2012 Sun Belt Preview

We have finally made it. This is the last of the season previews and with just four days to spare before the beginning of the 2012 college football season. To see last year's Sun Belt preview, click here.

The Best Sun Belt Win
The Sun Belt has only been around (for football at least) since 2001. In that span, they have routinely been the worst conference in DI college football. They may have an argument for being better than the WAC this season, but for the most part the label has been deserved. However, that doesn't mean the conference has not had its moments. Since 2005, Sun Belt teams have won 10 games against teams from BCS conferences. In 2011, Sun Belt member FIU even beat a team (Louisville) that eventually tied for their conference championship (Big East). Still, that Louisville team managed only a 7-6 record. So which Sun Belt victory has been the most impressive? The following table lists the 10 BCS conference teams Sun Belt squads have beaten, the final record of those BCS conference teams, and the SRS ranking of the BCS conference teams.

For the most part, as would be expected when discussing the worst conference in DI football, most of the victims have been bad. Seven of the wins have come against teams with final SRS rankings below 50. The most impressive win was probably also the most shocking at the time. Louisiana-Monroe upset Nick Saban's first Alabama team in Tuscaloosa. While that Alabama team finished just 7-6, all their losses came by seven points or less. Couple that with a tough SEC schedule and you can see why their SRS ranked in the top-30. So what BCS conference teams should be on high alert when facing Sun Belt teams this year? FIU has two early opportunities for BCS scalps when they open at Duke and host Louisville three weeks later and Louisiana-Monroe hosts a depleted Baylor squad on a Friday night in mid-September. On paper those appear to be the only real shot that Sun Belt teams have of knocking off one of the big boys in 2012.