Scout.com: 2009 CFN Sun Belt Picks, Schedules, More

2009 CFN Sun Belt Picks, Schedules, More

By Staff

CollegeFootballNews.com
Posted Nov 14, 2009

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Sun Belt 2009 Game of the Week, Player of the Week, Roundup & Standings ... Click on each team for game recaps, thoughts, schedules and more and scroll down for the games, results, players of the week and the conference roundup.

2009 Sun Belt ... Week 12

	CFN EXPERT PICKS	Fiu	Rich	Matt	Michael	Clucko	PICK
12:30	FIU at Florida -43.5	FL*	FL	FL	FL*	FL	FL
4:00	Army at UNT -1.5	AR	AR	AR	AR	NT	AR
4:15	FAU at Troy -16.5	TR	TR*	TR	TR	FA	TR
4:30	Ark St at MTSU -11.5	MT	MT	MT	MT*	MT	MT
7:00	ULM -2.5 at ULL	LM	LL	LL	LM	LM	LM
	Straight Up	52-9	51-10	49-12	46-15	34-27	48-13
	ATS	35-22	30-27	34-23	30-27	28-29	31-26

Sun Belt Standings
	Conf.		Overall
Troy	6	0	7	3
MTSU	5	1	7	3
ULM	5	1	6	4
La-Laf	3	3	5	5
Fla Atl.	3	2	3	6
FIU	3	4	3	7
Ark St	1	4	2	7
No Tex.	1	6	2	8
WKU	0	6	0	10
Players of the Week 11/14 Frank Goodin, RB ULM 11/7 Dwight Dasher, QB MT 10/31 Riley Dodge, QB NT 10/24 Dwight Dasher, QB MT 10/17 Levi Brown, QB Troy 10/10 Dan. Parker, RB Troy 10/3 Frank Goodin, RB ULM 9/26 Levi Brown, QB Troy 9/19 Dwight Dasher, QB MT 9/13 Dwight Dasher, QB MT 9/5 Riley Dodge, QB UNT Games of the Week 11/14 FIU 35, UNT 28 11/7 ULL 21, ASU 18 10/31 MT 27, FAU 20 10/24 FAU 51, ULL 29 10/17 FAU 44, UNT 40 10/10 ULL 38, UNT 34 10/3 ULM 48, FIU 35 9/26 ULM 27, FAU 25 9/19 MTSU 32, Mary. 31 9/13 Ohio 31, UNT 30 2OT 9/5 UNT 20, Ball St 10 Scoreboard at Middle Tennessee 34 Louisiana-Lafayette 17 - Middle Tennessee sacks ULL to stay hot - Louisiana gets run over by the Blue Raiders CFN Prediction: MTSU 31-17 Line: MTSU -11.5 at Florida Atlantic 35 Arkansas State 18 - Florida Atlantic & Van Camp get by ASU - Arkansas State fizzles in yet another loss CFN Prediction: Arkansas State 24-20 Line: Arkansas State -3 at ULM 21 Western Kentucky 18 - ULM bowl eligible with win over Hilltoppers - WKU blows chances in loss to the Warhawks CFN Prediction: ULM 42-20 Line: ULM -21.5 at Arkansas 56 Troy 20 Troy makes too many mistakes in loss to Hogs CFN Prediction: Arkansas 42-30 Line: Arkansas -14 at Florida International 35 North Texas 28 - FIU rallies late to beat the Mean Green - North Texas O rolls in loss to FIU CFN Prediction: North Texas 31-27 Line: FIU -2

GAME OF THE WEEK

at FIU 35 … North Texas 28
Down 28-14 after the end of the first half, FIU came back with 21 unanswered points with Peter Riley picking off a pass 26 yards for a score and with Wayne Younger running for a 23-yard score with just over five minutes to play to take the lead for good. Kendall Berry started the Golden Panther scoring with two first quarter touchdown runs, but UNT dominated early with Lance Dunbar running for touchdowns from 42 and six yards away, and Riley Dodge running for a 38-yard score and hitting Darius Carey for a 15-yard touchdown. UNT outgained FIU 513 yards to 258.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK
ULM RB Frank Goodin ran 19 times for 169 yards and a score, and he caught two passes for 30 yards in the win over WKU.

CONFERENCE ROUNDUP

Arkansas State … at Florida Atlantic 35 ... Arkansas State 18 ... Corey Leonard struggled all season long, but he’s still missed. At least the 2008 version is missed. Ryan Aplin was solid as a fill in, but there wasn’t anything happening with the downfield passing game and there wasn’t enough from the running game to pick up the slack. With plenty of chances to get up big early, settling for three first half field goals proved to be a killer. FAU would’ve struggled if it had to mount a comeback, and now for ASU, a bad season is getting worse. On a three game losing streak and with a trip to Middle Tennessee up next, things are going to keep on sliding.

FIU … at Florida International 35 ... North Texas 28 ... FIU was able to use the mobility of Wayne Younger late and the short range accuracy of Paul McCall early to come back and pull off a much-needed win. The O only had the ball for 21 minutes and the passing game only came up with 82 yards, but the defense got a big play and the offense capitalized on mistakes in the fourth quarter. With Florida up next, there’s at least something positive to work around now going forward, and it’s going to take a win over FAU in December to give the program something to feel good about in the offseason.

Florida Atlantic … at Florida Atlantic 35 ... Arkansas State 18 ... While Jeff Van Camp might not be Rusty Smith, he played extremely well and was able to lead the team to a key win, but it was the defense that came up big by forcing field goals instead of allowing touchdowns. Alfred Morris picked up the slack with Smith gone, doing well both on the ground and with a touchdown catch, and he’ll have to do even more to help the O keep up the pace against Troy next week. A shot at a .500 record is still possible, but Van Camp and Morris will have to continue to be great.

Middle Tennessee … at Middle Tennessee 34 ... Louisiana-Lafayette 17 ... The Blue Raiders were able to get into the ULL backfield and come up with five sacks, and once again, Dwight Dasher was strong as he continues to make a push for Sun Belt Player of the year honors. The offense had a nice balance, and it worked the ball around well in the second half while the defense put the clamps down, especially against the run. On a four-game winning streak, MTSU has Arkansas State up next and ULM to close with a good shot at getting an at-large bowl bid at 9-3.

North Texas… at Florida International 35 ... North Texas 28 ... The offense worked fine with 513 yards and Riley Dodge playing well, but there was nothing to show for it in the second half while the defense totally collapsed in the fourth quarter. This was a game the Mean Green had to win with Army and at Arkansas State coming up, and while the firepower should be enough to make those games interesting, the defense hasn’t shown enough to prove that either game is winnable if it comes down to a big stop. The lack of a pass rush is killing the D.

Troy … at Arkansas 56 ... Troy 20 ... Levi Brown tried to bomb his way back into the game, but there were too many mistakes and the hole was too big to climb out of. The defense isn’t the killer of past seasons, but the Arkansas offense is hitting its stride; there’s no reason to get too upset about giving up 592 yards. Now it’s time to get back to work needing to beat FAU and Louisiana-Lafayette to cement a nine-win regular season and the Sun Belt title.

Louisiana-Lafayette … at Middle Tennessee 34 ... Louisiana-Lafayette 17 ... After such a great year at keeping the quarterback clean, ULL had problems with the Middle Tennessee pass rush and the offense sputtered. The defense had been spotty all season long, and it couldn’t handle the running of the Blue Raiders. While this was a tough loss that might have killed a shot at a bowl, the last two games are at home against ULM and Troy with a chance to make a big statement against two of the league’s top teams. However, after losing three of their last four games, the Ragin’ Cajuns would likely be happy just to get a split.

ULM … at ULM 21 ... Western Kentucky 18 ... 13 penalties, three turnovers, no takeaway, ULM did everything it could to keep an awful WKU team in the game. But the D held on just enough in the second quarter, forcing field goals instead of allowing touchdowns, and Frank Goodin and the running game saved the game late. Now at 6-4 and 5-1 in conference play, the last two games are vital for a possible bowl bid. The Sun Belt title is out of the question, needing Troy to collapse, and 7-5 isn’t going to get a 13th game. 8-4 could.

Western Kentucky … at ULM 21 ... Western Kentucky 18 ... WKU had several opportunities to take charge of the game, but the talent isn’t there to make things happen when given the shot. The defense did a good job, it was its best performance of the year, but it was wasted because of an inability to convert on third downs, converting just 2-of-15. The run defense, faltered late, but 21 points allowed is by far is the best effort of the year. However, things aren’t going to be better with a trip to Florida Athletic up next.