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As the Sun Belt Conference closes out its first decade of college football, commissioner Wright Waters is calling on its top teams to set goals beyond winning their own league.
He sees no reason why the Bowl Championship Series should be considered out of reach.
''If Hawaii and Boise (State) and Utah and TCU can accomplish it, in my mind, I don't know of any reason why our schools can't do that also,'' Waters said. ''After 10 years, it's time to reset goals and objectives, look at where we are, and more importantly, where we can go.''
The Sun Belt is gradually gaining respect, increasing bowl bids and competing better with - and sometimes even beating - opponents from conferences like the Big Ten and the SEC. A number of the league's stadiums are new, renovated or expanded, and attendance has been rising, making those programs increasingly attractive to players from fertile recruiting grounds.
Waters hopes it adds up to the emergence of a Sun Belt team good enough to run the table with a schedule that includes at least one signature out-of-conference win.
''That's probably the only way, outside the automatic qualifying conferences, that anybody gets there,'' Waters said. ''You get a high-profile win, get the public's attention early and rely on the polls to recognize your achievement within the conference.''
Among Sun Belt coaches, the consensus is that Middle Tennessee and Troy are two teams mostly likely to pull it off. Both of their non-conference schedules give them a shot, with Middle Tennessee opening at home against Minnesota and Troy visiting Oklahoma State and South Carolina.
The Blue Raiders won 10 games last season, including the New Orleans Bowl, and were picked as narrow favorites to win the league in 2010 over Troy, which has won or shared the conference crown the past four seasons.
Troy coach Larry Blakeney called Middle Tennessee a legitimate conference favorite for two key reasons: their quarterback and schedule.
The Blue Raiders have an experienced signal caller in senior Dwight Dasher, voted preseason all-conference. Middle Tennessee also will be the home team when they meet Troy on Oct. 5.
''I'm sure they're going to make a run at it,'' Blakeney said. ''Hopefully we can find a way to hang in there with them.''
Troy will have a new quarterback following the departure of Levi Brown to the NFL. Junior Jamie Hampton or redshirt freshman Corey Robinson will take over an otherwise formidable squad.
''We're pretty solid across the board everywhere else on offense,'' Blakeney said.
Beyond the experience and talent the Blue Raiders have behind center, depth at running back may be their greatest strength.
Head coach Rick Stockstill likes Phillip Tanner, D.D. Kyles and Ben Cunningham so much he's experimenting with the wishbone in short-yardage and goal-line situations. The formation, along with Dasher, ''gives you four pretty good runners back there,'' Stockstill said.
Tanner began last season as the starter, but his early season injury gave Kyles and Cunningham a chance to prove they belong in the mix.
Stockstill said it's premature to say this is best team he's had, but conceded, ''This is probably the most experienced team we've had coming back in the skill positions.''
A capsule look at the teams in predicted order of finish:
MIDDLE TENNESSEE - Key players: QB Dwight Dasher, OL Mark Fisher, DL Jamari Lattimore, DB Jeremy Kellem, PK Alan Gendreau. Returning starters: 8 offense, 6 defense
Notes: Dasher is the preseason Sun Belt Offensive Player of the Year. He threw for 23 TDs and ran for 1,154 yards with 13 scores in 2009. The starting offensive line also returns intact. The Blue Raiders have shared two championships (2001, 2006) but never won the title outright.
TROY - Key players: WR Jerrel Jernigan, OL Tyler Clark, CB Bryan Willis, DT Sidell Corley. Returning starters: 6 offense, 3 defense.
Notes: Jernigan caught 71 passes for 1,101 yards a year ago. The Trojans lost six of their top seven tacklers, including two-time first-team All-Sun Belt DT Brandon Lang. Troy is 26-3 in Sun Belt play the last four years, winning two outright championships and sharing two.
ARKANSAS STATE - Key players: DE Bryan Hall, OL Derek Newton, LB Demario Davis, S Kelcie McCray. Returning starters: 6 offense, 5 defense.
Notes: Hall is the preseason Sun Belt Defensive Player of the Year, after recording nine tackles for loss and 2 1/2 sacks in 2009. The Red Wolves lost their leading rusher, passer and two top receivers, and have not finished with a winning record since 1995.
LOUISIANA-LAFAYETTE - Key players: TE Ladarius Green, LB Grant Fleming, OL Jonathan Decoster, P Spencer Ortego. Returning starters: 5 offense, 8 defense.
Notes: ULL could contend if it re-establishes a running game that disappeared last year, and Green is a legitimate receiving threat at TE. The Ragin Cajuns have been bowl eligible in four of the past five years but have not received a postseason invitation.
FLORIDA ATLANTIC - Key players: RB Alfred Morris, CB Tavious Polo, S Marcus Bartels, QB Jeff Van Camp. Returning starters: 2 offense, 9 defense.
Notes: Van Camp threw 12 touchdown passes with only two interceptions after replacing injured starter Rusty Smith for the last five games in 2009. No offensive lineman has started a game. The Owls have won more bowl games (two, in 2007 and '08) than any team in the Sun Belt.
FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL - Key players: CB Anthony Gaiter, WR T.Y. Hilton, OL Brad Serini, LB Aaron Davis. Returning starters: 6 offense, 5 defense.
Notes: Mississippi State transfer Wesley Carroll, the likely starting QB, benefits from the return of FIU's top eight pass-catchers. The Golden Eagles start the year by playing host to Rutgers and traveling to Texas A&M, Maryland and Pittsburgh in consecutive weeks.
LOUISIANA-MONROE - Key players: DL Troy Evans, RB Frank Goodin, S Darius Prelow, WR Luther Ambrose. Returning starters: 6 offense, 4 defense.
Notes: Evans is the only ULM player to make preseason first-team All-Sun Belt, after having 6 1/2 sacks in 2009. Goodin rushed for 1,126 yards and 13 TDs. New coach Todd Berry was 5-36 in a four-year stint at Army from 2000-2003.
NORTH TEXAS - Key players: RB Lance Dunbar, OL Esteban Santiago, DL Brandon Akpunku, LB Craig Robertson. Returning starters: 9 offense, 8 defense.
Notes: Dunbar rushed for 1,378 yards with 17 touchdowns despite starting only eight games a year ago. North Texas lost five games by four points or fewer. After winning at least a share of the conference title from 2001-04, the Mean Green is 6-30 in league play and 10-49 overall since.
WESTERN KENTUCKY - Key players: QB Matt Pelesasa, RB Bobby Rainey, TE Jack Doyle, LB Thomas Majors, K Casey Tinius. Returning starters: 9 offense, 9 defense.
Notes: New coach Willie Taggart takes over a program on a 20-game skid, but one that lost its last three games of 2009 by a combined 13 points. Pelesasa is a junior college transfer and the projected starter, but sophomore Kawaun Jakes showed promise in 2009. He is a versatile athlete who could see time at receiver if he doesn't beat out Pelesasa at quarterback.
