October 13, 2009

Sun Belt Publishers

Sun Belt Publisher's Week Seven Poll 1. Troy (3) -  Previous rank: 2 The Trojans reclaimed the top spot and left no doubt that the road to the Sun Belt title goes right through Troy.   2. ULM  – Previous rank: 3 ULM has flown under the radar thus far, but will face a tough test on Tuesday night against Arkansas State.  The Warhawks are off to a solid 2-0 Sun Belt Conference start and will get a good chance for national exposure during their ESPN2 game versus the Red Wolves.   3.Middle Tennessee – Previous rank: 1 The Blue Raiders had a night to forget on offense against Troy last week. They will be trying for their third non-conference victory against Mississippi State this week.   4. Arkansas State – Previous rank: 4 The Red Wolves have to run the table in league play and hope that Troy drops a pair of games. ASU is talented enough to do it but a loss to ULM could send their season spiraling the wrong way.   5. Louisiana-Lafayette – Previous rank: 5 The Cajuns weren't overly impressive against North Texas as they gave up over 400 yards of total offense, but they went over .500 while winning their league opener.   6. FIU – Previous rank: 7 Even without a healthy T.Y. Hilton, who was injured early, prevailed over WKU behind big receiver Greg Ellingson. Weapons are there to move up further if defense can step up.     7. Florida Atlantic – Previous rank: 6 The Owls are the last winless team in the Sun Belt, but they are still a dangerous foe and could have easily won each of their last two games.    8. North Texas – Previous rank: 8 Offense has lots of potential, as Lance Dunbar had big game on the ground. Four turnovers, namely three Dodge interceptions were killers.  The Mean Green also need to learn how to close out close games for a win.     9. WKU – Previous rank: 9 Offense made strides at Navy, but continue to head in the wrong direction.  The back end of their league schedule gets increasingly difficult.     First place votes in parenthesis, rankings are voted on by the Publishers of the Rivals.com Network Sun Belt Conference sites.  Teams are ranked 1-9, with a team getting 9 points for a first place vote through 1 point for getting a 9th place rank.