As the Sun Belt Conference debuts this season, there should be plenty of fireworks from the likes of co-favorites Middle Tennessee State and Idaho, both of whom have the necessary components on offense to light up the scoreboard on a regular basis.

MIDDLE TENNESSEE STATE
In fact, Middle Tennessee State will again field one of the most exciting offenses in the country, with plenty of highly skilled talent to ensure that they live up to such an optimistic billing. Last year, the Blue Raiders ranked 16th in the country in total offense, averaging 31.8 points per game. At Johnny Floyd Stadium in Murfreesboro, Tenn., the Blue Raiders averaged 41 points per game. Even against Mississippi State and Joe Lee Dunn's attacking, blitzing defensive scheme, Middle Tennessee rolled up 576 total yards at Starkville.

Middle Tennessee has outstanding offensive skill-position talent, on par with many teams at the major-college level. A lot of teams would love to have the kind of skill-position talent Middle Tennessee has. The Blue Raiders are highlighted by their two receivers, senior Kendall Newson and junior Tyrone Calico, who could play for anybody. Florida State would like to have them; that's how good Newson and Calico are. Newson is a 6-foot-2, 185-pounder who catches everything thrown in his direction and is very physical -- a Rod Gardner-type receiver. Calico is an athletically gifted 6-4, 215-pounder who's a special player.

All quarterback Wes Counts has to do is manage the offense, get the ball to his receivers, hand the ball off to his excellent running back Dwone Hicks, and the Blue Raiders will put big points on the board. Counts is a Josh Heupel-type QB who can pick a defense apart. He has improved on throwing the deep ball. He's a very smart QB who won't wow people with physical ability. Last year he completed 58.3 percent of his passes and threw eight TD passes (and five interceptions). He should improve on his numbers this year. Up front, the Blue Raiders have strong bookend tackles in sophomore right tackle Julius Gant (6-5, 290), who has an NFL future, and left tackle Brandon Westbrook (6-6, 290), a freshman All-American last year.

Defensively, the big question will be at linebacker. The Blue Raiders are hoping they get a boost from Michael Woods, a 6-1, 215-pound sophomore rover-type player at outside linebacker. He's fast, tough and a cousin of Tennessee Titans linebacker Randall Godfrey. The coaches feel he can be the centerpiece of their defense. Another top defensive player is Tanaka Scott, a 6-2, 260-pound defensive end who led them with five sacks last year.

There's not a ton of defensive talent, but if Woods plays up to the level expected and Scott can give them an edge pass rush, the Middle Tennessee defense could be slightly improved over last season. The Blue Raiders will score a ton of points, but they need the defense to be better, particularly when they get into games against Vanderbilt and co-favorite Idaho at home, at Ole Miss and at LSU. That's where their lack of great defensive personnel will show up. They have a chance to win between seven and nine games if things fall their way.

IDAHO
The second team to watch in the conference is Idaho. The Vandals can score a lot of points with quarterback John Welsh, a proven entity. Receiver Chris Lacy is Welsh's primary weapon. They use two running backs, Anthony Tenner and Zach Gerstner, who have some ability. They're not great, but adequate. The offense has proven to be very strong.

Defensively, they have two strong players up front in Wil Beck and Dennis Taeatafa, who should combine to give them a strong defensive line. Beck, a hard-working, relentless veteran, has a chance to be an outstanding defensive lineman. He's shown the capability already to be a big-time defensive player. Taeatafa, a 6-3, 270-pound senior, was away from football last year and should provide the rush element the Vandals lacked a year ago. The defense figures to show a lot of improvement.

The Vandals saw an improved effort in the first fall scrimmage. If they get some defensive improvement to go with the offense, they will compete with Middle Tennessee State. The problem is the schedule. The Vandals have to win the tough games on the road. They have to play at Middle Tennessee State on Oct. 6 and at New Mexico State on Oct. 13. The back-to-back road games will indicate whether or not Idaho will compete for the conference title.

NEW MEXICO STATE
New Mexico State opened the college football season Thursday night against Louisville. The Aggies have quarterback K.C. Enzminger, whom they will ask to throw the ball more. They won't be quite as run-oriented as they were last year with running back Chris Barnes, a fifth-round draft choice of the Baltimore Ravens. Now Kenton Keith and Walter Taylor will be the two focal points of the running game, but the Aggies want to open the offense a little more.

Defensively, they lack size up front. A big plus, though, is the return of cornerback Corey Paul, who was out last year with an ankle injury. Getting Paul back helps, but the big problem is up front on the defensive line, where they will run into some problems, especially with their brutally tough schedule. They open at Louisville, at Texas on Sept. 1, vs. Oregon State on Sept. 8, at Kansas State on Sept. 22. The Aggies figure to get pounded in some of those games, but they should still be the third-best team in the Sun Belt.

LOUISIANA-LAFAYETTE
The Ragin' Cajuns have two very good receivers in Marcus Wilridge and Nick Dugas, a versatile player and a former QB who was moved to receiver in the spring. They also have a decent running game. But they have to settle on a quarterback. It will either be Jon Van Cleave (a 6-4, 235-pound sophomore who's a drop-back passer) or Matt Lane (a mobile, 6-foot, 185-pound redshirt freshman). There are questions on the offensive line as well.

The defense is experienced and has a few players to watch -- defensive end Derrick Marshall and free safety Kyries Hebert, their top defensive player. If the offense benefits from the receivers and the Ragin' Cajuns get decent play at QB, they could settle into the Sun Belt's fourth spot.

NORTH TEXAS
After New Mexico State, there's not much separating Louisiana-Lafayette, North Texas, Arkansas State and Louisiana-Monroe. They're all bunched together. The challenge for North Texas is to surround its quarterback with better talent; Scott Hall has a chance to have a good season if the talent improves. The Mean Green have no proven receivers and a hole at running back. They have three players battling for the job: Kevin Galbreath and freshmen Patrick Cobbs and Roy Galbreath. Their offensive line should be solid, but the receiving and running-back positions need to take shape.

The defense should be sound overall, led by middle linebacker Brad Kassell, a tackling machine who only needs 118 tackles to become the all-time school leader. He's had an incredible preseason practice and has been a dominant player. Kassell has an NFL future. The Mean Green's other defensive standout is defensive tackle Brandon Kennedy. Their schedule is tough; they have to play TCU, at Oklahoma, at Arkansas and Texas Tech to open the season. But North Texas has decent talent overall, especially on defense.

ARKANSAS STATE
Arkansas State no longer has Cleo Lemon, the Indians' outstanding QB last year. Another key graduation loss is receiver Robert Kilow. But they do return excellent senior running back Jonathan Adams and a veteran offensive line, led by junior tackle Garry Johnson. The big question, though, is QB. They have two freshmen in the mix, Josh Driscoll and Elliott Jacobs. Jacobs has taken the most snaps in the scrimmages and practices. It will be a one-back offense, a team that will try to get the ball to Adams as much as possible.

On defense, the key player to watch up front is Corey Williams, a 6-4, 291-pound junior defensive end who runs a 4.7 40-yard dash. They also have 6-2, 285-pound defensive end John Bradley, giving the Indians the ability to dominate off the edge. However, the Indians have lots of newcomers at linebacker and in the secondary.

LOUISIANA-MONROE
At Louisiana-Monroe, former QB Stan Humphries, who led the San Diego Chargers to the Super Bowl, is the new offensive coordinator at his alma mater. The offense, though, needs quarterback Andy Chance to stay healthy. Chance, a fine QB, had a concussion last year and missed four games. He needs support from the offensive line to stay in one piece, especially since backup QB Adam Gatlin is out for the year. The Indians also thought they would have sophomore receiver John Floyd, a transfer from Southern Miss, but he is not on the team. There is a possibility he could end up at a Division I-AA program this year. The question mark is who will become the primary receiver. Is there enough talent around Chance?

Defensively, the Indians have eight returning starters; they were 50th in the country last year in total defense. They have depth at linebacker, led by Otis Robinson, their best defensive player. Strong safety Dedrick Buckles is also excellent, and there's a solid defensive line. But last season the Indians allowed lots of short drives and had punting problems, getting five punts blocked. They gave up a lot of points -- 47 to Minnesota, 70 to Tennessee, 52 to Arkansas, 55 to Central Florida and 42 to Louisiana Tech. Many of the problems were a result of the offense's lack of productivity, the turnovers and the blocked punts. If they can eliminate giving the opposition a short field, the defense has a chance to be adequate.