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So, writing mid-season report cards took longer than planned (as usual), so previews will be short and fast this week. Chances are you won’t notice.
12:00 PM, ESPNU- Arkansas State at Indiana: Indiana is a very bad Big 10 team that has played a deplorable schedule- Western Kentucky and Akron, for two. A-State isn’t great, but there’s at least a chance of an upset here. Line: Indiana by 10. I’ll take Arkansas State and the 10, and say they come up just a little short, 27-24.
3:30 PM- Middle Tennessee State at Georgia Tech: MTSU certainly didn’t spring to life when Dwight Dasher returned, getting hammered by Troy last week. Read Post
We have a fun week lined up on the Fringe- gonna squeeze the weekend recaps in as quickly as possible today, then start with some mid-season report cards. Shorter ones than last year, considering that I never actually got through them last year. Those should start tomorrow, grouped by conference, with each of the teams that has finished 6 games.
FIU 28, Western Kentucky 21- FIU jumped out to a 21 point lead, then hung on as the Hilltoppers fought to come back for the rest of the game. FIU gets the conference schedule off to a good start in a wide open Sun Belt. Next Week: FIU at North Texas, ULM at Western Kentucky
Arkansas State 24, North Texas 19- Read Post
The Sun Belt has a very quiet Saturday coming up, with Troy winning big Tuesday and Louisiana facing Oklahoma State tomorrow night (previewed at lunchtime Friday, as usual). Three conference games fill the schedule, including one where somebody will get their first win, and another sees someone get their first conference win.
3:30 PM, Regional Cable- Western [...]
The Sun Belt weekend can be summed up pretty easily- not very good. 0-4 out of conference, although the league game came down to the wire. Mostly though, Saturday was a precursor to Tuesday’s showdown for control of the league.
Auburn 52, ULM 3- I expected the Warhawks to put up something more of a fight than [...]
Not that it makes a difference, but technically the NCAA Football week runs Tuesday to Monday, meaning that the Troy-MTSU game, four days away, is technically a week 6 game. But since we give weeknight games their own space here, it doesn’t mess us up much. Just keep in mind that it’s around the corner, because that should be a good one and is the key Sun Belt game in the next week or two.
This weekend, though, most of the league will still be wrapping up nonconference play. We do have one league game, featuring a preseason contender and a team unbeaten in league play.
12:00 PM, ESPNU- ULM at #11 Auburn: The Warhawks have stumbled out of the gate so far, including squeaking by Southeastern Louisiana last week. Meanwhile, the Tigers have survived games against Clemson and South Carolina without a loss so far. ULM is going to have their hands full, and that’s putting it gently. Line: Auburn by 35. While I think Auburn will win comfortably, I think this is too generous- Arkansas State scored 26 on the Tigers, and I can see the Warhawks getting 14-20 of their own. Let’s say something like 49-17.
3:30 PM- FIU at Pittsburgh: FIU is the best looking 0-3 team in the Sun Belt, making life difficult for 3 BCS schools so far this season. There has been more than one call for the upset this week, but I’m more inclined that Pitt comes out to make a statement, if one can make a statement at all against a winless Sun Belt team. Line: Pitt by 17.5. I will be rooting eagerly for the southern Panthers, but I think Pitt will take this game seriously and win by 20. 30-10.
7:00 PM- Florida Atlantic at USF: The Owls were a thorn in USF’s side last time before USF pulled away for a 35-23 win. I could see FAU doing the same thing again, having already put a scare into Michigan State. Line: USF by 21.5. I’ll take the points this time, USF 24, FAU 14.
7:00 PM- Louisville at Arkansas State: On my drive to Kansas State last week, we passed through Jonesboro. Just outside of town, I got pulled over by a cop who was, no joke, at least 80 years old. Read Post
The Fringe is back after a long trip to Kansas followed by another day away from a computer, so it’s time to power through the week that was so we can get on with the week coming up. The good news from a quantity standpoint is that we’re finally getting into conference play, so there aren’t quite so many games to keep track of.
For the purposes of moving quickly, not every game needs to be broken down, ie, games involving Ohio State. Attention will be focused on conference games and upsets. The What We Learned This Week sections will be abbreviated too. Without further ado, the Sun Belt:
Maryland 42, FIU 28- FIU pushes another BCS team to the brink, but can’t match the Terps late scores.
Troy 35, Arkansas State 28- Arkansas State took the lead with 50 seconds remaining in the game, but Corey Robinson engineered a 5 play, 67 yard drive to steal the game back just 28 seconds later.
Middle Tennessee State 34, Louisiana 14- The Blue Raiders came into Lafayette and steamrolled a team that was expected to compete with them for the conference title. This should be MTSU’s last game without Dwight Dasher, which sets up nicely for their championship chances.
North Texas 21, Florida Atlantic 17- James Hamilton helped the injury-riddled passing game by rushing for 122 yards, leading the Mean Green to its first win of the season and first win ever over Florida Atlantic.
ULM 21, Southeastern Louisiana 20- ULM needed a 4th quarter touchdown to reclaim the lead and the win from their FCS competition.
South Florida 24, Western Kentucky 12- USF led the whole way in this one, which concludes WKU’s four games against the BCS, with only league games left from here on in.
What We Learned This Week Read Post
First, a programming note: Starting Thursday morning, I will be venturing to Manhattan, Kansas to see UCF play Kansas State (and hopefully not lose by 30). If all goes according to plan, the weekend previews will still appear at their regularish time on Thursday and Friday, but may be missing any late breaking news. Twitter will probably be quiet too, since I’ll be playing fan all weekend. Now, on to the Sun Belt’s dreadful weekend.
Things went badly for the Belt Saturday- they couldn’t have gone much worse. Blown leads, blowout losses, and zero wins out of conference. I’ll try to make this quick…
Army 24, North Texas 0- North Texas was forced to start backup QB Derek Thompson after the primary starter went down last week with a dislocated hip, but Thompson was knocked out early with a broken leg. Riley Dodge, who played QB but moved out to WR this year, was brought back over to QB the rest of the game, but was understandably unsuccessful. Army picks up its first shutout since 2005 in their most complete game of the season. Next Week: North Texas at Florida Atlantic, Army at Duke
UAB 34, Troy 33- Read Post
Weekend previews are going to be short and sweet this week, because I’m way behind and there are a ton of games this weekend. All games Saturday, times Eastern, rankings are Coaches Poll, and lines courtesy of Vegas.com.
12:00 PM, CBS College- North Texas at Army: Both teams fell just short in home games last week to fairly similar competition, although Army had to make a furious comeback just to be in the game. This should be a fairly even matchup, but Army looks to have the upper hand. Line: Army by 5.5. For me, that goes in the ”too many” pile given the close games both teams have been in so far. I do think Army should win this one, but on the order of 20-17.
4:00 PM- Troy at UAB: Big rivalry game, and a crucial one if UAB is going to break out of its winless start. But I don’t think they will, Troy has looked much better so far this year. Line: Troy by 3.5. I’m comfortable predicting that the Trojans win this one by a touchdown, 24-17, even on the road.
5:00 PM, Big 10 Network- Indiana at Western Kentucky: A nice Big 10 home game for Western Kentucky, but even though Indiana is far from a powerhouse, they should still be superior to WKU. This won’t be the week for the Hilltoppers first big win. Line: Indiana by 13. Indiana was off last week, but beat their FCS opener by a bundle. I think they probably win this one quietly but effectively, 30-7.
7:00 PM- Middle Tennessee State at Memphis: Read Post
The Sun Belt had a respectable weekend, lacking a big upset but most of the conference played well against tough opposition- eight of the nine teams put up at least 14 points, and once again nobody lost to a FCS squad.
Michigan State 30, Florida Atlantic 17- FAU never threatened to steal this one, down 20-7 at halftime, but kept pace with the Spartans in the second half to never be completely out of contention. Next Week: FAU is idle. North Texas comes to FAU September 25.
Louisiana 31, Arkansas State 24- Louisiana led big early, then held off a furious 17 point 4th quarter from the Red Wolves to grab the win and first place in the conference. Next Week: Louisiana is idle, ULM at Arkansas State (0-1)
Oklahoma State 41, Troy 38- Read Post
The Sun Belt has their first league game on Saturday, and two of the schools are just now starting their seasons. Nobody gets a week off and everybody plays on Saturday, so here’s what to look for (all times Eastern, lines as of Thursday morning on Vegas.com).
12:00 PM, ESPNU- Florida Atlantic at Michigan State (Detroit): The Owls head north again, a bit farther this time, after last Thursday’s big upset over UAB. Their offensive attack looked good in Birmingham, but a Big 10 defense is going to be a big step up in competition. Line: Michigan State by 28. I think the Spartans will win comfortably, but Western Michigan did put up 14 on them. I see this one going more like 31-10.
3:30 PM, CSS/Regional TV- Arkansas State at Louisiana: Arkansas State is coming off a good offensive performance against Auburn, while both teams allowed over 50 to SEC schools last week. This one may come down to which team’s defense comes to life this week. Line: Louisiana by 2. Games against bigger and better schools are really not a good place to judge a team, but the Red Wolves still looked the better last week. So I think they win this outright, 34-24.
7:00 PM- Rice at North Texas: Read Post
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