Sun Belt Match-Up: Blue Raiders vs. Trojans

October 5, 2010

As long as you’re a college football fan and there is a game with “action” on it, it generally doesn’t matter which teams are playing. That is the case on Tuesday as the Sun Belt Conference gets exposure on ESPN. The Troy Trojans and the Middle Tennessee St Blue Raiders take the stage in a battle of the Sun Belt elite. Both of these squads are off to 2-2 starts, but each own 1-0 records in conference play.

The Trojans have had a strangle hold on the Sun Belt for several years now. Troy has no problem with playing elite BCS Conference schools as they schedule at least 2 every year. They have managed to pull off some major upsets over the last few seasons including a win over Oklahoma St in 2007. Head coach Larry Blakeney has compiled a 155-77 record over 20 seasons with Troy, and has led them to 4 Bowl games.

The Trojans will hope to continue their streak of consecutive Bowl appearances this season as they continue their domination of the Sun Belt. Thus far has been shaky for Troy on the defensive side of the ball. They only lost to Oklahoma St by a field goal and beat Bowling Green outright, but have allowed 130 points in just 4 games. Giving up 28 to Arkansas St in inexcusable regardless of whether or not they won the game. They will need to be far more disciplined Tuesday as they take on a Blue Raiders team that is capable of running wild on their opposition.

Middle Tennessee has been a middle-of-the-road Sun Belt team for much of their existence. However, now that they have managed to recruit a pair of solid running backs, they are looking to get to the next level. Philip Tanner and D.D. Kyles have a combined 529 yards on the ground this season with 9 touchdowns, and are the focal point of this offense. Benjamin Cunningham has also added 161 yards of his own at running back. Quarterback Logan Kilgore is more of a leader than a passer. He has only attempted 80 passes through 3 games, but has a respectable 62.5 percent completion percentage.

The oddsmakers in Vegas have set this number at Mid. Tennessee -3.5. This may be surprising considering that the Trojans have dominated this match-up over the last 3 years. Perhaps the college football handicappers know something we don’t about this game. Troy may have a freshman quarterback under center, but Corey Robinson is absolutely shredding opposing defenses this season. He has already thrown for over 1200 yards and 8 touchdowns in their first 4 games, and has a quarterback rating over 140! Running the ball hasn’t been a problem either for Troy as they have 644 yards on the ground already.

This may not be Alabama/ Florida or Stanford/ Oregon, but it’s more than enough to get out attention on a Tuesday! We all know that just having the opportunity to make a college football pick is all you need to enjoy a game. So ante up, and enjoy this Sun Belt match-up on Tuesday.

Written by Glenn Andrew · Filed Under NCAA Football

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