Sun Belt Week 13 Review
Arkansas State 30, North Texas 26
The Red Wolves finally cracked the win column with a deceptively decisive four-point win over the Mean Green, who ended their season on Saturday in Jonesboro, Ark. Coach Steve Roberts and ASU collected their second Sun Belt win of the season after rolling to a 27-0 first-half lead and then holding on in the fourth quarter. Yes, Arkansas State quarterback Ryan Aplin did throw three interceptions, but each of them came after the Red Wolves had already acquired their 27-point bulge. Another similarly misleading aspect of the 30-26 final score was that North Texas - without timeouts and at an extreme tactical disadvantage - tacked on a window-dressing touchdown with just 1:25 left in the game. When ASU recovered the ensuing onside kick, a not-so-nerve-wracking win had finally been secured. Arkansas State has one game left in its 2009 campaign, while North Texas ends its season at 2-10.
Florida Atlantic 29, Western Kentucky 23
The Owls moved to 4-3 in the league despite their 4-7 overall record. Quarterback Jeff Vancamp wasn’t precise or consistent in this contest, but the backup to injured star Rusty Smith was able to deliver a dagger when it counted. With FAU holding a slim 22-20 lead midway through the fourth quarter, Vancamp hit Lester Jean on a 47-yard scoring strike that gave the Owls a two-possession cushion. Up 29-20 with only 6:59 left in regulation, Florida Atlantic was able to steer the endgame phase to its advantage at Lockhart Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
FAU allowed a Western Kentucky field goal with 4:59 remaining, as the Hilltoppers battled mightily in an attempt to win their first game of the season. Because of Vancamp’s vertical passing exploits, however, Western Kentucky merely climbed within six points instead of taking an outright lead. When FAU running back Alfred Morris (25 carries for 122 yards) pounded out 24 yards in the final five minutes of regulation, the Owls were able to run out the clock and prevent WKU from seeing another possession. The 0-11 Hilltoppers saw their losing streak increase to 19 games.
Middle Tennessee State 38, Louisiana-Monroe 19
There won’t be a share for second place in the Sun Belt this season. Monroe was looking to tie Middle Tennessee State at 6-2 in the conference, but the Blue Raiders had other ideas. Coach Rick Stockstill’s team strode into Malone Stadium and whipped the homestanding Warhawks to finish at 7-1 in the Belt and 9-3 for the season, while ULM dropped to 5-3 in the league and 6-6 for all of 2009. The difference in this game wasn’t necessarily interceptions in and of themselves, but the fact that MTSU did something with them. Monroe picked off Blue Raider quarterback Dwight Dasher twice in the first half, but an impotent ULM offense hamstrung by inconsistent quarterbacking from Trey Revell was unable to find the end zone after an opening-game touchdown march.
Middle Tennessee, on the other hand, took full advantage of the takeaways it plucked from both Revell and backup Cody Wells. With the visitors leading 21-13 with 4:55 left in the third quarter, MTSU’s Alex Suber picked off Revell and raced 56 yards to the ULM 9. Shortly thereafter, Dasher breezed into the end zone from nine yards out, and the Blue Raiders affirmed their control of the contest by snagging a 28-13 lead. When ULM coach Charlie Weatherbie called on Wells to replace Revell, the outlook didn’t brighten for the Warhawks. If anything, Middle Tennessee turned out the lights. Jeremy Kellem snared a 58-yard pick-six from Wells to make the score 35-13, and end the competitive phase of this second-place showdown.
Troy 48, Louisiana-Lafayette 31
They had to sweat, and there might even have been times when they questioned their very sanity, but the Troy Trojans persevered to win the outright Sun Belt title.
In a game with three distinct phases, Larry Blakeney’s team rallied in the fourth quarter, throwing down a 24-point surge to eclipse Ricky Bustle’s Ragin’ Cajuns, who ended the season at 4-4 in the Belt, and 6-6 overall. Troy rolled to a 24-0 lead in the game’s first 18 minutes, as the league’s most prolific offense did whatever it wanted at Cajun Field in Lafayette, La. Before anyone’s seat was warm, it appeared that the visitors from the state of Alabama had the outright Sun Belt crown already locked up in the deep freeze.
But then the homestanding underdogs heated up in a big way. ULL’s starting quarterback Chris Masson threw a 57-yard touchdown pass to Luke Aubrey to pull the Ragin’ Cajuns within 11 points at 24-13, less than five minutes before halftime. When the Cajuns then stuffed Troy on a 4th and 1 from the ULL 3, Bustle’s boys took even more confidence to the locker room. That continued accumulation of positive vibes was clearly manifested in the third quarter, as the Cajuns’ defense shut out Troy and used a 91-yard touchdown pass from backup quarterback Brad McGuire to Ladarius Green to take a 25-24 lead into the fourth and final stanza. Just when Troy’s path to Sun Belt perfection looked to be free of remaining obstacles, an upstart outfit from Lafayette delivered a supreme shock to the Trojans’ system. Quarterback Levi Brown faced one final and formidable challenge that was as much psychological as it was tactical.
Sure enough, the best signal caller in the Sun Belt delivered darts when his team needed them.
After engineering a field-goal-scoring drive and enabling the Trojans to retake the lead at 27-25, Brown put his foot down with two touchdown throws that put the game away. A 14-yard scoring strike to Tebiarus Gill gave Troy a crucial two-possession cushion at 34-25 with 10:44 left in regulation, and a 26-yard lightning bolt to Jerrel Jernigan pushed the visitors’ advantage to 41-25 with 4:47 to go. Troy scored 24 straight points, only to then allow 25 in a row from the Cajuns, but when this rollercoaster ride entered its business end, Levi Brown took full ownership of the proceedings… and also the Sun Belt championship, which rests solely in the hands of its reigning superpower.
By: Matt Zemek|
DFN Sports Senior Staff Writer