Week 2 had its ups and downs for the Belt. Their teams mostly struggled against the BCS leagues, but Louisiana Lafayette scored big with a win over Kansas State. Things are shaping up to be very interesting when conference play really gets going.
What We Learned This Week
Troy still has potential, but they need to play for four quarters. They put up a ton of fight against the Gators for the first quarter, but once Florida started clicking, Troy seemed to lose focus. I still think they’ll be alright in conference, but if Ark State or FIU get out ahead in the first, do they give up hope?
Speaking of FIU, they gave Alabama a respectable game in their opener this weekend. It’s tough to keep pace with those teams for 60 minutes, but it should be enough to give fans some hope as the season gets going.
Middle Tennessee continued the Sun Belt’s ownage of Memphis (can I say ownage in semi-serious blog? I’m going to say ownage). And their own, for that matter, now 2-0 since coming up to 1-AA. Nice win for the Blue Raiders.
The Nebraska onslaught continues. Arkansas State was the victim this time. I never like seeing these guys get blown out, because I’ve seen what that can do to a teams confidence. There’s no question that Troy and Ark State can be competitive this year, but if the games from this weekend get in their heads, it can do damage.
Western Kentucky Watch: they put up 13 points this time, going down to South Florida at home. Like the conference powers in their big losses, I still think WKU has what it takes to win a few games this year- but they’re going to need to play with confidence, which can be tough after getting knocked around by BCS schools all through September.
This Week in the Sun Belt
North Texas plays up at Alabama, Middle Tennessee has a chance to keep things rolling up at Maryland, Troy welcomes UAB for a pretty big rivalry game- fighting for the #3 slot in Alabama football, FIU heads north to play a Rutgers team that looked really bad in week 1 before winning this weekend over 1-AA Howard. Lafayette heads over to Baton Rouge for LSU, Western Kentucky gets a break from BCS squads by bringing in Central Arkansas, Florida Atlantic heads to Columbia for South Carolina, and Monroe heads west to play Arizona State. All in all, a nice group of games with some upset potential to be found.
Sun Belt Power Ratings
- Louisiana Lafayette
- Arkansas State
- Middle Tennessee State
- North Texas
- Louisiana Monroe
- Florida International
- Troy
- Florida Atlantic
- Western Kentucky
Watch for the conference players of the week to be released this afternoon, and then we’ll have Mountain West and C-USA wrapups tomorrow (hint- things went well for them).