This Week in the Sun Belt – Week Nine
Seven Sun Belt schools are in action this weekend. Louisiana, ULM and Coastal Carolina are all taking the weekend off. There is a nationally televised game on ESPNU this Saturday, which happens when one of your teams gets nationally ranked.
Here are the matchups:
#21 APPALACHIAN STATE (6-0, 3-0) (-26) at SOUTH ALABAMA (1-6, 0-3) 11:00 am, ESPNU--The Mountaineers showed no hangover effect from their win over Louisiana as they spanked ULM 52-7 last week. Now they head to Mobile and should have no trouble stretching their winning streak, even if they're looking ahead to their Halloween matchup against Georgia Southern.
NEW MEXICO STATE (0-7) (+14') at GEORGIA SOUTHERN (3-3) 2:00 pm, ESPN3--Despite some real offensive woes, the Eagles are at the .500 mark and should get to win number four. There's a 40% chance of rain Saturday in Statesboro, but if stays dry, the Eagles might be able to get that offense untracked this week. That bowl win by the Aggies sure seems like eons ago.
TEXAS STATE (2-4, 1-1) (+11') at ARKANSAS STATE (3-4, 1-2) 6:00 pm ESPN+--Texas State's defense will get a real test this week against a potent Arkansas State offense that put up yards, but not enough points last week against Louisiana. Meanwhile the Texas State offense, which has struggled, gets the Red Wolves defense which has also struggled. A-States depleted defensive line vs. the Bobcats porous offensive line is an interesting matchup.
TROY (3-3, 1-1) at GEORGIA STATE (5-2, 2-1) 6:00 pm ESPN+--Here's the SBC Game of the Week. Troy seems to be the forgotten team in this league, and that's a mistake. The Trojans can put up points with the best of them and this is a crucial game for both teams. Troy's ability to contain Georgia State quarterback Dan Ellington will be key in this one. There's a 50% chance of rain and we'll see if that means anything to Kaleb Barker's passing game.