Sun Belt Football – Week 6 Preview
MATCHUPS
Western Kentucky at Middle Tennessee
Florida International at Akron
Troy at Louisiana-Lafayette
Arkansas State at Louisiana-Monroe
Florida Atlantic at North Texas
The headliner in this list of games is clearly Troy at
Louisiana-Lafayette. Troy won three of four Sun Belt titles from 2006 through
2009, thanks to the right arm of star quarterback Levi Brown. Troy coach Larry
Blakeney found the perfect trigger man for his aggressive passing attack, and
the rest of the Sun Belt simply couldn’t keep up. Now, Troy goes into battle
with sophomore signal caller Corey Robinson. The second-year player took his
lumps in 2010 and struggled for much of the season, but he seemed to catch on
to the nuances of football in November, and he flourished in a New Orleans Bowl
blowout of Ohio University. Robinson lost a road game to Louisiana-Monroe last
season; now he’ll visit the other hyphenated Louisiana school in the Sun Belt.
Lafayette, after beating Florida International earlier in the season, has
established itself as one of the teams to beat in the league, along with Troy
and FIU. This game could very well become the Sun Belt title game in 2011, even
though we’ve only arrived at the midway point of the 12-game slate. The key
will be for Robinson to stand in the pocket and throw the ball confidently.
Troy’s offense needs to be on its game, because Lafayette lit up FIU for 36
points and then scored 37 this past weekend against Florida Atlantic. The
visiting Trojans need to show they can light up the scoreboard; that, more than
anything else, could make the homestanding Ragin’ Cajuns doubt themselves.
The other game worth watching in the Sun Belt in week six is
Arkansas State versus Louisiana-Monroe. These two programs have lurked in the
middle to lower regions of the league over the past few years while Troy,
Middle Tennessee, Florida Atlantic, and Florida International have traded
punches at the top of the league. This is a major proving-ground game for the
visiting Red Wolves and the homestanding Warhawks, both of whom have coaches
who are trying to remake their respective programs. Hugh Freeze is in his first
season at Arkansas State, while Todd Berry is in his second season at the helm
for Monroe. The trajectories of these coaches’ two careers might not depend on
this game, but the arc of the season could very well be shaped by the outcome
of this Saturday’s showdown.
Matt Zemek
DFN Sports Senior Staff Writer
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