2012 Sun Belt Football Previews, From Gus Malzahn To Carl Pelini

2012 Arkansas State Football: Gus Malzahn And Committing To Committing

Arkansas State made a huge hire and is investing like never before in its football program. They have committed to committing to become the Boise State Of The South, but what can Gus Malzahn make of his first squad in Jonesboro?

Related: Arkansas State's complete 2012 statistical profile, including projected starters, year-to-year trends, and rankings galore.

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2012 Troy Football Preview: Rubber Ball Vs. Dead Cat

After a half-decade of Sun Belt dominance, Larry Blakeney's Troy Trojans fell apart in 2011. Behind an exciting passing game and a solid set of linebackers, they can expect rebound at least a little bit in 2012, but how upwardly mobile are they in what is a rapidly improving conference?

Related: Troy's complete 2012 statistical profile, including projected starters, year-to-year trends, and rankings galore.

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2012 Florida International Football: When Cliches Don't Apply

Mario Cristobal turned a pile of ashes into a program strong enough to keep him in South Florida when Pittsburgh and Rutgers called this past offseason. Now, following the departure of star receiver T.Y. Hilton, does he have enough talent to make his surprising decision worth it? Signs point to yes.

Related: FIU's complete 2012 statistical profile, including projected starters, year-to-year trends, and rankings galore.

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2012 Middle Tennessee Football: The Cooling Process

The Sun Belt is full of interesting, improving teams. But if one team improves, that means another team has to regress. Meet the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders!

Related: Middle Tennessee's complete 2012 statistical profile, including projected starters, year-to-year trends, and rankings galore.

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2012 Louisiana-Lafayette Football: Starry Eyes And Oklahoma Drills

Coach Mark Hudspeth could not possibly have made a better debut in the heart of Acadiana. He took Louisiana-Lafayette to both its first bowl win and nine-win season in 2011. Now, with an exciting passing game and a completely rebuilt defense, he goes about trying to do it all over again.

Related: UL-Lafayette's complete 2012 statistical profile, including projected starters, year-to-year trends, and rankings galore.

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2012 Louisiana-Monroe Football: You Are Not Goliath

UL-Monroe head coach Todd Berry has taken a nearly perfect approach to a tough job, but philosophy only matters if execution follows. Can the Warhawks leap forward in Berry's third year?

Related: UL-Monroe's complete 2012 statistical profile, including projected starters, year-to-year trends, and rankings galore.

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2012 Florida Atlantic Football: The Bottoming-Out Process

For more than 50 years, Howard Schnellenberger was The Most Interesting Man In The (College Football) World. But he left the cupboard pretty bare for new coach Carl Pelini. Can the Owls rebound at all this fall, or will it take Pelini and company a couple of years to pick up the pieces in Boca Raton?

Related: Florida Atlantic's complete 2012 statistical profile, including projected starters, year-to-year trends, and rankings galore.

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2012 Western Kentucky Football: Bowl Snubs And Gains Maintenance

Willie Taggart has engineered incredible improvement at Western Kentucky in his two years as head coach. With an offensive identity change and gaping holes in the secondary, can the Hilltoppers reach bowl eligibility for the second straight year? And if so, can they avoid another bowl snub?

Related: Western Kentucky's complete 2012 statistical profile, including projected starters, year-to-year trends, and rankings galore.

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2012 North Texas Football: Normalcy And Likability

North Texas head coach Dan McCarney is attempting to bring North Texas back to the postseason for the first time since 2004 while also attempting to return to normalcy following a February stroke. The former may be a year away, but it would not be smart to doubt him on the latter.

Related: North Texas' complete 2012 statistical profile, including projected starters, year-to-year trends, and rankings galore.

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2012 South Alabama Football Preview: The Jaguars And Odd Paths

The South Alabama Jaguars are playing their provisional season in 2012, one step away from full FBS, and Sun Belt Conference, membership. Can a salty defense keep them afloat while a young offense learns a new system?

Related: South Alabama football's 2012 stat profile, including projected wins and losses and projected starters.