GoMiddle.com - Weekend primer: Deadlock will be broken

October 29, 2009

Randall Thomason
GoMiddle.com Publisher

This week's Sun Belt action includes a showdown at the top of the standings and a pillow fight at the bottom of the standings, with intriguing action in between.

Arkansas State is the only league team to play out of conference this week.

GoMiddle.com breaks down what to look for on Saturday in Sun Belt play.

THE SCHEDULE

Saturday's games
UL-Lafayette at FIU, 11 a.m.
Middle Tenn. at FAU, 3 p.m.
WKU at North Texas, 3:15 p.m. (Sun Belt Network)
Arkansas State at Louisville, 3:30 p.m.
ULM at Troy, 6 p.m.

WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR

THE ULM QB WATCH- Warhawk quarterback Trey Revell is likely to miss Saturday's game against Troy due to the injured thumb he sustained two weeks ago. If Revell can't go, that means backup Cody Wells will get his second straight starting nod after starting last week at Kentucky. Can ULM beat the favored Trojans without Revell? The Warhawks knocked off Troy last year when Revell came in as a backup to lead the game winning drive. Can Wells be the hero this year against Troy? Wells threw three interceptions last week against Kentucky, but Troy has not been adept at picking off passes this year. The Trojans rank seventh in the league with four interceptions.

WHICH DEFENSE WILL SHOW UP IN DENTON?- North Texas and Western Kentucky will determine the worst team in the Sun Belt when the two teams meet in Denton on Saturday. The winner will likely need a lot of points, because neither team's defense has been good. North Texas ranks eighth in the league in scoring defense and WKU ranks ninth. Which defense will muster enough stops to get its team a conference win? The guess here is North Texas because the Mean Green have been consistently more competitive than the Hilltoppers, even though it hasn't equated to a conference victory yet.

ARKANSAS STATE'S DEFENSE HAS CHANCE TO SHINE- The Red Wolves hit the road for a non-conference game against Louisville and have reason to expect to have a good chance at an upset. The Cardinals are at the bottom of the Big East and the stout Arkansas State defense should match up well. ASU leads the league in run defense and Louisville's combination of Victor Anderson and Bilal Powell running the ball is the Cardinals' offensive strength. The ASU front seven could lead the Red Wolves to a victory with a great performance against the run.

BIGGEST UPSET POTENTIAL

ARKANSAS STATE vs. LOUISVILLE- Louisville's offense has been held to 14 or fewer points three times this season and Arkansas State has a chance to keep this game low scoring and pull off a big road win for the Sun Belt. The Red Wolves offense has not lived up to preseason billing so far, but the talent is there for a breakout performance. With a lot of negative talk around the Louisville program right now, a quick start for the Red Wolves would deal a major psychological blow to the Cardinals.

LOCK OF THE WEEK

TROY over ULM- The Trojans have been on an offensive roll in recent weeks and that shouldn't slow down much this week even against the league's second ranked overall defense. With ULM undefeated in league play and Troy still smarting from last year's upset loss to the Warhawks, expect the Trojans to come out with plenty of emotion. The game should be high scoring, but Troy's strength on both sides will ultimately rule the day.

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