Sun Belt Week 7 Wrapup & Power Rankings

Monday was slow on the Fringe, so today will be fast. First out of the gate, some weekend wrapups.  Sun Belt first, as usual.

Indiana 36, Arkansas State 34- Indiana survives it’s toughest out-of-conference test (yes, really), as A-State led several times but couldn’t quite close up when Indiana tried to pull away the last time.  Next Week: Florida Atlantic at Arkansas State

Georgia Tech 42, Middle Tennessee State 14- MTSU’s offense continues to sputter as Dwight Dasher chucks up 4 interceptions in the blowout loss.  A season full of potential is slipping away from the Blue Raiders in a hurry.  Next Week: ULM at Middle Tennessee

ULM 35, Western Kentucky 30- Another chance to break the losing streak slips away in the fourth quarter for the Hilltoppers.  WKU led 24-7 after three quarters, but four straight touchdowns, including a pick-six, turned the tide. WKU couldn’t recover a late onside kick to pull off a late miracle.  Next Week: ULM at Middle Tennessee, Western Kentucky at Louisiana

Troy 31, Louisiana 24- Louisiana played tough the whole game through, with Troy not putting the game away until a touchdown with four minutes left went unanswered.  Troy is now atop the league and has beaten the two teams most expected to contend, although FIU is still ahead.  Next Week: Western Kentucky at Louisiana, Troy is idle.

FIU 34, North Texas 10- FIU never trailed in this one, and put the game out of reach long before halftime, when the score was 27-3. The Panthers are back to 2-4 after the 0-4 start. They play at Troy on November 13. Next Week: Both teams are idle.

My picks went 4-1 last week, and might have been better if Dasher could tell the difference between his wide receivers and a GT defensive back.

Sun Belt Standings

Conference Championship Race

Troy obviously holds all the cards, but FIU is very much alive and has looked better than most of the Sun Belt teams so far.  As mentioned above, they face off on November 13, but FIU also has Middle Tennessee, Arkansas State, and both the Louisiana teams left too, while Troy has knocked off MTSU, A-State, and Louisiana already.  ULM also controls its destiny, as Arkansas State has fallen a full loss below them in the standings. Middle Tennessee is still alive, but needs Troy to pick up two league losses.  The two-loss teams all need a variety of help, but are still alive.

Week 7 Power Rankings

One team is above .500, one other is .500, and everybody else is below. Yikes. My best attempt at making sense of it all follows.

1. Troy
2. FIU
3. ULM
4. Middle Tennessee State
5. Louisiana
6. Arkansas State
7. Florida Atlantic
8. North Texas
9. Western Kentucky