Sun Belt Whiparound: 10/19/13

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What was supposed to be a showcase of two of the Sun Belt Conference’s best on Tuesday night turned very quickly into an abysmal football game. Luckily, it’s in the rear-view mirror. However, the Sun Belt isn’t finished for this week of football. Three teams total will take the field tomorrow, and the only SBC head to head matchup also features squads looking for their first ever Sun Belt victory.

Kent State (2-5, 1-3 MAC) at South Alabama (2-3, 1-1): While the Jaguars are most likely out of contention for the SBC title, they can still have a pretty good sophomore season in the conference. The Jags will have to slow down wide receiver Chris Humphrey, who has accumulated 433 yards on 36 catches, and is one of 3 Golden Flash receivers with 3 receiving touchdowns. QB Colin Reardon comes into the contest with a 59% completion rate (120-202) for nearly 1200 yards and 10 TDs (and only 4 picks). Reardon is coming off a solid 19/24 for 166 yards and 2 TD performance last week in a 3 loss to Ball St. in Muncie. KSU has only one rusher over 400 yards, Trayion Durham, who has 493 on 36 touches. Unfortunately for the Golden Flashes, they only consist of 3 other 100+ yard rushers, and 3 players total (including Durham, who has 3) touchdowns on the ground, which make them a pretty one-dimensional team. Kent State comes in on a 2 game losing streak, and are playing their 5th road game of the season. While Kent State comes in with a worse record, the Golden Flashes’ statistical leaders have better numbers than that of South Al. Ross Metheny is slowly showing himself to be one of the top tier QB’s in the Sun Belt, and it would be a nice win on his (and the Jags’) resume to put up a W against a MAC opponent. Oh, and here’s to South Al, and hoping they have a happy and successful homecoming!

Georgia State (0-6, 0-1) at Texas State (3-3, 0-2): While the records might indicate otherwise, this has the potential to be a very entertaining ballgame. Not only are both schools looking for their first Sun Belt win on the season, but they are also looking for their first ever SBC win as members of the conference. Georgia State may not have a win to their credit, but took an undefeated Jacksonville State to overtime 3 weeks ago, and lost to Troy by a touchdown last week. The Bobcats, however, have dropped two consecutive contests, a 24 point defeat to the Ragin Cajuns and a touchdown loss to the Warhawks last week. There will be two completely different styles of offense on display, as the Bobcats like to run the ball, lead by leading rusher Robert Lowe (76 carries for 442 yards and 6 touchdowns), while the Panthers like to throw the ball, lead by the combination of QB Ronnie Bell (91/196 for 1290 yards and 9 TDs, along with 4 picks) to WR Albert Wilson (33 catches for 670 yards and 6 TDs) and Robert Davis (24 catches, 362 yards, 2 TDs). The Bobcats use a 2 QB system, but neither has eclipsed 500 yards through the air yet, while Georgia St. only has one rusher over the century mark. It will fun to watch these two completely different styles of play compete on the same field Saturday. And, if this were a prediction blog, it might say GSU gets their first win on the year. But it isn’t. So it wont…

Which game will you keep an eye on? Which State will get their first conference win? Let us know!

Stand up and cheers.