Sun Belt Saturday Recap

Sun Belt:

No. 1 Alabama 40, Florida Atlantic 7: Giving their best to the #1 team in the nation and committing no turnovers, the Florida Atlantic Owls were still easily dominated by the Alabama Crimson Tide 40-7 Saturday night. The Owls gave up over 500 yards of offense to Alabama while being held to a paltry 110 yards and 6 first downs. The Owls only had 2 possessions in which they gained a first down with 75 of their 110 total yards coming on a 4th quarter drive when the game was well in hand. The Owls leave this game at 1-3 and head back home to face the Mean Green of North Texas in a Conference tilt Saturday afternoon.

No. 20 Louisville 28, Florida International 21: Despite confusing a usually strong offense of #20 Louisville, the Florida International Golden Panthers fell 28-21 in Miami Saturday night. Louisville was held to 323 total yards and 2 turnovers while FIU had 326 yards and only one turnover on the night. The Golden Panthers had a shot late in the game but roughed the punter allowing Louisville a chance to run out the clock. FIU falls to 1-3 on the season with a trip west to Lafayette, Louisiana to play the Ragin' Cajuns in FIU's conference opener.

No. 23 Mississippi State 30, South Alabama 10: Holding solid but never really in the game with a chance for an upset, the South Alabama Jaguars fell to #23 Mississippi State 30-10 in Starkville Saturday night. The Jaguars ended the night with 347 total yards but only had 104 at the half when the Bulldogs realistically put the game away. The score got as lopsided as 30-3 before a Jaguar touchdown to cut the lead to 20-points at the end. The Jaguars leave this game 1-3 in anticipation of their first game as a Sun Belt member at home versus the Troy Trojans Saturday night in Mobile, Alabama.

Western Kentucky 42, Southern Miss 17: Looking to avoid an 0-3 start to the season, the Southern Miss Golden Eagles were crushed by the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers 42-17 in Bowling Green, Kentucky Saturday night. The Hilltoppers were coming off of an emotional win over Kentucky last week and used this game as a statement game to the rest of the nation in dominating the Golden Eagles. The Hilltoppers had 560 yards of total offense and two separate 100-yard rushers in the game. Southern Miss falls to 0-3 and have a tough home game versus #19 Louisville coming up Saturday while WKU travels to Jonesboro, Arkansas for a huge game with Arkansas State.

Troy 14, North Texas 7: In a conference opener that saw loads of missed opportunities, the Troy Trojans outlasted the North Texas Mean Green 14-7 in Denton, Texas Saturday night. The teams combined for 804 yards of offense and 39 first downs but 4 missed field goals kept the score low for the night. North Texas went a pitiful 2-14 on third down conversions adding to their troubles on the night. Troy improves to 2-2 on the season with a trip down south to play South Alabama while North Texas travels east to face the Owls of Florida Atlantic with conference play kicking into gear.

Arkansas State 56, Alcorn State 0: In the biggest Sun Belt positive mismatch of the night, the Arkansas State Red Wolves cruised to a 56-0 win over the hapless Alcorn State Braves Saturday night. The Red Wolves ended the night with 634 yards of total offense with quarterback Ryan Aplin throwing for 3 touchdowns in the win. Arkansas State held Alcorn State to 130 yards of offense in the blowout. The Red Wolves improve to 2-2 with a home game versus the surging Western Kentucky Hilltoppers in the conference opener for both teams.