From the same mindset that brought us the beauty that was #MACtion, the Sun Belt Conference has scheduled some Tuesday and Wednesday games throughout the season to give us the #FunBelt to break the weekday monotony of not having football to watch. Actually, it’s to get exposure for the conference, but we can pretend that it’s for the thousands of gamblers that will watch because they have action. After a snoozer in the first week of weekday Sun Belt action, the conference will try again this week as Louisiana-Lafayette hosts Arkansas State.
Arkansas State vs. Louisiana Lafayette College Football Preview
Date/Time: Tuesday October 21, 8:00 p.m. ET
TV: ESPN2
College Football Betting Odds from WagerWeb
College Football Betting Favorite: Arkansas State -2.5
Total: 54
The Arkansas State program is 32-14 straight up since 2011 and 30-15 against the number in that span. They are 5-1 so far this season and 1-0 as a road favorite, though it remains to be seen if they will close a road favorite. Louisiana-Lafayette is just 2-4 ATS on the season and picked up their first cover in four games with last Tuesday’s win over Texas State. Head coach Mark Hudspeth is 24-20-1 ATS in his career. Both teams are tied for second in the Sun Belt Conference with 2-0 records.
Arkansas State Red Wolves:
Considering what the players on this team have been through, the Red Wolves deserve a lot of credit. This is the program’s fifth coach in five seasons. A-State has been a jumping off point for Hugh Freeze, Gus Malzahn, and Bryan Harsin and now first-year head coach Blake Anderson is finding success. Anderson, formerly an offensive coordinator under Larry Fedora at Southern Miss and North Carolina, has been a good fit at Arkansas State. Dual threat quarterback Fredi Knighten and a stable of quality running backs have had no trouble moving the football. Knighten has amassed over 1,600 yards of offense through six games and running back Michael Gordon is picking up yards in chunks with 9.7 per carry. The only blemishes on the Red Wolves’ schedule are losses to Tennessee and Miami (FL). In their four wins, they have held opponents to 48 combined points.
ULL Ragin’ Cajuns:
Consistency has been a tough thing for Mark Hudspeth’s team to achieve this season. Hudspeth, whose name is constantly tossed about for power five conference jobs, had to like what he saw last Tuesday night against Texas State. The Ragin’ Cajuns had their second consecutive 34-point output and have now scored 113 points in their three wins. In their three losses, however, they’ve only scored 44 points. Terrance Broadway managed the game well and led the team in rushing yards with 101 and finished with 326 yards of offense overall. The Cajuns wore down the Texas State defense with 278 rushing yards and over 38 minutes of possession. That should help their defense this week because they’re relatively fresh and going up against an Arkansas State team that hasn’t played since October 11.
Free Pick: ULL Ragin’ Cajuns +2.5
The Ragin’ Cajuns are a home underdog for just the second time under Mark Hudspeth, who has been with the team since the 2011 season. The Red Wolves have an impressive set of statistics, specifically in the running game, but they had 384 rushing yards against Georgia State last game to pad the stats and the Panthers are one of the worst teams in FBS. The Red Wolves have lost eight of their last nine in Lafayette. It’d be nice to have a +3 on the home team, but the Cajuns should win anyway.
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