GoMiddle.com - Week seven wrap: FAU takes wild shootout

October 19, 2009

Chris Childers
GoMiddle.com Publisher

Troy stayed unbeaten atop the Sun Belt standings over the weekend, but the Trojans' win over FIU wasn't the weekend's most exciting conference game.

That honor goes to the game played in Denton as FAU and North Texas piled up points.

GoMiddle.com reviews the weekend action with the Sun Belt wrap up.

BEST GAME

FLORIDA ATLANTIC 44, NORTH TEXAS 40- Saturday's game in Denton turned into one of the most entertaining shootouts of the year so far. The Owls rallied from down 13-0 early to pick up their first win of the season. The Mean Green have now lost five straight games and lost quarterback Riley Dodge in the second quarter with an ankle injury. One bright spot for North Texas was the play of running back Lance Dunbar, who rushed for 238 yards and three touchdowns.

BEST OFFENSIVE PERFORMANCE

FAU QUARTERBACK RUSTY SMITH- The veteran quarterback had a monster day on Saturday helping the Owls pick up their much needed first win of the season. Smith passed for 308 yards and three touchdowns and also ran for another in a 44-40 win over North Texas.

BEST DEFENSIVE PERFORMANCE

TROY DEFENSIVE BACK Bryan Willis- The Trojan freshman had a big day in Troy's win over FIU. The young playmaker had the only interception of the game and finished with 11 tackles to help keep the Trojans unbeaten in Sun Belt play.

TEAM THAT MOST IMPRESSED

TROY- The Trojans continued to roll in Sun Belt play with a 42-33 win over Florida International. Troy picked up more than 550 yards of offense and rode the shoulders of quarterback Levi Brown to its fourth straight victory. Brown finished with three touchdown passes and the Trojans are now 3-0 in league play and showing no signs of slowing down.

TEAM THAT MOST DISAPPOINTED

MIDDLE TENNESSEE- Saturday was expected to be a banner day in the history of Middle Tennessee football as an SEC team was visiting the school for the first time in history. Many felt the Raiders would put up a great fight and a record crowd was expected. But cold weather and a sputtering offense led to a mostly somber day in the 'boro. Mississippi State handled MT in a 27-6 decision and a crowd expected to approach 30,000 was announced at a litte more than 23,000.

FINAL SCOREBOARD

Mississippi State 27, Middle Tennessee 6
Florida Atlantic 44, North Texas 40
Louisiana-Lafayette 30, Western Kentucky 22
Troy 42, Florida International 33
ULM 16, Arkansas State 10 (Tuesday)

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