Game-by-game capsules

GAME 1
GEORGIA
Sept. 1, noon
Sanford Stadium,
Athens, Ga.

ABOUT THE BULLDOGS
LAST SEASON 8-4, 5-3 SEC
RETURNING STARTERS 6 offense, 7 defense, 1 special teams
KEY PLAYERS WR Terrance Edwards, OT Jon Stinchcomb, CB Tim Wansley
COACH Mark Richt (first year)
SERIES VS. ASU Georgia lead, 1-0
2001 SCHEDULE Arkansas State, Sept. 1; South Carolina, Sept. 8; Houston, Sept. 15; Arkansas, Sept. 29; at Tennessee, Oct. 6; at Vanderbilt, Oct. 13; Kentucky, Oct. 20; at Florida, Oct. 27; Auburn, Nov. 10; at Ole Miss, Nov. 17; at Georgia Tech, Nov. 24.
OUTLOOK The Bulldogs return two of their top three rushers from last year and most of their offensive line. Junior quarterback Cory Phillips started five of the final six games. The defense lost four starters to the NFL Draft but returns four of its top five tacklers and junior linebacker Boss Bailey, who missed last season because of an injury. The Bulldogs' success hinges on Phillips' continued development and how well the newcomers perform on defense.
FAST FACT Richt is in his first year as head coach after spending 15 years as an assistant to Bobby Bowden at Florida State.

GAME 2
BAYLOR
Sept. 8, 6 p.m. at Floyd Casey Stadium in Waco, Texas

ABOUT THE BEARS
LAST SEASON 2-9, 0-8 Big 12
RETURNING STARTERS 9 offense, 7 defense
KEY PLAYERS WR Reggie Newhouse, OL Jon Erickson, SS Samir Al-Amin
COACH Kevin Steele (3-19 in third year)
SERIES VS. ASU First meeting.
2001 SCHEDULE Arkansas State, Sept. 8; at Minnesota, Sept. 15; New Mexico, Sept. 22; at Iowa State, Sept. 29; at Texas A&M, Oct. 6; Nebraska, Oct. 13; at Oklahoma, Oct. 20; Texas Tech, Nov. 27; Texas, Nov. 3; at Missouri, Nov. 10; Oklahoma State, Nov. 17.
OUTLOOK The Bears return their defensive front four but are relatively inexperienced at linebacker and in the secondary. Baylor finally has the experience its been seeking on the offensive line and hopes to keep quarterback Greg Cicero, lost to injury in the second game last year, healthy all season.
FAST FACT Last season, Newhouse became the first Baylor receiver in 17 years to catch 40 passes.

GAME 3
NICHOLLS STATE
Sept. 15, 6 p.m. at Indian Stadium in Jonesboro

ABOUT THE COLONELS
LAST SEASON 2-9, 1-6 Southland
RETURNING STARTERS 6 offense, 6 defense, 1 special teams
KEY PLAYERS QB Josh Son, DB Seneca McMillan, P Jeremy Thompson
COACH Daryl Daye (2-20 in third year)
SERIES VS. ASU First meeting.
2001 SCHEDULE at Louisiana-Lafayette, Sept. 1; at Jacksonville State, Sept. 8; at Arkansas State, Sept. 15; at Troy State, Sept. 22; Samford, Sept. 29; Sam Houston State, Oct. 13; at Northwestern State, Oct. 20; Southwest Texas, Oct. 27; at Stephen F. Austin, Nov. 3; Grambling State, Nov. 10; McNeese State, Nov. 17.
OUTLOOK Things don't look to improve quickly for the Colonels, who won one game on the field last season and another ( against Northwestern State) by forfeit. Nicholls State opens the season with four road games and faces perennial Division I-AA and Southland Conference powers Sam Houston State and Stephen F. Austin.
FAST FACT Nicholls State shares two opponents with Arkansas State this year: Sun Belt member Louisiana-Lafayette and Jacksonville State.

GAME 4
JACKSONVILLE

STATE
Sept. 22, 6 p.m. at Indian Stadium in Jonesboro

ABOUT THE GAMECOCKS
LAST SEASON 4-6, 2-5 Southland
RETURNING STARTERS 8 offense, 8 defense, 1 special teams
KEY PLAYERS QB Reggie Stancil, RB Rondy Rogers, OG Jeremy Sullivan
COACH Jack Crowe (4-6 in second year, 18-36 in five seasons)
SERIES VS. ASU ASU leads, 1-0
2001 SCHEDULE Cumberland, Aug. 30; Nicholls State, Sept. 8; McNeese State, Sept. 15; at Arkansas State, Sept. 22; at Samford, Oct. 6; at Stephen F. Austin, Oct. 13; Southwest Texas, Oct. 20; at Northwestern State, Oct. 27; Tennessee Tech, Nov. 3; at Sam Houston State, Nov. 10; at Troy State, Nov. 17.
OUTLOOK The Gamecocks were shut out three times last year but should be improved offensively with Stancil, who passed for 995 yards and rushed for 419 last season, and Rogers, who rushed for 825 yards and eight touchdowns.
FAST FACT Crowe is the former Arkansas head coach fired after losing to The Citadel in 1993.

GAME 5
OLE MISS
Oct. 6, 6 p.m. at Indian Stadium in Jonesboro

ABOUT THE REBELS
LAST SEASON 7-5, 4-4 SEC
RETURNING STARTERS 6 offense, 5 defense, 2 special teams
KEY PLAYERS SS Syniker Taylor, OL Terrence Metcalf, QB Emil Manning, LB Eddie Strong
COACH David Cutcliffe (16-9 in third year)
SERIES VS. ASU Ole Miss leads 16-1-2.
2001 SCHEDULE Murray State, Sept. 1; at Auburn, Sept. 8; Vanderbilt, Sept. 15; at Kentucky, Sept. 29; at Arkansas State, Oct. 6; Alabama, Oct. 13; Middle Tennessee, Oct. 20; at LSU, Oct. 27; Arkansas, Nov. 3; Georgia, Nov. 17; at Mississippi State, Nov. 22.
OUTLOOK Trying to replace departed Deuce McAllister in the backfield and replacing more than half its defensive starters is a tall order for Ole Miss, picked to finish last in the SEC West this year.
FAST FACT Manning is the son of former Ole Miss and NFL quarterback Archie Manning and the brother of Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning.

GAME 6
LOUISIANA-LAFAYETTE
Oct. 13, 2 p.m. at Indian Stadium in Jonesboro

ABOUT THE RAGIN' CAJUNS
LAST SEASON 1-10
RETURNING STARTERS 5 offense, 10 defense, 1 special teams
KEY PLAYERS TB Jerome Coleman, CB Charles Tillman, WR Marcus Wilridge
COACH Jerry Baldwin (3-19 in third year)
SERIES VS. ASU Lafayette leads, 15-14-1.
2001 SCHEDULE Nicholls State, Sept. 1; at Minnesota, Sept. 8; at Central Florida, Sept. 15; Southern Mississippi, Sept. 22; Middle Tennessee, Sept. 29; at Arizona State, Oct. 6; at Arkansas State, Oct. 13; at Idaho, Oct. 20; Louisiana-Monroe, Oct. 27; at North Texas, Nov. 20; New Mexico State, Nov. 17.
OUTLOOK The Ragin' Cajuns have only one returning offensive lineman, junior tackle Jonathon Raush, and had no one run or pass for more 1,000 yards last year. That means the defense, led by senior free safety Kyries Hebert, who led the team with 88 tackles last year, will have to carry the load.
FAST FACT Louisiana-Lafayette is one of three former independents to join the Sun Belt Conference for its inaugural football season. The others are Louisiana-Monroe and Middle Tennessee.

GAME 7
NORTH TEXAS
Oct. 20, 3:05 p.m. at Fouts Field in Denton, Texas

ABOUT THE MEAN GREEN
LAST SEASON 3-8, 1-4 Big West
RETURNING STARTERS 6 offense, 6 defense, 1 special teams
KEY PLAYERS LB Brad Kassell, QB Scott Hall, OL Nick Zuniga
COACH Darrell Dickey (8-25 in fourth year)
SERIES VS. ASU Arkansas State leads 6-4.
2001 SCHEDULE TCU, Sept. 1; at Oklahoma, Sept. 8; at Arkansas, Sept. 15; Texas Tech, Sept. 22; at South Florida, Sept. 29; at Louisiana-Monroe, Oct. 6; Middle Tennessee, Oct. 13; Arkansas State, Oct. 20; at New Mexico State, Nov. 3; Louisiana-Lafayette, Nov. 10; at Idaho, Nov. 17.
OUTLOOK The defense-oriented Mean Green have a Lombardi Award candidate in senior Kassell, a unanimous first-team All-Big West pick who led the conference with 115 tackles. The Mean Green needs to improve on last year's erratic offensive performance to contend in the Sun Belt Conference this year.
FAST FACT With Hall, North Texas has an established quarterback entering a season for the first time since 1994.

GAME 8
IDAHO
Oct. 27, 2 p.m. at Indian Stadium in Jonesboro

ABOUT THE VANDALS
LAST SEASON 5-6, 3-2 Big West
RETURNING STARTERS 9 offense, 9 defense
KEY PLAYERS NT Will Beck, QB John Welsh, TB Anthony Tenner, LB Brad Rice
COACH Tom Cable (5-6 in second year)
SERIES VS. ASU Idaho leads 3-1.
2001 SCHEDULE at Washington State, Aug. 30; at Arizona, Sept. 8; at Montana, Sept. 15; at Washington, Sept. 22; Boise State, Sept. 29; at Middle Tennessee, Oct. 6; at New Mexico State, Oct. 13; Louisiana-Lafayette, Oct. 20; at Arkansas State, Oct. 27; Louisiana-Monroe, Nov. 3; North Texas, Nov. 17.
OUTLOOK The Vandals are picked to finish second in the Sun Belt Conference because of the return Welsh, who passed for more than 3,100 yards and 22 touchdowns. But the Vandals have to rebuild their offensive line and open with four road games.
FAST FACT Beck was the Big West Conference co-Defensive Player of the Year last season.

GAME 9
MIDDLE

TENNESSEE
Nov. 3, 2 p.m. at Floyd Stadium in Murfreesboro, Tenn.

ABOUT THE BLUE RAIDERS
LAST SEASON 6-5
RETURNING STARTERS 7 offense, 6 defense, 4 special teams
KEY PLAYERS RB Dwone Hicks, WR Kendall Newson, PK Brian Kelly
COACH Andy McCollum (9-13 in third year)
SERIES VS. ASU Middle Tennessee leads, 2-0.
2001 SCHEDULE at Vanderbilt, Aug. 30; Troy State, Sept. 8; at Louisiana-Monroe, Sept. 22; at Louisiana-Lafayette, Sept. 29; Idaho, Oct. 6; at North Texas, Oct. 13; at Ole Miss, Oct. 20; New Mexico State, Oct. 27; Arkansas State, Nov. 3; at LSU, Nov. 10; Connecticut, Nov. 17.
OUTLOOK With an offense that outscored its opponents 151-57 in the final three games last year, Middle Tennessee is favored to win the Sun Belt Conference. The key is improvement on the defensive side. The Blue Raiders gave up 35 or more points five times in 2000.
FAST FACT The Blue Raiders are the only team in the Sun Belt Conference to post a winning record last year.

GAME 10
NEW MEXICO STATE
Nov. 10, 4 p.m. at Aggie Memorial Stadium in Los Cruces, N.M.

ABOUT THE AGGIES
LAST SEASON 3-8, 1-4 Big West
RETURNING STARTERS 6 offense, 5 defense, 1 special teams
KEY PLAYERS QB K.C. Enzminger, OL Tony Wragge, LB D'Wayne Taylor
COACH Tony Samuel (14-30 in fifth year)
SERIES VS. ASU New Mexico State leads 4-1.
2001 SCHEDULE at Louisville, Aug. 23; at Texas, Sept. 1; Oregon State, Sept. 8; at New Mexico, Sept. 15; at Kansas State, Sept. 22; at Louisiana-Monroe, Sept. 29; at Tulsa, Oct. 6; Idaho, Oct. 13; at Middle Tennessee, Oct. 27; North Texas, Nov. 3; Arkansas State, Nov. 10; at Louisiana-Lafayette, Nov. 17.
OUTLOOK The Aggies return a strong running game featuring Enzminger, a senior and the school's career rushing leader with 1,029 yards, and senior running back Kenton Keith, who averaged a school record 7.8 yards a carry last year. A tough road schedule may block the Aggies' path to a winning record.
FAST FACT Samuel spent 11 seasons as an assistant at Nebraska and played defensive end for the Cornhuskers under Tom Osborne from 1975-77.

GAME 11
LOUISIANA-MONROE
Nov. 17, 2 p.m. at Indian Stadium in Jonesboro

ABOUT THE INDIANS
LAST SEASON 1-10
RETURNING STARTERS 7 offense, 8 defense, 3 special teams
KEY PLAYERS FS Dedrick Buckles, QB Andy Chance, WR Brooks Greer
COACH Bobby Keasler (6-16 in third year, 84-50-2 in 12 seasons)
SERIES VS. ASU Arkansas State leads, 12-10.
2001 SCHEDULE Sam Houston State, Sept. 1; at Florida, Sept. 8; at Cincinnati, Sept. 15; Middle Tennessee, Sept. 22; New Mexico State, Sept. 29; North Texas, Oct. 6; at Central Florida, Oct. 20; at Louisiana-Lafayette, Sept. 27; at Idaho, Nov. 3; Troy State, Nov. 10; at Arkansas State, Nov. 17.
OUTLOOK The Indians must strengthen a defensive front that made Buckles the team's leading tackler at safety. A new 4-2-5 defensive alignment is being implemented to improve a unit that gave up at least 21 points in every game. Offensively, the Indians want to keep Chance healthy. He passed for 1,149 yards despite missing five games because of injuries in 2000.
FAST FACT Former San Diego Chargers quarterback Stan Humphries is the Indians' new offensive coordinator.

This article was published on August 27, 2001

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