2009 Sun Belt Conference football season

2009 Sun Belt Conference football season
2009 Sun Belt Conference football season
League	NCAA Division I FBS (Football Bowl Subdivision)
Sport	football
Duration	September 3, 2009; through January 6, 2010
Number of teams	9
TV partner(s)	ESPN
2010 NFL Draft
Top draft pick	Alex Carrington
Picked by	Buffalo Bills, 72nd overall
Regular season
Champion	Troy
Season MVP	Levi Brown
Football seasons
	← 2008 2010 →

2009 Sun Belt Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
Troy $	8	–	0	9	–	4
Middle Tennessee	7	–	1	10	–	3
Louisiana–Monroe	5	–	3	6	–	6
Florida Atlantic	5	–	3	5	–	7
Louisiana–Lafayette	4	–	4	6	–	6
Arkansas State	3	–	5	4	–	8
FIU	3	–	5	3	–	9
North Texas	1	–	7	2	–	10
Western Kentucky	0	–	8	0	–	12

$ – Conference champion

The 2009 Sun Belt Conference football season was an NCAA football season that was played from September 3, 2009, to January 6, 2010. The Sun Belt Conference consists of 9 football members: Arkansas State, Florida Atlantic, Florida International, Louisiana-Lafayette, Louisiana-Monroe, Middle Tennessee, North Texas, Troy, and Western Kentucky who becomes a full-time member in 2009 after 2 seasons as an independent and conditional member who played a limited Sun Belt schedule after transitioning from the Football Championship Subdivision. Troy won the Sun Belt Championship and played in the GMAC Bowl where they lost in two overtimes to Central Michigan. Middle Tennessee was the only other Sun Belt member to be invited to a bowl game, the New Orleans Bowl, where they defeated Southern Mississippi.

Previous season

Troy (8–5) were the Sun Belt champions and lost to Southern Mississippi in the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl 30–27.

Three other Sun Belt teams, Arkansas State, Florida Atlantic, and Louisiana-Lafayette, were bowl eligible with records of 6-6, but only Florida Atlantic was invited to a bowl game, the Motor City Bowl defeating Central Michigan 24–21.

Preseason

Preseason poll

The 2009 Sun Belt coaches preseason poll was announced during a two-day media web-based event on July 20 and 21.^[1] Defending champion Troy was selected as the favorite to win the conference.

Sun Belt Coaches Poll

Troy – 72 (5)
Arkansas State – 69
Florida Atlantic – 61 (1)
Middle Tennessee – 52
Florida International - 43 (1)
Louisiana-Lafayette – 39 (1)
Louisiana-Monroe – 34 (1)
North Texas – 18
Western Kentucky - 17

Award watch lists

Award	School	Player
Bronko Nagurski Trophy^[2]	Troy	Brandon Lang
Dave Rimington Trophy^[3]	Florida International	Brad Serini
	Louisiana-Lafayette	Chris Fisher
	Middle Tennessee	Mark Thompson
	Troy	Danny Franks
Lombardi Award^[4]	Arkansas State	Alex Carrington
	Louisiana-Lafayette	Brad Bustle
	Louisiana-Lafayette	Chris Fisher
	Louisiana-Monroe	Cardia Jackson
	Troy	Danny Franks
	Troy	Brandon Lang
	Troy	Boris Lee
	Troy	Cameron Sheffield
	Troy	Bear Woods
Manning Award^[5]	Arkansas State	Corey Leonard
	Florida Atlantic	Rusty Smith
	Troy	Levi Brown
Lou Groza Award^[6]	Arkansas State	Josh Arauco
Lou Groza Award^[6]	Troy	Sam Glusman
Outland Trophy^[7]	Louisiana-Lafayette	Chris Fisher
Fred Biletnikoff Award^[8]	Florida Atlantic	Cortez Gent
	Florida International	T. Y. Hilton
	Troy	Jerrel Jernigan
Walter Camp Award^[9]	Florida Atlantic	Rusty Smith
Doak Walker Award^[10]	Arkansas State	Reggie Arnold
	Middle Tennessee	Phillip Tanner
	Troy	DuJuan Harris
Davey O'Brien Award^[11]	Florida Atlantic	Rusty Smith

Regular season

Index to colors and formatting
Sun Belt member won
Sun Belt member lost
Sun Belt teams in bold

All times reflect the local time for that team (Central Time-Arkansas State, Louisiana-Lafayette, Louisiana-Monroe, Middle Tennessee, North Texas and Troy. Eastern Time- Florida Atlantic, Florida International, Western Kentucky). Conference games times are that of the home team.

Rankings reflect that of the USA Today Coaches poll for that week until week eight when the BCS rankings will be used.

Week One

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 3	6:00 p.m.	Troy	Bowling Green	Doyt Perry Stadium • Bowling Green, OH		L 31-14	14,514
September 3	6:30 p.m.	North Texas	Ball State	Scheumann Stadium • Muncie, IN	ESPNU	W 20-10	16,054
September 5	12:20 p.m.	Western Kentucky	Tennessee	Neyland Stadium • Knoxville, TN		L 63-7	98,761
September 5	5:00 p.m.	Middle Tennessee	Clemson	Memorial Stadium • Clemson, SC		L 37-14	75,000
September 5	6:00 p.m.	Mississippi Valley State	Arkansas State	ASU Stadium • Jonesboro, AR		W 61-0	21,056
September 5	6:00 p.m.	Southern	Louisiana-Lafayette	Cajun Field • Lafayette, LA		W 42–19	41,357
September 5	6:00 p.m.	Louisiana-Monroe	#2 Texas	Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium • Austin, TX	FSN	L 59-20	101,096
September 5	7:00 p.m.	Florida Atlantic	#22 Nebraska	Memorial Stadium • Lincoln, NE	FSN	L 49-3	85,719

Week Two

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 12	11:20 a.m.	Troy	#1 Florida	Ben Hill Griffin Stadium • Gainesville, FL		L 56-6	90,349
September 12	1:00 p.m.	Arkansas State	#18 Nebraska	Memorial Stadium • Lincoln, NE	FSN	L 38-9	85,035
September 12	6:00 p.m.	Kansas State	Louisiana-Lafayette	Cajun Field • Lafayette, LA		W 17-15	16,431
September 12	6:00 p.m.	Texas Southern	Louisiana-Monroe	Malone Stadium • Monroe, LA		W 58-0	9,330
September 12	6:00 p.m.	Memphis	Middle Tennessee	Johnny "Red" Floyd Stadium • Murfreesboro, TN		W 31-14	28,105
September 12	6:00 p.m.	Ohio	North Texas	Fouts Field • Denton, TX		L 31–30 in 2OT	16,674
September 12	7:00 p.m.	Florida International	#4 Alabama	Bryant–Denny Stadium • Tuscaloosa, AL		L 40-14	92,012
September 12	7:30 p.m.	South Florida	Western Kentucky	Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith Stadium • Bowling Green, KY	ESPNU	L 35-13	20,568

Week Three

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 19	12:20 p.m.	North Texas	#4 Alabama	Bryant–Denny Stadium • Tuscaloosa, AL	SEC Network	L 53-7	92,012
September 19	2:30 p.m.	Middle Tennessee	Maryland	Byrd Stadium • College Park, MD		W 32-31	43,167
September 19	2:30 p.m.	Alabama-Birmingham	Troy	Movie Gallery Stadium • Troy, AL		W 27-14	21,182
September 19	5:00 p.m.	Florida International	Rutgers	Rutgers Stadium • Piscataway, NJ		L 23-15	45,273
September 19	6:00 p.m.	Louisiana-Lafayette	Louisiana State	Tiger Stadium • Baton Rouge, LA	ESPNU	L 31-3	92,443
September 19	7:00 p.m.	Florida Atlantic	South Carolina	Williams-Brice Stadium • Columbia, SC		L 38-16	72,017
September 19	7:00 p.m.	Central Arkansas	Western Kentucky	Houchens Industries-L.T. Smith Stadium • Bowling Green, KY		L 28-7	19,044
September 19	9:00 p.m.	Louisiana-Monroe	Arizona State	Sun Devil Stadium • Tempe, AZ	FSN	L 38-14	43,780

Week Four

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 26	3:30 p.m.	Troy	Arkansas State	ASU Stadium • Jonesboro, AR	CST	TROY 30-27	23,641
September 26	4:00 p.m.	Louisiana-Monroe	Florida Atlantic	Lockhart Stadium • Ft. Lauderdale, FL		ULM 27-25	14,229
September 26	6:00 p.m.	Louisiana-Lafayette	#24 Nebraska	Memorial Stadium • Lincoln, NE	FSN	L 55-0	86,304
September 26	6:00 p.m.	Middle Tennessee	North Texas	Fouts Field • Denton, TX		MTSU 37-21	22,346
September 26	6:00 p.m.	Western Kentucky	Navy	Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium • Annapolis, MD		L 38-22	29,009
September 26	7:00 p.m.	Toledo	Florida Atlantic	FIU Stadium • Miami, FL		L 41-31	11,047

Week Five

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
October 3	11:00 a.m.	Arkansas State	#17 Iowa	Kinnick Stadium • Iowa City, IA	ESPN2	L 24-21	67,989
October 3	2:30 p.m.	Florida International	Louisiana-Monroe	Malone Stadium • Monroe, LA	Sun Belt Network	ULM 48-35	17,610
October 3	4:00 p.m.	Wyoming	Florida Atlantic	Lockhart Stadium • Ft. Lauderdale, FL		L 30-28	15,744

Week Six

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
October 6	7:00 p.m.	Middle Tennessee	Troy	Movie Gallery Stadium • Troy, AL	ESPN2	TROY 31-7	17,108
October 10	6:00 p.m.	North Texas	Louisiana-Lafayette	Cajan Field • Lafayette, LA	Sun Belt Network	ULL 38-34	12,141
October 10	7:00 p.m.	Florida International	Western Kentucky	Houchens Industries - L. T. Smith Stadium • Bowling Green, KY		FIU 37-20	13,574

Week Seven

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
October 13	7:00 p.m.	Arkansas State	Louisiana-Monroe	Malone Stadium • Monroe, LA	ESPN2	ULM 16-10	14,378
October 17	11:30 a.m.	Mississippi State	Middle Tennessee	Johnny "Red" Floyd Stadium • Murfreesboro, Tennessee	ESPNU	L 27-6	23,882
October 17	5:00 p.m.	Louisiana-Lafayette	Western Kentucky	Houchens Industries Smith Stadium • Bowling Green, KY		ULL 30-22	11,919
October 17	6:00 p.m.	Florida Atlantic	North Texas	Fouts Field • Denton, TX	Sun Belt Network	UNT 40-44	23,319
October 17	7:00 p.m.	Troy	Florida International	FIU Stadium • Miami, FL		TROY 42-33	10,142

Week Eight

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	Result	Attendance
October 24	2:30 p.m.	North Texas	Troy	Movie Gallery Stadium • Troy, AL	TROY 50-26	20,032
October 24	2:30 p.m.	Western Kentucky	Middle Tennessee	Johnny "Red" Floyd Stadium • Murfreesboro, Tennessee	MTSU 62-24	17,787
October 24	4:00 p.m.	Florida Atlantic	Louisiana-Lafayette	Cajun Field • Lafayette, LA	FAU 51-29	21,135
October 24	6:00 p.m.	Florida International	Arkansas State	ASU Stadium • Jonesboro, AR	ASU 27-10	18,779
October 24	6:00 p.m.	Louisiana-Monroe	Kentucky	Commonwealth Stadium • Lexington, KY	L 36-13	68,203

Week Nine

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
October 31	12:00 p.m.	Louisiana-Lafayette	Florida International	FIU Stadium • Miami, FL		FIU 20–17 in OT	8,593
October 31	2:30 p.m.	Arkansas State	Louisville	Papa John's Cardinal Stadium • Louisville, KY		L 21-13	21,497
October 24	3:15 p.m.	Western Kentucky	North Texas	Fouts Field • Denton, TX	Sun Belt Network	UNT 68-49	11,214
October 31	4:00 p.m.	Middle Tennessee	Florida Atlantic	Lockhart Stadium • Ft. Lauderdale, FL		MTSU 27-20	15,568
October 31	6:00 p.m.	Louisiana-Monroe	Troy	Movie Gallery Stadium • Troy, AL		TROY 42-21	17,106

Week Ten

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
November 7	2:00 p.m.	Florida Atlantic	Alabama Birmingham	Legion Field • Birmingham, AL		L 56-29	17,283
November 7	2:30 p.m.	Louisiana-Lafayette	Arkansas State	ASU Stadium • Jonesboro, AR	Sun Belt Network	ULL 21-18	16,215
November 7	3:00 p.m.	Louisiana-Monroe	North Texas	Fouts Field • Denton, TX		ULM 33-6	12,167
November 7	3:30 p.m.	Florida International	Middle Tennessee	Johnny "Red" Floyd Stadium • Murfreesboro, Tennessee		MTSU 48-21	17,808
November 7	5:00 p.m.	Troy	Western Kentucky	Houchens Industries Smith Stadium • Bowling Green, KY		TROY 40-20	16,747

Week Eleven

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
November 14	3:00 p.m.	Western Kentucky	Louisiana-Monroe	Malone Stadium • Monroe, LA		ULM 21-18	16,229
November 14	3:15 p.m.	Louisiana-Lafayette	Middle Tennessee	Johnny "Red" Floyd Stadium • Murfreesboro, Tennessee	Sun Belt Network	MTSU 34-17	16,411
November 14	4:00 p.m.	Arkansas State	Florida Atlantic	Lockhart Stadium • Ft. Lauderdale, FL		FAU 35-18	16,218
November 14	6:30 p.m.	Troy	Arkansas	Razorback Stadium • Fayetteville, AR		L 56-20	66,442
November 14	7:00 p.m.	North Texas	Florida International	FIU Stadium • Miami, FL		FIU 35-28	11,128

Week Twelve

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
November 21	12:30 p.m.	Florida International	#1 Florida	Ben Hill Griffin Stadium • Gainesville, FL		L 62-3	90,473
November 21	3:00 p.m.	Army	North Texas	Fouts Field • Denton, Texas		L 17-13	23,647
November 21	3:15 p.m.	Florida Atlantic	Troy	Movie Gallery Stadium • Troy, AL		TROY 47-21	16,638
November 21	3:30 p.m.	Arkansas State	Middle Tennessee	Johnny "Red" Floyd Stadium • Murfreesboro, Tennessee	Sun Belt Network	MTSU 38-14	19,111
November 21	6:00 p.m.	Louisiana-Monroe	Louisiana-Lafayette	Cajun Field • Lafayette, LA		ULL 21-17	8,689

Week Thirteen

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	Result	Attendance
November 28	2:00 p.m.	North Texas	Arkansas State	ASU Stadium • Jonesboro, AR	ARST 30-26	8,754
November 28	3:30 p.m.	Middle Tennessee	Louisiana-Monroe	Malone Stadium • Monroe, LA	MTSU	11,896
November 28	4:00 p.m.	Western Kentucky	Florida Atlantic	Lockhart Stadium • Ft. Lauderdale, FL	FAU 29-23	14,671
November 28	6:00 p.m.	Troy	Louisiana-Lafayette	Cajun Field • Lafayette, LA	TROY 48-31	12,245

Week Fourteen

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
December 3	7:00 p.m.	Arkansas State	Western Kentucky	Houchens Industries - L. T. Smith Stadium • Bowling Green, KY		ARST 24-20	4,513
December 5	7:00 p.m.	Florida Atlantic	Florida International	FIU Stadium • Miami, FL		FAU 28-21	10,108

Bowl games

Bowl Game	Date	Stadium	City	Television	Matchup/Results	Attendance	Payout (US$)
R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl	December 20, 2009	Louisiana Superdome	New Orleans, LA	ESPN	Middle Tennessee 42, Southern Miss 32	30,228	$325,000
GMAC Bowl	January 6, 2010	Ladd–Peebles Stadium	Mobile, AL	ESPN	Central Michigan 44, Troy 41 2OT	34,486	$750,000

Attendance

Team	Stadium (capacity)	Game 1	Game 2	Game 3	Game 4	Game 5	Game 6	Total	Average	% of Capacity
Arkansas State	ASU Stadium (30,964)	21,056	23,631	18,779	16,215	8,754		88,435	17,687	57.1
Florida Atlantic	Lockhart Stadium (20,450)	14,229	15,744	15,568	16,218	14,671		76,460	15,286	74.7
Florida International	FIU Stadium (20,000)	11,047	10,142	8,593	11,128	10,108		51,018	10,204	51.0
Louisiana-Lafayette	Cajun Field (31,000)	41,357	16,431	12,141	21,135	8,689	12,245	111,998	18,666	60.2
Louisiana-Monroe	Malone Stadium (30,427)	9,330	17,610	14,378	16,229	11,896		69,443	13,889	45.6
Middle Tennessee	Johnny "Red" Floyd Stadium (31,000)	28,105	23,882	17,787	17,808	16,411	19,111	120,104	20,017	64.6
North Texas	Fouts Field (30,000)	16,674	22,346	23,319	11,214	12,167		85,720	17,144	57.1
Troy	Movie Gallery Stadium (30,000)	21,182	17,108	20,032	17,106	16,638		92,066	18,413	61.4
Western Kentucky	Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith Stadium (22,000)	20,568	19,044	13,574	11,919	16,747	4,513	86,365	14,394	65.4

References

^ "College Football Preview, 2009 Preseason Sun Belt Conference Football Poll". Archived from the original on January 2, 2010. Retrieved October 24, 2009.
^ "The Bronko Nagurski Charlotte Touchdown Club". Archived from the original on December 5, 2008. Retrieved October 2, 2009.
^ "Rimington Trophy". Archived from the original on May 22, 2009. Retrieved October 2, 2009.
^ Hugo Aguilar. "The Rotary Lombardi Award Website - 2009 Contenders". Archived from the original on December 14, 2009. Retrieved October 2, 2009.
^ "News / Allstate Sugar Bowl". Archived from the original on September 30, 2011. Retrieved October 24, 2009.
^ "PB Sports Commission - Lou Groza".
^ "FWAA > News > Outland Trophy Watch List".
^ "Home". biletnikoffaward.com.
^ "News – Walter Camp Football Foundation".
^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on December 22, 2009. Retrieved October 24, 2009.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
^ "2009 O'Brien Quarterback Award Watch List Announced - Davey O'Brien". Archived from the original on August 7, 2009. Retrieved October 24, 2009.

[1] "College Football Preview, 2009 Preseason Sun Belt Conference Football Poll". Archived from the original on January 2, 2010. Retrieved October 24, 2009.

[2] "The Bronko Nagurski Charlotte Touchdown Club". Archived from the original on December 5, 2008. Retrieved October 2, 2009.

[3] "Rimington Trophy". Archived from the original on May 22, 2009. Retrieved October 2, 2009.

[4] Hugo Aguilar. "The Rotary Lombardi Award Website - 2009 Contenders". Archived from the original on December 14, 2009. Retrieved October 2, 2009.

[5] "News / Allstate Sugar Bowl". Archived from the original on September 30, 2011. Retrieved October 24, 2009.

[6] "PB Sports Commission - Lou Groza".

[7] "FWAA > News > Outland Trophy Watch List".

[8] "Home". biletnikoffaward.com.

[9] "News – Walter Camp Football Foundation".

[10] "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on December 22, 2009. Retrieved October 24, 2009.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

[11] "2009 O'Brien Quarterback Award Watch List Announced - Davey O'Brien". Archived from the original on August 7, 2009. Retrieved October 24, 2009.

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v t e Sun Belt Conference football
East Division	Appalachian State Mountaineers Coastal Carolina Chanticleers Georgia Southern Eagles Georgia State Panthers James Madison Dukes Marshall Thundering Herd Old Dominion Monarchs
West Division	Arkansas State Red Wolves Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns Louisiana–Monroe Warhawks South Alabama Jaguars Southern Miss Golden Eagles Texas State Bobcats Troy Trojans
Championships & awards	Conference champions Championship game All-time standings
Seasons	2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024

v t e 2009 NCAA Division I FBS football season
Conference seasons	ACC Big 12 Big East Big Ten Conference USA Mid-American Mountain West Pac-10 SEC Sun Belt WAC
Inter-conference	Bowl games Rankings
All-Americans	2009 College Football All-America Team