Five things you should know about the Sun Belt - CBSSports.com

5 Things you should know about the SunBelt….

1. Is it possible to be at the top your game at age 74? Howard Schnellenberger is doing it again, having led Florida Atlantic to the conference's first win over a Big Ten team (Minnesota) the Sun Belt title and New Orleans Bowl victory. It's the same formula Schnellie used at Miami, scour the state for fast Florida talent. Why not extend him through 2010?

2. Better times ahead. The Sun Belt is usually whipped with a belt by I-A powers in gurantee game. But for the second consecutive year at least three of the league's eight teams finished .500 or better.

3. The best program is … Troy. Coach Larry Blakeney is entering his 18th year with the Trojans. Troy is competing for bowl games and producing NFL talent on a regular basis. Blakeney has won eight each of the last two years and has one losing season since 2002.

4. Bouncing back from the Alabama hangover. In a season of upsets the Louisiana-Monroe's stunning win at Alabama was one of the biggest. Journeyman coach Charlie Weatherbie was in charge of a team that had lost its first four games by 18, 23, 40 and 17 points. The 24-point underdogs hung in against an uninterested Crimson Tide and perhaps turned around the program.

5. The Sun Belt is the home of the best spread option offense in the country. Unfortunately, North Texas coach Todd Dodge ran it in high school. The transition of the offense to I-A was not pretty as the Mean Green finished 2-10 allowing 45 points per game. Something is wrong when you score 62 – and lost by 12 to Navy. Better days are ahead for Dodge but the conference is getting tougher too.