Philadelphia, PA -- (Sports Network) - Welcome to Jeff Frank's third annual college football conference previews. Last season was a spectacular one, as I took apart all the major magazines by compiling the number one record in preseason prediction accuracy. The final tally of 130 points was five better than Athlon, seven ahead of Lindy's, and 10 in front of The Sporting News.

With that bit of shameless self-promotion behind us, let's begin this year's conference previews with the Sun Belt Conference.

It's very trendy to bad-mouth this league, as most folks have been doing for years. However, three different clubs - Louisiana-Monroe, Troy and Florida Atlantic) posted victories over teams from the SEC, Big 12 and Big Ten last season.

Overall, the Sun Belt finished 3-23 vs. BCS schools with an even 13-13 ATS mark. Quite an accomplishment considering the previous year the eight teams went 0-24 SU with a 10-14 ATS record against the six power conferences.

Even more impressive is the Sun Belt's SU and ATS mark vs. the entire FBS landscape. Back in '05, the records showed just one SU victory (Middle Tennessee over Vanderbilt) in 27 chances and an 8-19 ATS mark. Last year, the league went 7-28 SU and a very impressive 20-15 ATS record.

Florida Atlantic knocked off 16-point favorite Troy, 38-32, to win the conference championship the final week of the regular season, and then cruised past Memphis to garner its first ever bowl victory. The Owls are the heavy choice to post back-to-back Sun Belt titles, as they bring back 18 starters from last year's team. Can they do it? Let's take a closer look.

1) TROY - The Trojans outscored league opponents by an average score of 36-15, but were denied a bowl bid after losing to FAU the last week of the season.

Offense - The skill position players need to be replaced, but the cupboard is far from bare. Jamie Hampton takes over for Omar Haugabook and RBs DuJuan Harris and Maurice Greer will more than make up for the loss of Kenny Cattouse. The Trojans have the fastest set of receivers in the conference, but the strength of the "O" is the line that brings back all five starters.

Defense - Seven starters return to a defense that finished first in league play allowing 15 ppg and 317 yards per contest. Troy also held opposing Sun Belt rushers to under 4.0 ypc - the only school in the conference to do so. The only question mark is at cornerback, where first-round NFL Draft pick Leodis McKelvin and Elbert Mack must be replaced.

Outlook - Despite the losses, the Trojans are still the most talented team in the league. Expect a 6-1 conference mark and a third bowl appearance since 2004. Troy is 11-4 ATS off a SU win and 4-1 as an away favorite the last two years, and will be a good bet early in the season since most experts don't expect the Trojans to finish first in league play.

2-T) ULM - Knocking off Alabama in Tuscaloosa highlighted a 6-6 record - the Warhawks' first six-win season since joining the FBS in 1994.

Offense - A team that relies so heavily on the run might not be able to withstand losing all-time leading rusher Calvin Dawson, but sophomore Frank Goodin should step right in after gaining 596 yards on 5.1 ypc in his freshman season. Quarterback Kinsmon Lancaster has his top three receivers back, and head coach Charlie Weatherbie went the JUCO route to solidify the line that lost three starters.

Defense - ULM had the number one ranked run defense in SBC play allowing just 139 ypg, and finished second behind Troy in scoring "D." With eight starters returning, this defense remains the second best in the conference behind the Trojans.

Outlook - Both Troy and FAU come to Monroe this year, giving the Warhawks an excellent shot at a conference title. However, losses to Troy and Middle Tennessee will put them at 5-2 and a tie for second with Florida Atlantic. ULM has a couple of positive ATS trends in its favor: 9-3 as an away dog and 10-4 in league play the last two seasons, along with a 15-7 overall ATS mark.

2-T) FAU - The Owls return over 80% of their lettermen and at least 16 starters for a second straight season, and nothing short of another bowl appearance will appease their fans.

Offense - FAU more than doubled its offensive output going from 15 ppg in '06 to 31 ppg last season, with Rusty Smith leading all conference quarterbacks with a 141.6 QB rating. On the downside, even though the Owls ranked second in league play in both scoring and total offense, they finished sixth in ypc and fifth in completion percentage.

Defense - FAU gave up 33 ppg, worst in school history, despite bringing back its top eight tacklers. Opposing Sun Belt quarterbacks nailed 62.8% of their passes last year, and now the Owls must move forward with just three of their top six tacklers returning.

Outlook - Don't believe the hype. A lot of things went right for the Owls in '07. They were number one in the country in turnover margin prior to their bowl game, and they also won four games by a combined 19 points. A 5-2 SBC record will have them tied for second with ULM. In addition, they're a great team to wager against once Sun Belt action begins, since most pundits expect them to dominate. FAU is 10-4 ATS in conference play the last two years, but 3-8 as an away dog.

4-T) NORTH TEXAS - The Mean Green has the potential to be the surprise team in the league if freshman QB Riley Dodge is everything he's made out to be.

Offense - A year ago this time, Dodge orally committed to Texas, but decided to follow his dad, Todd Dodge, who took over as head coach at North Texas last season. There is a chance he could redshirt coming off shoulder surgery, but even if he does, Giovanni Vizza is capable of leading the team after a solid 124.2 QB rating his last four starts. Four starters return to the O-line and even though the unit allowed 39 sacks, only 10 came in the final five games. Casey Fitzgerald returns as the school's single season reception and yardage leader, but watch out for two underclassmen - Even Fentriss and Sam Roberson - to make huge strides.

Defense - It's difficult to imagine North Texas improving on its last place FBS finish in scoring defense (45.1 ppg), especially with its top five tacklers departing. However, Dodge brought in Gary DeLoach as his new defensive coordinator. DeLoach was the team's DC earlier in the decade, and his unit finished third in the nation in scoring "D" back in 2002. It might take some time, but this defense can only improve.

Outlook - North Texas played much better than its 2-10 (1-6) record would indicate. The Mean Green beat ULM by 10, led FAU by seven after three quarters, and was up on Arkansas State by 10 points with four minutes left in the game before losing by four. They will finish at 3-4 in league play, and should be bet hard early in the season. NT is 0-7 ATS off a SU win the last three years.

5-T) ARKANSAS STATE - Even though the Red Wolves won five games in 2007, four of those "W's" came against teams with a combined record of 7-41.

Offense - RB Reggie Arnold has rushed for 1,000 yards in each of his two seasons, but he might not get there in '08 with only one lineman returning that has started a collegiate game. Quarterback Corey Leonard also comes back to Jonesboro after breaking the school record for TDs in a season (16). Here's an interesting statistic: the Red Wolves outgained their 12 opponents in both rushing and passing, but still finished below .500 - overall and in conference play.

Defense - Arkansas State finished second in Sun Belt play in total defense and first in passing "D," but the team loses its entire secondary and four of its top five tacklers. The pass rush has been anemic with just 26 sacks the last two years combined, so don't expect much from this unit in '08.

Outlook - ASU was outscored 216-121 in the first half last year, which forced a run-based team to throw more than expected. In order to reach .500 in the conference, the o-line must develop. I don't expect that to happen. Three wins tops is all the Red Wolves can hope for. They are 13-20-1 ATS in league play the last five years.

6-T) ULL - After two consecutive six-win seasons, the Ragin' Cajuns fell to 3-9 as 52% of their roster were underclassmen.

Offense - Head Coach Ricky Bustle brings in his third offensive coordinator in the last three years, and if the spring game was any indication, look for a more balanced offense in 2008. ULL ran for a school-record 2,019 yards last season, 1,021 coming from RB Tyrell Fenroy, who needs just 830 yards to become the Sun Belt's all-time leading rusher.

Defense - In order for ULL to make a run at the conference title, the defense, which allowed 35 ppg in league play, must improve. The run "D" gave up 5.0 ypc, a full yard more than the previous campaign, and the defense as a whole ranked last in Sun Belt play giving up 450 yards per game. In addition, opponents scored 92.7% of the time in the Red Zone.

Outlook - The Cajuns are 19-9 in their last 28 conference games when the defense holds the opposition under 30 ppg. Otherwise, they're 2-17. Too many defensive question marks will keep them down for another season with a 2-5 mark in league play. ULL was 0-4 as a home underdog last year.

6-T) MIDDLE TENNESSEE - The Blue Raiders have a 10-4 conference record the past two years, but that winning percentage will take a pounding in 2008 as 47 of the 73 scholarship players are either redshirt or true freshmen.

Offense - The quarterback combo of Dwight Dasher and Joe Craddock came into last season's opener with just 24 career attempts. This year, the duo brings in 338 lifetime passes. Unfortunately, if Craddock doesn't win the starting job, Middle Tennessee will have zero offensive starting seniors and four of the top five linemen will be underclassmen.

Defense - Defensive coordinator Manny Diaz was quoted in early April saying, "I don't think Troy or any opponent we play this year will worry about any player we line up on our defense." Not a ringing endorsement for a "D" that allowed 200 rushing yards per game last year, 80 more than in '06. This year's club will also be without its top two DE's, as Erik Walden and Tavares Jones leave school as two of the top three sack leaders in team history.

Outlook - If there's one team in the country to wager against the first month of the season, it's Middle Tennessee. The Blue Raiders should finish the season an improved ball club and will be one of the favorites in 2009, but don't expect more than a pair of conference victories this year. They are 8-4 ATS off a SU win the last two years.

6-T) FIU - Speaking of young teams, the Golden Panthers ranked second in the country behind Temple last year as 61% of their roster were underclassmen. After 23 straight losses, they finally won a game defeating North Texas in the season finale.

Offense -In 2006, FIU produced just one 100-yard effort. Last year, the Golden Panthers gained 100 yards eight times. In addition, they averaged 23 ppg in the final six contests, a huge improvement over the seven points they averaged the first half of '07. Quarterback Wayne Younger missed the spring rehabbing his injured collarbone so look for Paul McCall to come away as the starter, especially after guiding FIU to its only win last year. Even if Younger were healthy, it would be tough to justify giving him the job after he threw 17 picks in just 265 attempts last year, by far the worst interception ratio of any quarterback in the country.

Defense - Only Troy allowed less passing TDs (19) last season. Unfortunately for the Panthers, they gave up 37 rushing scores. FIU came into the year without its top four tacklers from '06, and it showed, as the defense ranked last in Sun Belt play allowing 5.1 ypc and a 63.2 QB completion rate. With eight of its top nine tacklers returning, expect significant improvement.

Outlook - The Panthers did not have a lead during any point in their first five games, but were in front at one time or another in five of their last seven. They were 4-10 ATS in conference play the last two years and will pick up two SU league wins in 2008.