2006 Sun Belt Surprises, MVPs and more

2006 Sun Belt Surprises, Disappointments, Bests & MVPs

CFN 2006 All-Sun Belt Team and Top 30 Players
 
Coach of the Year – Larry Blakeney, Troy
To the winner goes the spoils. This wasn't Blakeney's best Troy team, but it came through when it had to getting the late win over Middle Tennessee on the way to being the Sun Belt's New Orleans Bowl representative. When you win so many close games, the coaching has a lot to do with it.

Worst Coaching Job of the Year – Don Strock, FIU
The Golden Panthers had the talent and the defense to be a contender for the Sun Belt title. One 0-12 season later, remembered mostly for an ugly brawl with Miami, and Strock is gone.

Best Performance of the Season - Middle Tennessee S Damon Nickson led the team with six tackles and became the first player in school history to pick off four passes in the same game beating UL Monroe 35-21.

Top Freshman – Arkansas State RB Reggie Arnold
He started off the year with a 140-yard, one touchdown day in the win over Army and rolled for a 1,076 season as the steadying force for the Indian offense. While he didn't get enough work as a receiver and only scored four touchdowns, he showed to potential to be a Sun Belt star.

Most Disappointing Player – North Texas RB Jamario Thomas
Was he really the nation's leading rusher in 2004? Thomas had the entire offense to himself with Patrick Cobbs gone and was stuffed throughout the year. To be fair, the passing game was non-existent and every team put everyone on the line to stop the junior, but 688 yards and two touchdowns wasn't exactly what the Mean Green was hoping for.

Biggest Surprise – Troy 21, Middle Tennessee 20
The Blue Raiders dominated the game and appeared able to coast to the Sun Belt title and the New Orleans Bowl, but the Trojans scored two touchdowns in the final two minutes to earn a share of the championship and get in a position to go bowling.

Biggest Disappointment – Florida International
No team in the Sun Belt had more talented starters, but early season close losses, suspensions from the fight against Miami, and no offense over the second half of the season meant a winless year for a team that should've been around the .500 mark.

Best Game of the Sun Belt Season 
North Texas 25 ... FIU 22 7OT
It took an NCAA record-tying seven overtimes for North Texas to finally put away FIU on a 34-yard field goal from Denis Hopovac. With the game tied at 16 after regulation, the two teams traded field goals until FIU's Dustin Rivest pushed a 35-yard shot wide right allowing North Texas to come up with the game-winning score. FIU thought it had the game won in the fifth OT, but an apparent touchdown pass to Jeremy Dickens was reviewed and reversed. The ball was put on the one, and the Golden Panthers ended up settling for a field goal.
Second Best Game – Troy 21 ... Middle Tennessee 20, Nov. 25
Third Best Game – Florida Atlantic 21 ... UL Monroe 19, Sept. 30

Worst Game of the Sun Belt Season 
UL Monroe 35 ... FIU 0
UL Monroe held FIU to 210 yards of total offense and nine first downs while Calvin Dawson ran wild cranking out 129 yards with touchdown runs from 31 and two yards out. The D got in the scoring column with a 26-yard interception return for a score from Chaz Williams, while the passing game got quirky with Chance Payne, in for an injured Kinsmon Lancaster, throwing a three-yard pass to Mitch Doyle and Darrell McNeal taking a reverse and hitting LaGregory Sapp for a 51-yard score. Three turnovers killed potential FIU scoring drives.
 
Team MVPs 
Arkansas State – RB Reggie Arnold, SS Tyrell Johnson
CFN Preview 2006 predicted record: 5-7, final regular season record: 6-6

Florida Atlantic – QB Sean Clayton, DE Josh Pinnick
CFN Preview 2006 predicted record: 1-11, final regular season record: 5-7

FIU – WR Chandler Williams, LB Keyonvis Bouie
CFN Preview 2006 predicted record: 5-7, final regular season record: 0-12

Middle Tennessee – RB Eugene Gross, LB J.K. Sabb
CFN Preview 2006 predicted record: 5-7, final regular season record: 7-5

North Texas – G Dylan Lineberry, DE Jeremiah Chapman
CFN Preview 2006 predicted record: 4-8, final regular season record: 3-9

Troy – QB Omar Haugabook, SS Brandon Condren
CFN Preview 2006 predicted record: 4-8, final regular season record: 7-5

UL Lafayette – RB Tyrell Fenroy, PK Drew Edminston
CFN Preview 2006 predicted record: 7-5, final regular season record: 6-6

UL Monroe – RB Calvin Dawson, S/P Kevin Payne
CFN Preview 2006 predicted record: 2-10, final regular season record: 4-8
 
CFN 2006 All-Sun Belt Team and Top 30 Players