DAVID HUNTER, Post Contributor
Posted: Thursday, July 22, 2010 3:21 pm

Last season, the Middle Tennessee football team made history by becoming the first member of the Sun Belt Conference to finish with a 10-win season.

The Blue Raiders also won the New Orleans Bowl, their first bowl game as a part of the Football Bowl Subdivision.

MTSU will look to continue the success this season as they were picked to become the SBC champion by the conference’s head coaches and media representatives during last week’s SBC Football Media Days.

“We want to continue what we finished last season,” MTSU head coach Rick Stockstill said during a teleconference last Tuesday.

It was the first time the Blue Raiders were selected for the top spot since the 2001 season. That year, which was its first season as a part of the SBC, the Blue Raiders were 8-3 and co-champions along with North Texas.

Fast forward to a decade later, MTSU had only two more first place votes than archrival Troy.

The two teams will meet once again on national television on Oct. 5 at Floyd Stadium and it will be shown on ESPN2. The Blue Raiders fell 31-7 last October to the Trojans on the same network.

“In this conference we are all about the same,” Stockstill said. “You have to come ready to play.”

The rest of the preseason finishing order includes: Arkansas State, Louisiana-Lafayette, Florida Atlantic, Florida International, Louisiana-Monroe, North Texas and Western Kentucky.

Thanks to last season’s success, several preseason experts have picked the Blue Raiders to win the conference. Senior Defensive Back Jeremy Kellem said the team wants to put last season behind them.

“We keep reminding ourselves we got to prove it on the field,” Kellem said.

Stockstill added, all of the preseason predictions are nice and it’s an honor for the program, but it does not mean anything.

“We got a very grounded team,” Stockstill said. “All of this preseason stuff is really that. They do not mean anything right now.”

Many members of the Blue Raiders were selected to the All-SBC preseason team. Senior Quarterback Dwight Dasher was named Offensive Player of the Year and also a member of the offense.

“He just needs to drive the car,” Stockstill said about Dasher. “He has good players around him on both sides of the ball.”

Last season, Dasher became the fourth player in NCAA history to have more than 2,500 yards passing and 1,000 yards rushing in the same season. He also earned New Orleans Bowl MVP after breaking a NCAA bowl rushing record with 201 yards on the ground.

Senior Offensive Lineman Mark Fisher, senior defensive lineman Jamari Lattimore, junior placekicker Alan Gendreau and Kellem were also selected to the preseason team.

The Blue Raiders will open the season on September 2^nd at home against Big Ten member Minnesota at 6:30 p.m. The contest will be shown on ESPNU.