Sun Belt Conference Team Notes - Week 13
Courtesy of The Sun Belt Conference
November 19, 2007
Sun Belt Results
November 15
* Arkansas State 31, North Texas 27 (ESPN+)
November 17
Louisiana-Monroe 21, Alabama 14
#14 Florida 59, Florida Atlantic 20 (ESPN Gameplan)
Louisiana-Lafayette 38, Florida International 28
Sun Belt Schedule
November 20
* Middle Tennessee at Troy (ESPN2) – 6 p.m.
November 24
Arkansas State at Southern Mississippi – 2 p.m.
Western Kentucky University at North Texas – 3 p.m.
* Florida Atlantic at Florida International (ESPN+) – 6 p.m.
* Louisiana-Monroe at Louisiana-Lafayette – 6 p.m.
December 1
* Florida Atlantic at Troy (CSS) – 1 p.m.
* North Texas at Florida International – 6 p.m.
All times central and subject to change
* denotes Sun Belt Conference game
TV carrier in parenthesis
Sun Belt Conference Notes
ULM Defeats Alabama, 21-14
Quintez Secka had two interceptions and Louisiana-Monroe turned Alabama away three times on promising scoring drives in the fourth quarter to pull off a 21-14 upset and send the Crimson Tide to a third consecutive defeat. The Warhawks forced four turnovers and blocked a field goal for their first win over a Southeastern Conference team since 1994. ULM held firm every time Alabama appeared poised to tie the game.
Sun Belt 3, CUSA 3
A year after the Sun Belt took its series with Conference USA 4-3, the two conferences are tied up at 3-3 with two games remaining. Sun Belt wins this year include Arkansas State’s 45-28 win over SMU, ASU’s 35-31 win over Memphis, and Middle Tennessee’s 21-7 triumph over Memphis. Arkansas State and Southern Mississippi will meet in Hattiesburg on November 24th and the two leagues will face off once again in the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl on December 21st.
Western Kentucky University Joins Sun Belt Football
Western Kentucky University is currently in transition to become the ninth Sun Belt Conference football playing institution and the 120th Football Bowl Subdivision (Division I-A) member. The Hilltoppers will play six SBC teams in 2008 and will be eligible for the conference title and a bowl berth in 2009. WKU, the 2002 Division I-AA National Champions, will play three contests against current Sun Belt members this season (Middle Tennessee, Troy, and North Texas). In week two of the season WKU recorded five touchdowns against West Virginia Tech in the first quarter - tying an NCAA I-A (Football Bowl Subdivision) record with 49 points in a quarter. The Hilltoppers would go on to win 87-0.
North Texas-Navy Game Sees Multiple Records Set
North Texas and Navy set an NCAA record for most combined points in a regulation game with 136. It tied the overall record with Boise State and Nevada which occured earlier this season in four overtimes. The 63 combined second quarter points set a NCAA record for most combined poinst by two teams in a single quarter. The previous record was 61 points set in 1999 by San Jose and Hawaii. Giovanni Vizza’s seven first half touchdown passes ties an NCAA record for most touchdown passes in a half. Doug Johnson was the last quarterback to accomplish the feat in 1997.
Sun Belt Conference Team Notes
Arkansas State (3-4 SBC, 5-6 Overall)
This Week at Southern Mississippi: Arkansas State travels to Hattiesburg in what will be a rematch of the 2005 New Orleans Bowl. The Golden Eagles won that game 31-19. ASU has already defeated two Conference USA teams this year – Memphis and SMU. For the season, the Sun Belt and CUSA are an even 3-3 in the conference series. This game will mark the last regular season meeting between teams from the two conferences. The R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl will see the two leagues meet up once more on December 21st.
Last Week vs. North Texas: Including the North Texas game, three of ASU’s five victories have come when it trailed at halftime. The North Texas game also marked the second time this season ASU has trailed by at least 21 points in a game and come back to win. ASU now needs a victory in its regular-season finale at Southern Miss to become bowl eligible for the third consecutive season. Sophomore wide receiver Brandon Thompkins broke the Sun Belt Conference record for single-season kickoff return yards with 1,005 to his credit. Sophomore Corey Leonard broke the ASU single-season records for touchdown passes (16) and total offense (2,581). Sophomore running back Reggie Arnold needs just 27 yards against Southern Miss to go over 1,000 yards rushing for the second straight season. Khayyam Burns recorded a career-high 13 tackles against North Texas and Tyrell Johnson recorded his fifth interception of the season, a personal best.
Florida Atlantic (4-1 SBC, 5-5 Overall)
This Week vs. Florida International: Florida Atlantic and Florida International will meet in the Orange Bowl for the annual “Shula Bowl,” named for the legendary Coach Don Shula who has impacted both the FAU and FIU programs. FAU leads the rivalry series 4-1 including a 31-0 win last season.
Last Week at Florida: Despite the loss, FAU put together strong drives and also forced several three and outs against one of the most prolific offenses in the country. Rusty Smith threw for 290 yards and a touchdown while running for another. Tavious Polo, Frantz Joseph and Cergile Sincere each had seven tackles. Corey Small grabbed an interception to extend the Owls interception streak to 18-consecutive games.
Florida International (0-5 SBC, 0-10 Overall)
This Week vs. Florida Atlantic: Florida Atlantic and Florida International will meet in the Orange Bowl for the annual “Shula Bowl,” named for the legendary Coach Don Shula who has impacted both the FAU and FIU programs. FAU leads the rivalry series 4-1 including a 31-0 win last season.
Last Week vs. Louisiana-Lafayette: FIU’s 391 yards of total offense were the most since the team compiled 438 yards of offense against Middle Tennessee in the 2005 season finale. The Golden Panthers’ 264 yards rushing were the most by the team since putting up 266 against Florida Atlantic on Nov. 26, 2005...DB Lionell Singleton’s fumble recovery in the third quarter gave him four for the season, setting a new FIU record. The previous record of three was held by Greg Moss (2003) and Daunte Foster (2002)...RB A’mod Ned’s 60-yard touchdown run in the first quarter was the sixth-longest touchdown run in FIU history and the second-longest run of his career. Ned had an 80-yard TD run against Bowling Green on Sept. 16, 2006.
Louisiana-Lafayette (3-3 SBC, 3-8 Overall)
This Week vs. Louisiana-Monroe: Louisiana-Lafayette and Louisiana-Monroe meet this week in what is arguably the fiercest rivalry in the Sun Belt. The two teams first met in 1951 and have met 44 times with ULM holding a slight 22-20 lead in the series.
Last Week at Florida International: The Cajuns continued their winning ways against FIU, improving to 5-0 all-time versus the Golden Panthers... Starting quarterback Michael Desormeaux was injured in the second quarter and did not return...Connor Morel led three touchdown drives, throwing his first career touchdown pass which gave ULL (3-8, 3-3) a 28-21 halftime advantage...Morel finished the night 12-of-15 passing for 125 yards and added 14 yards rushing...Tyrell Fenroy had 150 yards rushing and two scores...He is 97 yards shy of his third consecutive 1,000-yard rushing season...Arkansas’ Darren McFadden is the only active junior with three consecutive 1,000-yard rushing seasons.
Louisiana-Monroe (3-3 SBC, 5-6 Overall)
This Week vs. Louisiana-Lafayette: Louisiana-Lafayette and Louisiana-Monroe meet this week in what is arguably the fiercest rivalry in the Sun Belt. The two teams first met in 1951 and have met 44 times with ULM holding a slight 22-20 lead in the series.
Last Week vs. Alabama: ULM’s victory over Alabama was just the third in the history of the program against a Southeastern Conference school and the first since 1994. Quintez Secka was awarded a helmet sticker by the crew of ESPN’s College Gameday Final. ULM held Alabama scoreless in the second half and have now outscored opponents 99-42 in the second half over the past seven games. ULM has won back-to-back road games for just the second time in the past 10 years. Calvin Dawson moved into second place on the ULM single-season rushing list and now has 1,3148 yards.
Middle Tennessee (4-2 SBC, 5-6 Overall)
This Week at Troy: Middle Tennessee will face off with Troy in a nationally televised Tuesday night ESPN2 tilt. The two teams have become fierce rivals in recent years and the game has become known as the “Battle for the Palladium” with the winning team taking home The Palladium trophy. The two teams shared the Sun Belt Conference Championship last season, but Troy’s fourth quarter heroics in a 21-20 win led to the Trojans securing the New Orleans Bowl berth.
Last Week...Bye (Previous: vs. Louisiana-Lafayette): Sophomore punter David DeFatta enjoyed one of the best punting days in school history against ULL. DeFatta boomed seven punts for a career-best 53.0 yard average. DeFatta, who nailed two punts for over 60 yards including a personal-best 68 yarder, turned in the third best single-game average in school history. After missing most of the North Texas game and all of the Louisiana-Monroe contest, freshman Dwight Dasher returned to the gridiron in the second quarter. Dasher, playing at less than 100 percent, completed 5 of 11 passes for 29 yards while rushing for nine yards.
North Texas (1-5 SBC, 1-9 Overall)
Last Week vs. WKU: North Texas and Western Kentucky University will meet for the first time this week. WKU, a future fulltime Sun Belt football playing member, has played two othe SBC programs this season. The Hilltoppers were victorious against Middle Tennessee in Murfreesboro and were edged out by Troy at home earlier this season.
Last Week at Arkansas State: Junior wide receiver Casey Fitzgerald became North Texas’ single-season record holder for receiving yards on his first catch of the game. Fitzgerald needed just five yards to eclipse the record of 1,130 yards set by John Love in 1966. His first catch of the game was for exactly five yards. After 10 games this year, North Texas has had 25 plays from scrimmage go for at least 30 yards. Of those 25 plays, 20 have been passes and five have been runs and 10 have gone for touchdowns. Wide receiver Casey Fitzgerald leads the way as the ‘big play” man, with eight plays covering at least 30 yards while Brandon Jackson is close behind with five. In all 12 games last year, the North Texas offense had eight
plays that went for 30 yards or more.
Troy (5-0 SBC, 7-3 Overall)
This Week...vs. Middle Tennessee: Middle Tennessee will face off with Troy in a nationally televised Tuesday night ESPN2 tilt. The two teams have become fierce rivals in recent years and the game has become known as the “Battle for the Palladium” with the winning team taking home The Palladium trophy. The two teams shared the Sun Belt Conference Championship last season, but Troy’s fourth quarter heroics in a 21-20 win led to the Trojans securing the New Orleans Bowl berth.
Last Week...Bye (Previous: at WKU): Elbert Mack recorded his seventh interception of the season on the first possession for WKU. Mack’s seven picks are tied for the national lead this season. Gary Banks caught a touchdown pass in the first quarter extending his consecutive games with a reception to 29 and it was his second touchdown catch of the season and the 12th touchdown reception of his career. With 112 rushing yards against WKU, Kenny Cattouse moved to within 262 yards of 1,000 for the season. The 100-yard performance was the sixth in his career at Troy. Troy forced a fumble in the first quarter and Chris Bradwell returned it 16 yards for the touchdown. It was Troy’s seventh non-offensive touchdown this season, which is tied for third in the nation.