MTSU and Troy: Blue Raiders and Trojans Enter Prime Time on ESPN

A Houston Cougar loss this weekend has lessened the media attention on the success of "mid-major" programs in college football. All of that can turn around, tough, when ESPN airs Tuesday night's Middle Tennessee and Troy contest on prime time, 8 PM ET.

The Blue Raiders have made the biggest impact for the Sun Belt, a conference with minimal coverage on a national scale. Coming into this game the team is 3-1 with non-conference wins over Memphis, and Maryland.

The Terrapin victory looks even better, 32-31 on the road, with Maryland's victory over Clemson this weekend.

The Troy Trojans have been the most successful member of the Sun Belt, beating teams such as Missouri, and Oklahoma State, while also putting scares into the likes of LSU, Florida State, and Georgia.

The Trojans have won or shared the conference championship for three straight years.

The Blue Raiders come to Troy's Movie Gallery Stadium preparing for their fourth road game in five contests. The good news for the Blue Raiders is that they will have ten days to prepare for their biggest game of the season.

With the Sun Belt only having one guaranteed bowl tie-in, every conference game is crucial, an 8-4 Troy team was left out of Bowl season in 2007.

The Blue Raiders non-conference victories have started to gather the interest from ESPN, who is rumored to be planning to air their next home game against the SEC's Mississippi State Bulldogs.

A decision will be made official Monday, one day before the ESPN2 airing of Troy and Middle Tennessee.

With a win against Troy the Blue Raiders will be 4-1 with another impressive victory to add to their 2009 resume. A prime time game, one where no other football games are available, would ensure Middle Tennessee's first opportunity to show if they are truly worthy of national attention.

Currently, the Blue Raiders poses one of the nation's most potent game breakers in quarterback Dwight Dasher. Dasher is on pace to throw for 3,000 yards and run for another 1,000.

The game Tuesday night will give a national audience their first look at Sun Belt football since the "Murfreesboro Miracle" game, when Middle Tennessee beat Florida Atlantic on a hail marry with no time on the clock.

If the Blue Raiders are able to leave Troy with a victory, expect even more coverage coming to the Sun Belt conference. Currently, only one Blue Raider game is unavailable through media outlets, whether through the ESPN family of networks or on-line such as ESPN360.

Will the Sun Belt have their day in the sun? I'll have my pick for this game tomorrow.