It was Oct. 7, 2001 -- the inaugural season of Sun Belt Conference football.

The previous day, North Texas had lost its conference opener to UL-Monroe and saw its record fall to 0-5 on the season. But sometime that week, a switch was flipped on, and the rest of the SBC is still trying to turn it off.

The Mean Green have now won 11 straight conference games, both Sun Belt titles and might not be slowing down anytime soon. A panel of coaches and media just picked them to win the championship again this year.

The strength of the team is a smothering defense that ranked Top 10 nationally last season in both points allowed and yards allowed. And those numbers didn't come simply from dominating Sun Belt teams. The Mean Green did not allow Texas to score in the second half.

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Eight starters return from that unit, and five of them were selected to the preseason all-conference squad.

Only one Sun Belt team was able to give that defense a real challenge last year. New Mexico State came into Denton with the conference title on the line and rolled up 440 yards and 27 points on UNT. The Aggies couldn't protect a fourth-quarter lead, though, and took home their only SBC loss of the year.

Fast forward to 2003. With several key starters returning on both sides of the ball and the opportunity to play at home against North Texas, the folks at NMSU are thinking this could be a special season. If anyone seems to have a shot at knocking off UNT, it would be the Aggies.

Speaking of Aggies, Utah State joins the league this season, giving the conference the eight football-playing members it needs to comply with new NCAA standards for Division I-A status. But because the move happened so quickly, not all teams have USU on their 2003 schedule. The result is that a few schools have non-conference games that are pre-designated to count toward the conference standings.

The movement will even continue into next season, when fledgling I-A member Troy State also becomes part of the Sun Belt.

And just as the conference joined in the national offseason theme of expansion, it also took part in the trend of hiring a new head coach between the end of spring drills and the beginning of fall practice.

Concluding a series of events that would make for a bad soap opera, Louisiana-Monroe named Charlie Weatherbie its head coach on May 7, making him the fourth man to have that job since the start of last season. It's safe to say Mike Shula knows how he feels.

Game of the Year
North Texas at New Mexico State, Nov. 25. The first nationally televised (ESPN2) conference game in Sun Belt history also projects to decide the championship and New Orleans Bowl berth. The Aggies want to take their program to the next level, and that starts with a win over UNT, which has come from behind in the fourth quarter to beat them in each of the last two years.

Offensive Player of the Year
Paul Dombrowski, QB, New Mexico State. Even though he's almost certain to share snaps with Buck Pierce this season, Dombrowski is arguably the best offensive player in the conference. He looked like anything but a freshman last year, as he rushed for nearly 900 yards and 12 TD, while completing 60 percent of his passes. He is the key to NMSU breaking a 40-plus-year bowl drought.

Defensive Player of the Year
Brandon Kennedy, DT, North Texas. This is a no-brainer. Kennedy was the Sun Belt Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year in 2002. He ranks among the national leaders in tackles for loss, quite simply because few people can hold a block against him; even double teams are often ineffective. He is the engine of the Mean Green defensive machine. Enough said.

Brad Edwards is a researcher for ESPN.