Sun Belt Sports Fans

SCORES

Western Kentucky 36, Middle Tennessee 33 (2OT)

Florida International 27, Akron 17

Louisiana-Lafayette 31, Troy 17

Arkansas State 24, Louisiana-Monroe 19

North Texas 31, Florida Atlantic 17

The main story from week six in the Sun Belt Conference was
the affirmation of the ascendancy of the Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin’ Cajuns. The
Sun Belt had been a relatively stable conference at the top over the previous
several years. North Texas (in the earlier part of the first decade of the 21st
century) and Troy (in the latter part) consistently ruled the roost in this
Southern-flavored FBS league, but last year, Florida International broke things
open. Sensing that a moment of opportunity was at hand in a period of flux,
Louisiana-Lafayette has quickly burst through the door and taken hold of the
Belt with the season only halfway done. First-year coach Mark Hudspeth is
clearly bringing out the best in ULL, specifically on the defensive side of the
ball. A convincing 31-17 win over the Troy Trojans this past Saturday showed
that Lafayette’s win over Florida International a few weeks ago was no fluke.
Taking down each of the Sun Belt’s last two champions is an amazing feat for a
program that has lingered in the shadows over the past decade. The sweep of two
formidable opponents shows that the Cajuns have to be viewed as the midseason
favorite in the league.

The key play of Louisiana-Lafayette’s 14-point triumph over
Troy was crystal clear. Coach Larry Blakeney’s Trojans, down 17-3, were
mounting a drive in the final 30 seconds of the first half. With a touchdown,
Troy would have pulled within seven points despite being clearly outplayed
through the first two quarters. The drive definitely had the feel of a turning
point… one that would work in Troy’s favor. Instead, the game boomeranged
into the Cajuns’ hands, and more specifically, the hands of Melvin White. The
ULL defender stepped into a passing lane and picked off Troy quarterback Corey
Robinson, who clearly has not eliminated his worst habits as a signal caller.
White not only snared the ball at his team’s own 11-yard line; he took the
pigskin 89 yards for a pick-six. The Trojans were hoping to make the halftime
score 17-10 in Lafayette’s favor; instead, White’s score – which was made
official when he crossed the goal line with three ticks left on the clock -
gave ULL a 24-3 bulge at the break. Troy never mentally recovered from that
thunderbolt, and Lafayette claimed its second major scalp in conference
competition. It’s true that Troy piled on a lot of yards in the second half to
fatten up its statistical profile in this game, but those yards were empty
calories, gained only because Lafayette was content to give the Trojans all the
short passes they wanted. One could legitimately say that this contest was much
closer than the 21-point halftime margin, but in another equally valid sense,
it wasn’t as close as the final 14-point spread. Lafayette kept Troy at arm’s
length throughout the second half, never giving the impression that its lead
was particularly tenuous. It will take something special to derail ULL over the
next eight weeks; the Cajuns might be Rajin’ in terms of their nickname, but
they’re exhibiting a cool, studied composure whenever they step between the
painted lines on Saturday.

Elsewhere in the Belt, Arkansas State established itself as the darkhorse of
the league, staying in contention with a road win at Louisiana-Monroe. This is
the kind of game ASU has lost over the past several years; proving-ground games
against middle-tier foes in the conference – the testy tussles that sift the
pretenders from the contenders – have not broken favorably for the Red Wolves.
Former coach Steve Roberts couldn’t win these games with any degree of
consistency, which is precisely why new boss Hugh Freeze has made quite an
impression by claiming a scalp against Monroe. The Warhawks have also been in
search of statement-making triumphs under former coach Charlie Weatherbie and
current coach Todd Berry. ASU-Monroe was a mid-level grudge match with profound
implications for the rest of the season. The Red Wolves prevailed in a messy
game that featured four turnovers for each team and three interceptions from
each starting quarterback. Arkansas State didn’t get any style points, but the
Wolves don’t really care about that notion. They won a game they had to win,
and that’s all that matters.

The other noteworthy result from the league was Western
Kentucky’s double-overtime win at Middle Tennessee last Thursday night. WKU won
a grand total of two games from late 2008 through early 2011, so the mere fact
of a Hilltopper victory is startling enough in its own right. However, the bigger
shock from Hilltoppers-Blue Raiders is that Middle Tennessee – a bowl winner in
2009 and one of the better teams in the league in recent years – has fallen so
far. Coach Rick Stockstill has a major motivational challenge on his hands
after this collapse against a poor opponent.

Matt Zemek
DFN Sports Senior Staff Writer