Tonight Is Sun Belt's Big Game

MeanGreen61 · October 4, 2005

Sun Belt Game of the Week

Tuesday, October 4th

Troy (1-3) at North Texas (1-2) 7:30 pm ET ESPN2

Why to watch: It's hard to sell a battle of two one-win teams as "The Game of the Year," but that's exactly what this might be for the Sun Belt conference. These were the two best teams in the Sun Belt last year, but they didn't play. Now, this should be for the Sun Belt title and a trip to the New Orleans Bowl, even though each team has a long Sun Belt road ahead. North Texas has looked horrible so far getting blasted 108-9 over the last two games by Kansas State and Tulsa, but it did come up with an opening day win over MTSU to once again establish its dominance in Sun Belt play. Troy has played a bit better than the Mean Green despite losing to UAB, Missouri and South Carolina over the last three weeks by a combined score of 124 to 49. The one win came over Cal Poly in the opener.

Why Troy might win: Despite all the points allowed and all the problems over the last few weeks, Troy has a decent defense. The stats don't show it, but there's enough young, athletic talent to potentially shut down most mediocre offenses. UNT's offense isn't mediocre, it's horrendous currently ranking dead last in America in total offense and passing and is second to last in scoring averaging a mere 7.67 yards per game. The vaunted running game isn't even doing much averaging 103 yards per outing. To make matters worse, the struggling offense isn't getting any help from the special teams with the nation's worst punt return game. UNT is averaging -2 yards per punt return. Troy is 29th in the nation in punt returns averaging 12.94 yards.

Why North Texas might win: Turnovers. Troy is 118th in the nation in turnover margin giving it away 12 times and only taking it away twice. Even with all of its problems, North Texas is 17th in the country in turnover margin with six takeaways and only three giveaways. Also, it's not like the Troy offense is doing much of anything averaging 259.5 yards and 18.75 points per game. It won't take much for the Mean Green defense to shut the Trojans down.

Who to watch: It's a head-to-head matchup of, arguably, the league's best linebacker vs. the league's best running back. Troy's Bernard Davis is a tackling machine able to make plays sideline to sideline. While he hasn't been much of a disruptor so far, that honor belongs to safety Johnny Faulk, Davis leads the team in tackles with 31. He'll had to find a way to stop RB Patrick Cobbs, who hit the 100-yard mark in each of the first two games before being held to 34 by Kansas State. He ran through MTSU for 103 yards and a touchdown, and with the way QB Daniel Meagher is throwing, he'll have to carry the offense again.

What will happen: It's North Texas at home in a big Sun Belt game. Troy has the better offense and the better defense, but the Mean Green always finds a way to get the job done. This time around, it'll win capitalizing on turnovers.

CFN Prediction: North Texas 21 ... Troy 17 ... Line: North Texas -2 | Make your pick and compete against others

Must See Rating: (5 lock yourself in a room to watch - 1 The Adam Carolla Project) ... 3

Final Score:

meangreendork · October 4, 2005

It is THE biggest game of the 'Belt in the last two years. Heck, this may as well be the SunBelt Conference Championship game. There is a lot at stake here- what will probably be a bowl bid and conference championship season, bragging rights, and for us, student turnout and support at the rest of the games this season!

Edited October 4, 2005 by meangreendork