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

2009 CFN Sun Belt Picks, Schedules, More

By Staff

CollegeFootballNews.com
Posted Dec 2, 2009

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 14

	CFN EXPERT PICKS	Fiu	Rich	Matt	Michael	Clucko	PICK
7:00	Ark St -6.5 at WKU	AS	AS	WK	AS	WK	AS
7:00	FAU at FIU -1	FI	FA	FA	FA	FI	FA
	Straight Up	60-10	60-10	58-12	54-16	37-33	56-14
	ATS	41-25	36-30	41-25	33-33	31-35	37-39

Sun Belt Standings
	Conf.		Overall
Troy	8	0	9	3
MTSU	7	1	9	3
ULM	5	3	6	6
La-Laf	4	4	6	6
Fla Atl.	4	3	4	7
FIU	3	4	3	8
Ark St	2	5	3	8
No Tex.	1	7	2	10
WKU	0	7	0	11
Players of the Week 11/28 Dwight Dasher, QB MT 11/21 Levi Brown, QB Troy 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 11/28 ASU 30, UNT 26 11/21 ULL 21, ULM 17 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 Troy 48 at Louisiana-Lafayette 31 - Troy wakes up to beat the Ragin' Cajuns - Louisiana can't hold on in loss to Troy CFN Prediction: Troy 37-17 . Line: Troy -10 at Arkansas State 30 North Texas 26 - Arkansas State hangs on to beat UNT - North Texas comeback falls short vs. ASU CFN Prediction: ASU 24-17 Line: Arkansas State -9 at Florida Atlantic 29 Western Kentucky 23 - Florida Atlantic battles to beat WKU - WKU fights hard in loss to FAU CFN Prediction: Florida Atlantic 44-20 Line: FAU -14.5 Middle Tennessee 38 at ULM 19 - Middle Tennessee & Dasher roll past ULM - ULM never in it in loss to Blue Raiders CFN Prediction: MTSU 27-13 Line: MTSU -4

GAME OF THE WEEK

at Arkansas State 30 … North Texas 26
Arkansas State got out to a 27-0 lead helped by two Ryan Aplin touchdown runs and short scored from Don Jones and Reggie Arnold, but North Texas roared back with Lance Dunbar running for a 36-yard score and Kevin Dickerson adding a 25-yard touchdown run. Nathan Tune connected with Alex Lott for a five-yard score and Derek Thompson hit Jamaal Jackson for a 19-yard touchdown, but Alex Carrington blocked the extra point, ASU recovered the onside kick, and the Red Wolves held on.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Middle Tennessee QB Dwight Dasher completed 10-of-18 passes for 116 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions, and he ran 18 times for 88 yards and two scores in the win over ULM.

CONFERENCE ROUNDUP

Arkansas State … at Arkansas State 30 ... North Texas 26 ... This has been a tremendously disappointing season, but the team fought to come up with the win over North Texas and have a chance to finish 4-8 with the layup against Western Kentucky. It’s all about trying to improve for next year and getting Ryan Aplin more experience and more time will be vital. The running game is working well and should destroy the Hilltoppers, but the key will be to not make mistakes. ASU was penalized 11 times and turned the ball over three times.

FIU … Didn’t Play This Week

Florida Atlantic … at Florida Atlantic 29 ... Western Kentucky 23 ... The bad year could’ve turned into a total disaster had the Owls lost to WKU. Jeff Van Camp might not be Rusty Smith, but he’s doing a decent job of leading the offense, while Alfred Morris came up with a steady, strong game on the ground. The problems continues to be a defense that can’t stop the run, but it held firm in the second half only allowing field goals and not touchdowns. If they can beat FIU to close out the year, they’ll finish with three wins in their final four games.

Middle Tennessee … Middle Tennessee 38 ... at ULM 19 ... Middle Tennessee is only the second Sun Belt team to win nine games in a season. On a six-game winning streak going into the bowls, the Blue Raiders are almost assured of a spot somewhere. Dwight Dasher turned the ball over a few times, but he ended his tremendous regular season with yet another great performance, while the defense, led by the swarming line, didn’t let ULM back in the game in the second half. Yes, Troy beat MTSU 31-7, but it could be argued that no one in the league is playing better right now.

North Texas… at Arkansas State 30 ... North Texas 26 ... Closing out with a four-game losing streak and ten losses in the last 11, North Texas didn’t get the production in the win-loss column. However, the team played far better than it did in past seasons and was far more competitive. The offense rallied after struggling to show up early, but it wasn’t enough. With more experience there needs to be more close wins after losing five games by five points or fewer. Making sure the quarterback situation is settled will be step one.

Troy … Troy 48 ... at Louisiana-Lafayette 31 ... Yeah, Troy is the Sun Belt champion and went unbeaten in conference play, but the defense is getting worse instead of better. The pass defense is the worst in the league, partly because everyone had to throw to keep up the pace, while the offense went into a midgame funk with mistakes and misfires. Going into the bowl with a chance at a ten-win season, the Trojans have to do a much better job of securing the ball against a decent defense.

UL Lafayette … Troy 48 ... at Louisiana-Lafayette 31 ... The Ragin’ Cajuns put up a fight. Down 24-0, the passing game kicked in to make it a shootout and to fight for a seventh win and a possible bowl bid. But the defense couldn’t hang on, there were too many mistakes, and they’ll have to settle for a solid 6-6 season. The pass rush couldn’t get to Levi Brown in crunch time, and the defensive front struggled too much against Shawn Southward and the Trojan running game.

ULM … Middle Tennessee 38 ... at ULM 19 ... A 6-6 record is solid and it’s something to praise for a program that needs things to rally around, but the year could’ve been so much better. With a strong defense and a nice O line, all the Warhawks needed with a little more consistency from the skill players and this could’ve been a bowl season. Instead, with two losses to Louisiana-Lafayette and MTSU to close things out, there’s going to be a sense of unfinished business going into the offseason. On the plus side, QB Trey Revell returns and should be a steadier leader.

Western Kentucky … at Florida Atlantic 29 ... Western Kentucky 23 .... The misery continues with an 0-11 record and a 19-game losing streak, but the team is playing better and it’s close to coming up with a victory. The last two games on the road were winnable, but the offense is having a hard time closing, settling for field goals instead of touchdowns, and the defense isn’t getting the one big stop needed. The pass rush has been non-existent and is job one against Arkansas State to work on.