It was slated to be the Sun Belt's coming out party, a date circled, underlined and highlighted ever since the league earned its Division I accreditation for football back in July 1999.

Yet any excitement and anticipation for the conference's first-ever game was squelched when Sun Belt administrators, coaches and players learned of the tragic attacks in New York, Pennsylvania and Washington D.C. on Sept. 11.

"It's been an intense week," Sun Belt commissioner Wright Waters said. "All of us have seen where athletics fit in the big picture. We need to be reminded how insignificant out competition really is in the grander scheme."

	“	It's time to get back to work. I think the President said it best when he said that it's time for Americans to go back to work. That's what we're going to do and our players are excited to get the Sun Belt season underway. ”
		— La.-Monroe's Bobby Keasler

Waters praised the Sun Belt member schools for their cooperation in untangling the now chaotic season slate. Louisiana-Lafayette and New Mexico State were both able to reschedule matchups for Nov. 24. The Ragin' Cajuns will travel to play Central Florida while the Aggies take on intra-state rival New Mexico.

As for the league's inaugural game, Middle Tennessee (2-0) will face Louisiana-Monroe (0-2) on Saturday night. The forecast for Monroe, La. shows sunny skies, but a dark cloud will surely lurk over Malone Stadium and every other college football venue in America this weekend.

While both programs struggle to deal with the devastating news, there is hope that the focus on football will be a relief for everyone.

"It's time to get back to work," Louisiana-Monroe coach Bobby Keasler said. "I think the President said it best when he said that it's time for Americans to go back to work. That's what we're going to do and our players are excited to get the Sun Belt season underway."

Like most Sun Belt teams, the Indians practiced through the middle of last week in preparation for last Saturday's scheduled game. When all games were postponed on Sept. 13, Keasler and other coaches encouraged players to go home and spend time with their families.

Middle Tennessee followed Louisiana-Monroe in adopting a "getting back to business" philosophy heading into practice this week. Tabbed as the preseason favorite to win the Sun Belt, the Blue Raiders will feed off an ugly performance last time they played in Monroe. Middle Tennessee suffered a 10-0 loss in that meeting, held during the 1999 season.

"We just got beat by a good team that day," Middle Tennessee coach Andy McCollum said. "Whether we played good or bad, we were beaten by a better team and we've got to play better on Saturday to have a chance."

Fortunately for McCollum, a very different Blue Raiders squad will take the field on Saturday. Led by standout tailback Dwone Hicks, the Middle Tennessee offense recorded back-to-back 600-yard performances in its first two games of the season. However, Louisiana-Monroe may stunt the potent attack with a shifty defense that forced three turnovers against No. 2 Florida.

A coin commemorating the Sun Belt's inaugural game will be tossed and presented to both team captains on Saturday, Waters said. The coin will then be used for every league game this season.

Around the Sun Belt Conference

Arkansas State
Despite receiving calls from Oklahoma State, Northwestern and Cincinnati about arranging a game later in the season, the Indians are trying to reschedule last Saturday's matchup with Nicholls State. Arkansas State coach Joe Hollis said the school has no plans to play a game during its bye week on Sept. 29. … This week the Indians host Jacksonville State, the team Hollis coached in the 1984 season. Arkansas State will face Ashley Martin, Jacksonville State's female kicker who has made headlines around the nation for being the first woman ever to play Division I football. … For the time being, Hollis has no intentions of diverting from his two-quarterback system, featuring freshmen tandem Josh Driscoll and Elliot Jacobs. Hollis, who coached at Ohio State from 1990-1996, likened his new scheme to the Joe Germaine-Stanley Jackson combination.

Louisiana-Monroe
The school has rescheduled last Saturday's postponed game against Cincinnati for Dec. 1. This road matchup will occur two weeks after the Indians play their final regularly scheduled game against Arkansas State. … Sophomore offensive tackle Ben Zapata practiced Sunday for the first time since tearing his ACL during spring practice. Zapata, who started one game last season, should be ready to play in several weeks. … The Indians will be short on experience against Middle Tennessee, which lists 11 seniors and 18 juniors on its two-deep chart.

Louisiana-Lafayette
The Ragin' Cajuns rescheduled their game with Central Florida for November 24 in Orlando, Fla. … After his team averaged only 101 yards through the air in its first two contests, coach Jerry Baldwin said an emphasis would be placed on spreading the ball around and throwing more downfield. Lafayette-Lafayette QB Jon Van Cleave completed fewer than 50 percent of his passes in the opening two games. … The Ragin Cajuns host Southern Miss on Saturday at Cajun Field. In the teams' last meeting, Southern Miss pounded Louisiana-Lafayette 48-0 in November 1999.

Middle Tennessee
The Blue Raiders had a bye last week and suffered no scheduling problems from the postponements. … After averaging 624 yards of offense in its first two games, Middle Tennessee earned several impressive distinctions. The Blue Raiders rank No. 1 nationally in total offense and tailback Dwone Hicks is tops in scoring with 22 points per game. The team's overpowering ground attack places second in the nations with an average of 306 yards per game. … Middle Tennessee also shines on the other side of the ball, allowing only 17 points in its last six quarters of play.

North Texas
North Texas has yet to reschedule last Saturday's matchup at Arkansas. Coach Darrell Dickey said the main obstacle is that the two teams have different bye weeks. … The Mean Green will face Texas Tech on Saturday at Texas Stadium in Irving, Texas. While North Texas is listed as the host for this contest, Dickey commented that many fans "would rather see this game played at Fouts Field."… A key matchup on Saturday will be North Texas standout linebacker Brad Kassell and Texas Tech's heralded tailback Ricky Williams. After missing nearly two full seasons with a knee injury, Williams is only 10 yards away from reaching 3,000 career rushing yards.

New Mexico State
The Aggies rescheduled last Saturday's game with rival New Mexico for Nov. 24 at 1:30 p.m MDT. … New Mexico State's meeting with No. 10 Kansas State will round out a brutal four-game opening stretch against ranked opponents. The Aggies faced Louisville in the season opener before being served up to No. 6 Texas and No. 22 Oregon State. … Don't look for the Aggies to crumble if Kansas State's option offense clicks for some early points. They fell behind 27-0 to Texas and 14-0 to Oregon State and Louisville before rallying in the second half.

Idaho
The Vandals have yet to reschedule last Saturday's matchup with Montana, a Division I-AA program. Coach Tom Cable said the process hinges on whether Montana reaches the Division I-AA playoffs. Cable suggested Thanksgiving Day (Nov. 22) or Nov. 24 as possible makeup dates. … Saturday's game with No. 13 Washington will be Idaho's third consecutive meeting with a Pac-10 opponent. The Vandals dropped their season opener 36-7 to Washington State and also fell to Arizona 36-29. … Idaho star quarterback John Welsh brings his streak of 72 consecutive passes without an interception into the Washington game. This ranks second in Division I behind Brigham Young's Brandon Doman, who has thrown 76 passes without a pick.