Sun Belt Sports Fans

The Florida International Golden Panthers are one win away from an historic conference championship. Can they seal the deal on home turf in Miami?

The Red Wolves are certainly capable of winning this game. Arkansas State has a solid dual-threat quarterback in the form of Ryan Aplin. ASU can put defenses on a pendulum because Aplin is a capable passer who can also make plays with his legs when improvisation is required.

Arkansas State drilled preseason Sun Belt Conference favorite Middle Tennessee in a nationally-televised game back on Nov. 2 in Jonesboro, Arkansas. The Red Wolves also gave Navy a decent fight this past weekend on the road, and would have pulled within just one possession of the Midshipmen in the middle of the fourth quarter had it not been for a missed extra point. ASU drew within nine points of Navy (28-19) and hoped to make the margin only eight points, but the point-after try was blocked, and that ruined the Wolves’ chances of a comeback. At any rate, this is a plucky and persistent opponent who will not give in very easily to Florida International. Given that the Sun Belt has zero bowl-eligible teams at this point, the league is balanced and wide open. Florida International might have a 5-1 record in the Sun Belt, but the Golden Panthers – at 5-5 overall – are hardly an elite team; they can be had by some teams in the league, and Arkansas State is one of them.

The Golden Panthers, for all their weaknesses on defense, have risen to a higher plateau in Sun Belt play. The difference maker for coach Mario Cristobal – who should be getting a long look from a lot of athletic directors who are wanting to fill coaching vacancies in the coming offseason – has been Wesley Carroll. The quarterback transferred to FIU from Mississippi State, and while he struggled profoundly against the speed of the Southeastern Conference, Carroll has been a perfect fit for this Sun Belt program. The pace of play is much more manageable than it is in the SEC, and as a result, Carroll has been a very reliable field general for his team. Carroll hit 16-of-19 passes without an interception this past weekend in a solid 38-17 road win at Louisiana-Lafayette.

It’s safe to say that if Carroll can come anywhere close to that kind of performance in this game, the Golden Panthers will be very hard to beat. Arkansas State needs to take the ball away from Florida International to have a reasonable shot on Saturday, but if Wesley Carroll protects the pigskin, the Red Wolves will be out of luck.

Florida International is riding a wave of success and is playing at home with a chance to nail down the conference title. It doesn’t seem as though Wesley Carroll is going to hiccup at this important moment. Then again, he’s never faced the pressure of having to close down a conference championship, either.

Will the Florida International story write its final, glorious chapter, or will proximity to glory cause the Golden Panthers to stumble? We’ll see what happens this weekend in Miami.

Matt Zemek
DFN Sports Senior Staff Writer