Sun Belt Sports Fans

The Troy Trojans might be the reigning champions in the Sun Belt and the clear leaders of the conference near the end of October, but they have to be vigilant as they head to Monroe, Louisiana, for what could be a thorny fistfight against an opponent that will throw the kitchen sink at the Belt’s best ballclub.

This matchup might look one-sided on paper, but it should be far more competitive than a lot of pigskin pundits might think. The reasons are as simple as they are obvious.

First, the Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks get this game at home in Malone Stadium. A partisan crowd will give full-throated support to coach Todd Berry’s ULM lineup, primarily because Troy is the magnet which attracts fans of other Sun Belt teams. Troy and head coach Larry Blakeney continue to lord themselves over the rest of the league, and have established a well-deserved reputation as the Belt’s version of the recent-vintage New England Patriots or the current Los Angeles Lakers. It’s Troy’s world unless or until someone can bump off the powerhouse from the southeastern part of Alabama. ULM is just the latest team to get that special opportunity on its home field.

The other reason this game will be filled with urgency for ULM – and therefore become more difficult for Troy to navigate – is that the Warhawks are confronting the most important stretch of their 2010 schedule. Berry’s boys are embarking on a three-game sequence in which they’ll lock horns with the Sun Belt’s two top teams – 3-0 Troy and 2-0 Florida International – and then LSU on Nov. 13. With a current record of 3-4, ULM must clean up in the Sun Belt if it wants to get a winning record and have any shot whatsoever at a bowl bid. The Florida International game on Nov. 6 is very winnable, but ULM will need to win a game it’s not expected to win if it wants that winning record. A 6-6 mark can be built on the back of expected wins or 50-50 wins, but an upset of Troy would give the Warhawks a real shot at a 7-5 season, which would make the locals very happy.

Troy needs to withstand the early flurry ULM is likely to generate. The Trojans, as a program, are quite used to dealing with this dynamic, but quarterback Corey Robinson is still a freshman, and he can’t mentally relax heading into this contest. Blakeney and the rest of Troy’s offensive coaches need to make sure their quarterback is ready to compete against a ULM team that will spill the tank on Saturday, while also opening – nay, emptying – its defensive playbook. Berry and the ULM staff will try every trick in the book to upend Troy in a regular-season game that feels like a bowl game for the Warhawks.

If Troy can pass this test, its grip on the Sun Belt will only be strengthened as November nears.

Matt Zemek
DFN Sports Senior Staff Writer