Here are my Sun Belt Conference football predictions for the 2011 season:

First Place: Troy Trojans

It's hard to bet against Troy in the Sun Belt. After all, it has earned at least a share of the conference championship each of the last five seasons. The Trojans tied FIU for the league title in 2010 despite a defense that ranked eighth in the league in yards allowed. That tells you how good the offense was.

With seven defensive starters returning, the stop unit should be improved. College football lines makers have listed Troy among the field at +1,500 to win the BCS championship. 

Second Place: FIU Panthers

FIU was a great story last year. After losing each of its first four games, it went 6-2 the rest of the way and earned a share of the Sun Belt title. A 34-32 win over Toledo in the Little Caesars Bowl gave the Panthers their first winning campaign and first bowl victory in program history. 

Third Place: Arkansas State Red Wolves

Hugh Freeze's no-huddle, up-tempo offense will remain tough to tame, but a stop unit that finished last in the league in total defense with 437.1 yards allowed per game figures to keep Arkansas State from challenging FIU and Troy for a Sun Belt title. 

Fourth Place: UL Monroe Warhawks

A one-point loss to UL Lafayette in the season finale kept the Warhawks from bowl eligibility. It was the fourth season in the last six in which ULM came up a win shy of a winning campaign or bowl eligibility. 

Fifth Place: Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders

Middle Tennessee made a second straight bowl appearance in 2010, but that was little consolation for a team that was expected to challenge Troy for a league title. Dwight Dasher's four-game suspension to start the season was a big letdown. The Blue Raiders will be hard-pressed to make a third straight bowl game, but coach Rick Stockstill can never be counted out. He is 0-5 against Troy but 25-7 against everyone else in the league since coming to Murfreesboro.

Sixth Place: North Texas Mean Green

The Mean Green are just 8-40 the last four seasons, but things are already looking up with the hire of Dan McCarney. The guy has tons of experience with major programs and led Iowa State to five bowl games from 1995-2006. That's quite the accomplishment considering how difficult it is to recruit players to Ames, Iowa.

Seventh Place: Western Kentucky Hilltoppers

Western Kentucky went 2-6 in league play in 2010 and two of those defeats came by a single point. It's clear Willie Taggart knows what he's doing. After consecutive strong recruiting classes, it won't be long before the Hilltoppers are making some noise in the Sun Belt.

Eighth Place: UL Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns

New head coach Mark Hudspeth has his work cut out for himself. He inherits a team that ranked 112th in the country in scoring defense (37.0 ppg) and 92nd in scoring offense (22.3 ppg).

Ninth Place: Florida Atlantic Owls

The Owls could very well be 0-5 when they break in their new $70 million stadium on Oct. 15. Hopefully, the new facility and games against schools like Florida, Michigan State and Auburn, will help upgrade the talent level soon. FAU has taken a step back each of the last four seasons.

Be sure to check out the rest of my 2011 college football predictions.