stadium • Boca Raton, Florida | ASU 39–21 | 15,162 |
Date | Time | Visiting team | Home team | Site | TV | Result | Attendance | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
November 12 | 6:00 PM | Western Kentucky | ESPNU | L 9–42 | 92,917 | |||
November 12 | 12:00 PM | North Texas | Troy | Veterans Memorial Stadium • Troy, Alabama | Sun Belt Network | UNT 38-33 | 17,103 | |
November 12 | 2:00 PM | Louisiana-Lafayette | Arkansas State | ASU Stadium • Jonesboro, Arkansas | ESPN3 | ASU 30-21 | 20,261 | |
November 12 | 2:30 PM | Middle Tennessee | Louisiana-Monroe | Malone Stadium • Monroe, Louisiana | ULM 42-14 | 11,987 | ||
November 12 | 5:00 PM | Florida Atlantic | Florida International | FIU Stadium • Miami | FIU 41-7 | 17,378 |
Date | Time | Visiting team | Home team | Site | TV | Result | Attendance | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
November 19 | 2:00 PM | Arkansas State | Middle Tennessee | Johnny "Red" Floyd Stadium • Murfreesboro, Tennessee | ESPN3 | ASU 45-19 | 12,806 | |
November 19 | 2:30 PM | Florida Atlantic | Troy | Veterans Memorial Stadium • Troy, Alabama | Troy 34-7 | 14,342 | ||
November 19 | 4:00 PM | Florida International | Louisiana-Monroe | Malone Stadium • Monroe, Louisiana | FIU 28-17 | 10,587 | ||
November 19 | 6:00 PM | Western Kentucky | North Texas | Apogee Stadium • Denton, Texas | Sun Belt Network | WKU 31-21 | 17,011 |
Date | Time | Visiting team | Home team | Site | TV | Result | Attendance | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
November 26 | 11:30 PM | Troy | Western Kentucky | Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith Stadium • Bowling Green, Kentucky | Sun Belt Network | WKU 41-18 | 15,432 | |
November 26 | 2:30 PM | Florida International | Middle Tennessee | Johnny "Red" Floyd Stadium • Murfreesboro, Tennessee | FIU 31-18 | 10,227 | ||
November 26 | 3:00 PM | Louisiana-Lafayette | L 37-45 | 38,819 | ||||
November 26 | 3:00 PM | Florida Atlantic | FAU Stadium • Boca Raton, Florida | W 38-35 | 12,044 |
The Sun Belt placed 3 teams in bowl games with 4 teams being bowl eligible in 2011. Western Kentucky was the only bowl eligible team not selected.
NOTE: All times are local.
Bowl | Date | Time | SBC team (Record) | Opponent (Record) | Site | TV | Result | Attendance | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
December 17 | 7:00 PM | Louisiana-Lafayette (8-4) | San Diego State (8-4) | ESPN | W 32-30 | 42,841 | |||
December 20 | 8:00 PM | Florida International (8-4) | Marshall (6-6) | ESPN | L 10-20 | 20,072 | |||
January 8 | 8:00 PM | Arkansas State (10-2) | Northern Illinois (10-3) | ESPN | L 20-38 | 38,734 |
Team | Stadium (Capacity) | Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3 | Game 4 | Game 5 | Game 6 | Total | Average | % of Capacity |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Arkansas State | ASU Stadium (30,964) | 29,872 | 27,918 | 15,573 | 19,761 | 20,261 | 113,385 | 22,677 | 73.2% | |
Florida Atlantic | FAU Football Stadium (30,000) | 29,103 | 16,344 | 15,162 | 12,044 | 72,652 | 18,163 | 60.5% | ||
FIU | FIU Stadium (23,500) | 17,568 | 20,205 | 16,780 | 22,682 | 15,852 | 17,378 | 110,465 | 18,411 | 78.3% |
Louisiana–Lafayette | Cajun Field (31,000) | 28,741 | 26,339 | 29,775 | 32,823 | 28,176 | 145,854 | 29,171 | 94.1% | |
Louisiana–Monroe | Malone Stadium (30,427) | 26,532 | 15,027 | 13,428 | 11,987 | 10,587 | 77,561 | 15,512 | 51.0% | |
Middle Tennessee | Johnny "Red" Floyd Stadium (30,788) | 30,502 | 20,098 | 23,307 | 13,500 | 12,806 | 10,277 | 110,490 | 18,415 | 59.8% |
North Texas | Apogee Stadium (30,850) | 28,075 | 21,181 | 13,142 | 17,815 | 17,011 | 97,224 | 19,445 | 63.0% | |
Troy | Veterans Memorial Stadium (30,000) | 20,185 | 18,044 | 19,818 | 17,103 | 14,342 | 89,492 | 17,898 | 59.7% | |
Western Kentucky | Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith Stadium (22,000) | 19,409 | 15,793 | 10,813 | 15,122 | 15,293 | 15,432 | 91,862 | 15,310 | 69.6% |