The story of the year so far is Florida International. The 1-23 team over the past two seasons has won three straight, with a win over Middle Tennessee, making next weekend’s trip to Troy that much more meaningful. No longer can fans gripe about the home schedule because the Golden Panthers are in a first-place tie with Troy, Arkansas State and UL-Lafayette. On the other side, MTSU is out of the conference title race with three Sun Belt losses. FIU quarterback Paul McCall got the better of both MTSU quarterbacks.

Arkansas State forced some turnovers, and won a shootout with UL-Monroe. Halfway through the year, the Sun is setting on ULM’s season.

In Denton, Texas, Jason Chery scored five touchdowns and ULL cruised past UNT.

Drew’s power rankings
1. Troy (3-2, 2-0) - Despite what could turn into some offensive issues, I still think the Trojan defense is better than any of the next three.
2. Arkansas State (4-2, 2-0) - Red Wolves keep rolling on strong offensive play and forcing turnovers
3. UL-Lafayette (3-3, 2-0) - This team will be tough to stop, but can it stop enough people to win the league title?
4. FIU (3-3, 2-0) - Maybe they should be higher. We’ll find how how ‘for real’ the Golden Panthers are next weekend at Troy
5. Middle Tennessee (2-4, 1-3) - Non-conference showing puts them a step ahead of the rest
6. ULM (1-5, 0-2) - For some reason, they’re just not doing enough to win games, though the talent is there
7. FAU (1-5, 0-2) - Easily the biggest disappointment in the league so far
8. North Texas (0-6, 0-2) - Staring down the barrel of an 0-12 season.

While I’ve got Troy ranked No. 1 in my weekly Sun Belt rankings, it’s still a question to as if the Trojans win this weekend. The best thing the Trojans can do, I think, is pick a QB early and rally around him. My early pick at this point to win the league is Arkansas State.

You went to Canada (B.C. Lions) but were cut and sent home after just a couple of days
“I used that as motivation. I used it as I’ve got to go back and refocus myself. I just took it to that I needed to work harder and with the understanding that I’ve got to be at my best each and every day.”

Just a waiting game now?
“They can’t offer a contract until October 15. Hopefully they’ll give me an opportunity and I’ll be blessed. I’m crossing my fingers and waiting. Still working out and staying in shape.”

Still pay close attention to the program?
“I saw them against Ohio State on TV. I call and talk to all the players.”

What will fans see in Tanner Jones and/or Levi Brown (this interview happened after Jamie Hampton’s injury)
“They’re going to get a different dimension now. Jamie’s more a dual threat and Tanner’s more of a passer just like Levi. They’re going to throw it a lot more because they don’t have the dual threat any more.”

Would you play QB in the AFL or another position?
“It doesn’t matter. It really doesn’t matter to me.”

Also, here is Phil Steele’s updated projections for the rest of the season. It was updated Oct. 6, and he pegged Troy’s win at FAU right.

We’ll make this short and sweet. All games are at 6 p.m. CST

ULL at North Texas - Tyrell Fenroy ran for 297 last week. If there’s any team he could top it against, it’s definitely North Texas. ULL 52-17

UL-Monroe at Arkansas State - Warhawks for some reason are pitiful in the early part of the conference schedule, but I suspect they’ll get much better around, oh, Nov. 1. Arkansas State 31-24

Middle Tennessee at Florida International - Want more incentive to come to next week’s game vs. FIU? Wait until the Golden Panthers win Saturday night to improve to 2-0 in league play. FIU 27-21

Ball State at Western Kentucky - Cardinals stay unbeaten. WKU’s top QB has been run out of town. This guy nearly beat Troy last year as a redshirt freshman. The other guy threw two passes last year vs. Troy and both were intercepted. - Ball State 42-3

Troy hosts FIU next week at 6 p.m.

MIAMI HERALD: FIU’s new playmaker leaving opponents in the dust

Here’s a clip from a punt return for a score against Kansas - the first time he ever touched the ball in college.

“We’ll go good on good, which is against the first team defense,” Brown said. “We’ll give the quarterbacks live work, but it won’t be full contact or anything. We’ll split the reps and see how they do. If one clearly outperforms the other, we’ll get him ready to play.”

“I don’t want anyone looking over their shoulder. I don’t believe in a two-quarterback system. We’ll find the one and get him ready.”

Both are traditional pocket passers who run about the same, but Brown said their styles are different.

“Tanner’s more of a fly-by-the-seat-of-his-pants guy,” Brown said. “Both have things they’ve got to work on. Tanner’s got to be better fundamentally and stay away from the big mistakes. Levi’s got to have a better feel for the pocket. He can’t hold the ball as long as he does sometimes.”

DOTHAN EAGLE: Troy must call on backup QBs

About halfway through, I got the call saying Tony Franklin had been relieved of his duties. I still stand by the fact that it’s not his fault and the other coaches never took to caring or learning his offense. Tony’s fatal flaw was going to Auburn, because I couldn’t ever see a coach like Tuberville giving Tony the control that Blakeney gave him. Oh well

Maybe he’ll be back at Troy one day. Wouldn’t shock me. But no one has told me anything.

Seeing other reports that Jamie Hampton’s season is over - hopefully you read my coverage from last night and knew that was likely the case, unfortunately. Being on the road all day, I didn’t have a chance to get anything, but his season and spring practice are probably over (season definitely, spring probably). So, sorry I couldn’t get you anything but you know how the grind goes.

Who do you want to see at QB? Tanner or Levi? I’m betting one of them takes 95 percent of the snaps and Jernigan takes 5-7 per game and runs a little option. Levi looked better in the spring but Tanner seems to have one-upped him this fall. I think either can do the job adequately and this spring Neal Brown said as much even when Hampton beat them both out.

DOTHAN EAGLE - Troy beats FAU, but loses quarterback - quotes from Hampton and others
DOTHAN EAGLE - Troy notes: Bounce goes Trojans’ way

Problem is now that the power cord on my laptop doesn’t seem to be working, so if TrojanWar reads this, I’ve got a problem! So my battery is running down and I don’t have time to find FAU links. But scroll down for links to the papers down here, and they will have some links you can find.

I’m also driving back to Dothan tomorrow (WED), so won’t have computer access. However, if I find out anything on Hampton or other stuff, I might post it ON TWITTER from my cell phone, so check that, or sign up for TWITTER UPDATES and you can get them sent to your e-mail or phone.

No rush back tomorrow, since it’s a long drive, but I’ll catch up with you guys tomorrow. If you leave a comment on the blog, I won’t get to it until late Wednesday night. Hopefully the webmasters at the office will approve them.

On the QB situation, it’s tough to see an all-around good guy like Jamie Hampton get hurt like that. I met his mother and uncle and other family friends at the team hotel earlier today, and you can tell he was raised right. We figured he’d get more opportunities to run the ball, and unfortunately this is the painful irony of it.

I think they’ll pick a QB early next week. My original prediction (before Jamie grew an inch and put on 30 pounds) was that Tanner Jones would be the guy. After probably falling to No. 3, he’s gotten back to the level he played at last year in some of the games (especially MTSU). He and Levi Brown both have big-time arms and you might see more deep balls. I think if Brown outperforms him in practice, he could be the guy since he is probably a little faster.

The first thing Blakeney said he thought of was pulling the redshirt off Dan Parker, since he can run. But I can’t see it happening. Who knows, though?

OH HERE’S SOME OTHER GOOD STUFF - I talked to Omar Haugabook at the game. He had a tryout with the Arena Football League’s Arizona Rattlers and has tryouts set up with the teams from Orlando and Tampa Bay. He said that teams can offer free agent contracts Oct. 15, so he’s hoping to be offered one then. He’s been working out in his home town of Belle Glade since his career ended.

I will have a story with some quotes on that later this week.

Tanner Jones entering was a “feel deal” according to Neal Brown and Jones outperformed Levi Brown in JV game.

Its an open competition again

Danny Franks said sprained ankle, said he would be fine for FIU.

more later