Sun Belt Sports Fans

WEEK EIGHT REVIEW

SCORES

Arkansas State 34, Florida International 16

Western Kentucky 42, Louisiana-Lafayette 23

North Texas 38, Louisiana-Monroe 21

Middle Tennessee 38, Florida Atlantic 14

The main story from week eight in the Sun Belt Conference
was… two stories. A pair of developments demand equal time and attention, as
the league standings received two unexpected jolts. First of all, last Tuesday
night, Arkansas State announced its presence as a bona-fide league contender by
running away from defending champion Florida International in the fourth
quarter. Through the first 46 minutes of this game, ASU and FIU traded punches
in an intense, close-to-the-vest slugfest. The homestanding Red Wolves and the
visiting Golden Panthers couldn’t attain much of any separation, locked in a
defensive battle marked by cautious and probing play. The difference in the
fourth quarter was Arkansas State’s pass rush. The Red Wolves sacked Florida
International quarterback Wesley Carroll multiple times in the final stanza, as
ASU’s defense thoroughly flummoxed the Panthers’ offensive front. Arkansas
State found gaps through which to attack Carroll, and the middle of the FIU
line wasn’t able to parry those thrusts. The Golden Panthers looked dazed and
confused throughout the fourth quarter, and with Arkansas State quarterback
Ryan Aplin running roughshod through FIU’s defensive unit, the game spiraled
out of control for the defending Sun Belt champions.

Aplin threw for only 147 yards in this game, but that was no
problem for the seasoned upperclassman – he ran for 164 yards, averaging 7.8
yards per carry. Aplin’s balance and versatility clearly outshone anything and
everything Carroll was able to do under center for Florida International. Aplin
might not have had as good a game as his defensive linemen did, but the
fleet-footed signal caller was certainly an asset for Arkansas State as the
fourth quarter unfolded. The Red Wolves had more resources to call upon, and
they were able to do a lot more when plays broke down. Aplin’s improvisational
skills, plus the ability of ASU’s defense to contain FIU receiver T.Y. Hilton
(under 100 receiving yards on a solid but modest six catches), added up to a
convincing win for the Red Wolves and first-year head coach Hugh Freeze.
Arkansas State has been an almost-but-not-quite program in the Belt over the
past several years, but at 3-0 in the conference, the Red Wolves have a very
legitimate chance at claiming the league title.

This is especially the case in light of what happened four
days after ASU’s win over Florida International.

Yes, after “Sun Belt Tuesday” receded into memory, the rest
of the Sun Belt took the field this past Saturday. By far the biggest story
from Saturday – the event which shared the spotlight with ASU’s win over FIU –
was Western Kentucky’s 19-point thrashing of a Louisiana-Lafayette team that
had attained a 4-0 league record.

One needs to recall that Western Kentucky did not win a game
in the year 2009 and claimed only two victories in 2010. The Hilltoppers are
still 3-4 this season, on the dark side of .500, but they’re 3-1 in the Belt
and very much a contender for the league title. They stopped the feel-good run
of Lousiana-Lafayette and first-year coach Mark Hudspeth, who had excelled so
thoroughly through the first seven weeks of the season. This past weekend,
Western Kentucky captured the Sun Belt football spotlight (in a good way) for
the first time since the program moved to the league, a part of its graduation
from the Football Championship Subdivision to the Football Bowl Subdivision.

The two ingredients that Western Kentucky brought to the
battle against ULL were efficiency and balance. Both teams gained over 500
yards in this game, but Western Kentucky did more with its opportunities. This
is because veteran quarterback Kawaun Jakes, who lived through the Hilltoppers’
hard times in 2009 and 2010, hit 15 of 18 passes and made only one real
misstep, a solitary interception that was an aberration on this afternoon in
Bowling Green, Kentucky. Jakes’s effectiveness in the passing game was
accompanied by a 206-yard rushing performance from WKU’s star tailback, Bobby
Rainey, who constantly moved the sticks and provided production whenever the
Hilltoppers needed it. The one-two punch of Rainey and Jakes made WKU coach
Willie Taggart a very happy man. It also reduced ULL’s defense to rubble. The
Ragin’ Cajuns did well to merely stay in the fight through the first 46 minutes
of play; with 14 minutes left, Lafayette trailed by only five points at 28-23.
However, WKU just kept sending Rainey into the teeth of the ULL defense in the
fourth quarter, and the rage was taken out of the Rajin’ Cajuns, who buckled in
the face of the Hilltoppers’ assault. Now, Arkansas State owns first place in
the league, with Western Kentucky owning the head-to-head tiebreak over ULL in
the battle for second place. It’s very safe to say that 99 percent of Sun Belt
pundits did not envision this particular top three after eight weeks of college
football in 2011.

WEEK NINE PREVIEW

MATCHUPS

Troy at Florida International

Western Kentucky at Louisiana-Monroe

North Texas at Arkansas State

Louisiana-Lafayette at Middle Tennessee

The headliner in this list of games is the matchup between
Western Kentucky and Louisiana-Monroe. Very simply, can WKU win away from home
and back up one really good result with another? If the Hilltoppers can show a
degree of staying power, their emergence from the basement of the Belt will be
completed with decisiveness and clarity. A 4-1 league record entering November
would justify the hiring of Taggart after the program’s winless 2009 season.
Louisiana-Lafayette’s game at Middle Tennessee also deserves attention, but the
Ragin’ Cajuns should be able to pull through on the road. The true point of
focus in the Sun Belt for week nine is the program that, until very recently,
looked like it was going to remain buried in the cellar for many years to come.
The resurrection that’s taking place in Hilltopper Country is the story to
watch as the Sun Belt season moves forward.

Matt Zemek
DFN Sports Senior Staff Writer