As always, these are real e-mails from our readers, who don't mind calling in a bet every once and awhile.

 

 

 

 

For the 2nd year in a row, we’ve decided to post FBS conference mailbags to help our readers get ready for college football. We're going in reverse order, from the weakest conference to the to strongest.

 

 

 

Why the hell are you doing a Sun Belt Conference Mailbag? - Mike R., NYC

 

Nice to hear from you again Mike.

 

 

 

 

You guys loved Dasher in 2009 – who's your site crush this year? – Eric R., Baton Rouge, LA

 

You know us too well. For those who didn't watch bowl games, Dwight Dasher is our boy from Middle Tennessee. (QB, Senior). Check out our boy's stat line. You would remember him if you purchased any of our bowl picks. He ran for 200 yards in the New Orleans bowl against Southern Miss and racked up 4 total TDs. They covered by 2 scores. Dasher has eff-you speed, and the offense is literally attached to his back. When he's not in the game, MTSU looks more confused than Wade Phillips after a flag is thrown.

 

 

 

 

By the way, if you like to read absolute one-sided 140 character opinions on MTSU's performances – follow @BlueRaiderZone.

 

Our new site crush, out of pure fear of not picking him, is DeMario Davis, Arkansas St. (LB, Junior). This kid is literally the meanest person in North America. He led the Red Wolves in tackles as a sophomore and also led the conference in ‘if this guy was on steroids he would have started over Lattimer in The Program' votes. He’s 6’3, and 213 pounds of pure puppy kicking. He has the long dreadlock hair style that gives him at least 14 extra points in the 'bad ass linebacker category.' There’s probably only a small chance you’ll catch an Ark St. game, but if you do, don’t miss #23.

 

 

Top 5 coolest names? (I’m submitting this for every conference) – Will, Charlotte, NC

 

5. LaChristopher Anyiam, DT, North Texas – translates to, The Christopher 4. Markenel Zele, DT, Florida Atlantic 3. Thatcher Starling, DT, FIU 2. Mitch MacClugage, OG, FIU 1. Dantavious Parker, QB, Troy – Doesn’t this name make you want to birth a African-American child and teach them the wildcat? And you’re probably thinking, “His whole family probably has crazy names.” You wish – Dad is William and Mom is Janice. But we’d like to thank them for giving us Dantavious.

 

 

Middle Tennessee was 10-3 ATS last year. I rode them more times than my tractor last fall. Can anyone in the conference be as under the radar as Dash and the boys were in 2009? – Jackie, Murfreesboro, TN

 

 

Even though Middle Tennessee is our pick to win the conference, Troy is probably the most public team in the Sun Belt, so we can rule those teams out in terms of being under the radar. (Troy – 7-5-1 ATS, 2009.) There will probably be some value in MTSU Week 1 against Minnesota, especially if they come out as underdogs, but you shouldn't expect the Blue Raiders to be 10-3 ATS again.

 

We love North Texas ATS, because we believe they will vastly outperform expectations. A lot of blogs have them near the bottom of FBS, but not us. They brought in Mike Canales, the OC from South Florida, and nothing smooths transition into a new offense like a veteran offensive line. NT returns 17 guys from a team that just seemed to keep falling short.

 

Our boy Lance Dunbar averaged 6.9 yards per carry last season! Good enough for 5th in the NCAA, and we expect him to become to as close to a household name as you can have in the Sun Belt. We haven’t given up on Todd Dodge just yet. (Please don't make us regret saying that.) Winning games is one thing, while covering spreads is a whole different skill set. NT just might be that 10-3 ATS dark horse.

  

 

 

 

Is it too late to get a question in for the Sun Belt mailbag? – Kurt, Little Rock, AK

 

Bet you never thought you’d ask that…

 

 

 

My wife keeps bitching that cheering for my alum is a waste of time. I told her that she was a jinx on Western Kentucky, so we made a bet. I get to watch every WKU game this season at my favorite bar (It's called Topper-off.)(It's not a strip club.) but if they go 0-12 again, I have to give up college football for an entire year. On a scale of 1 to shit out of luck, how screwed am I and the Hilltoppers? – Dan, Bowling Green, KY

 

Putting a year of college football on the line for 12 Saturdays at a bar? You're pretty close to fucked. You won't even be able to enjoy these games with this bet pending. WKU doesn't have a winnable game until mid-October. That being said, as a site founded on gambling, how amazing will the games be if WKU gets to like 0-8? You will be on the edge of your seat screaming at the TV alone in the corner while the rest of the bar is watching Florida vs. Georgia.

 

WKU faces 4 BCS schools in the first 4 weeks of September and then gets a bye-week, which they will need. The O/U on total points they will be underdogs by in the 1st 4 games is like 116. Junior Bobby Rainey is probably the lone exciting piece of WKU, averaging almost 7 yards a carry. Like last year WKU will probably be underdogs in every single game, and if they can’t get the win at home against ULM on October 16th, WKU might be looking at another 0 win season. And Dan will be looking at a Saturday filled with…well… we're not really sure what else is on TV on Saturdays.

 

 

 

Can you please get started on the big conferences so I can go back to reading your site. – Dan L, Brooklyn, NY

 

Dan, yeah, sorry the Sun Belt can't compete with a college football hotbed like Brooklyn. We do a Sun Belt mailbag, because we like sports. We watch Sun Belt games, because a kid like Dasher or Alfred Morris can kick into "Why didn't anyone else recruit me – I don't belong in this goddamn conference mode," and take over a game.

 

As far as the coaches go, there are some great minds in the Sun Belt. Todd Dodge is a household name in high school football coaching folklore, and he’s only the 2nd most famous coach in the conference. Florida Atlantic is coached by Howard Schnellenberger, the same Schnellenberger that led Miami to the national title in 1983. Schnellenberger’s legendary status has definitely been lifted since ESPN’s 30 for 30 on the University of Miami. Maybe in 30 years, they’ll do one about Florida Atlantic.

 

 

 

 

 

 

But just because it's the lowest rated conference in FBS, it doesn't mean there aren't any good story lines. Here are 3 to keep you thinking when the Sun Belt rolls across the bottom line.

 

1. Alfred Morris (RB) is the prized possession of the FAU program. The Florida native burst onto the scene last year with 1400 yards, good enough for 14th in the country. But now the o-line returns no starters, and is a bit undersized. On top of that, the heart and soul of the FAU offense, Willie Rose (FB) will not be there to lead the way for Morris. Can Morris be a Big Boy Back and carry the load, or will the load get blown all over him? (That was good come on…)

 

2. Can Arkansas State finally live up to the hype? Okay, so they never really have that much hype, but they never seem to live up to expectations. When stud LB Darius Glover went down last year, the defense was saved by relatively angry LB Demario Davis, and now they're both back and ready to start killing live animals. Ark St. has a solid d-line and extremely talented LB corps, but will it translate to Sun Belt wins – or just another Red Wolf let down?

 

3. What's a Sun Belt storyline without Dwight Dasher? This freak of nature racked up 88 yards a game rushing (4th in conference) and 125 yards through the air (6th). He single-handedly won MTSU's bowl game, and also bitched slapped Schnellenberger and FAU in Boca Raton with a 74 yard run to ice the game late in the 4th. Can Dash handle the pressure of BB following his every move? Can he live up to the name Dash? Can he mentally handle it when BB bets against him because he's over hyped? Only time will tell, Dan from Brooklyn, only time will tell.

Tags: Mailbag