Sun Belt Week 6 Reaction

Week 6 in the Sun Belt featured several entertaining finishes, but also left plenty of question marks going forward. Louisiana Tech and Louisiana played a thrilling in-state matchup.  James Madison won again, and Coastal Carolina beat Marshall, leaving them with plenty to answer for after another ugly defeat.

Let’s take a look at these matchups and what it means for each team going forward and the Sun Belt race.

James Madison finally accomplished something it hadn’t done in its program’s history, and that’s winning a game in Statesboro. They defeated Georgia Southern 27-24, remaining undefeated on the season.

This was a big victory for the Dukes from the standpoint that sometimes you have to be able to win and not dominate the other team. In the first two conference matchups against Old Dominion and Marshall, the Dukes won both games by the fourth quarter. But against the Eagles, they had to tough it out. Those victories build character.

The Dukes look to have found a gem at running back with George Pettaway. He has been with the Dukes for three seasons, but this is the best he’s played. He ran for 151 yards at 7.2 yards per carry, continuing to strengthen his case for the best running back in the conference this season.

The Eagles played the Dukes tougher than most of their opponents this season. The third quarter shifted the game, but in the first half, the Eagles looked well on their way to becoming the first team to defeat the Dukes.

Overall, the Dukes still look like the best team; even if this wasn’t a dominant showing, they dropped 40. They still played at their best when their best was needed, and that’s why they won again.

The Eagles can use this as a measuring stick going forward, knowing they were in a close one with the best team in the conference.

The Dukes improve to 6-0 overall and 3-0 in the Sun Belt. The Eagles drop to 2-4 overall and 1-1 in the Sun Belt.

Louisiana Tech’s first Sun Belt game was certainly the entertaining one. The Bulldogs came out on top 32-31 over Louisiana in a thrilling in-state battle.

The Bulldogs outscored the Ragin’ Cajuns 19-7 in the fourth quarter for the comeback, showing incredible poise and resilience.

In his first start in almost a month, Blake Baker showed there was no rust. He completed 32 of 42 passes for 319 yards and three touchdowns. He was the driving force behind the comeback with a 12-yard rushing touchdown with 3:44 left and the game-winning touchdown to Eli Finley with 46 seconds left.

The Bulldogs defense deserves a ton of credit for what they were able to do D’Wanye ‘Lunch’ Winfield. He only completed 58.3 percent of his passes, his lowest mark of the season; they intercepted him twice and limited him to 34 yards on the ground. His legs are a big part of his game, so making him one-dimensional forced them to lean on the backs and made the passing game harder. Winfield still played solid but wasn’t as efficient as he has been all season.

For the Ragin’ Cajuns, this was a blown opportunity as they had a chance to win a second straight conference matchup. They led 31-19 late in the fourth and still lost. This will be one the Ragin’ Cajuns look back on as the West division race heats up and wish they didn’t blow it.

The Bulldogs are setting themselves up well to compete for that division crown. This is only one victory, so it’s still a long way to go, but they started on the right note.

The Bulldogs improve to 3-2 overall and 1-0 in the Sun Belt. The Ragin’ Cajuns are now 4-2 overall and 1-1 in the Sun Belt.

While Coastal Carolina walked away with the 27-21 victory, the final score really isn’t indicative of what the game was actually about.

The Chanticleers were up 27-0 until the 2:38 mark of the third quarter. This game really came down to turnovers. The Thundering Herd turned the ball over six times while the Chanticleers turned it over once. The turnovers were such a problem early on that the Thundering Herd had to do something drastic. Head coach Tony Gibson made a quarterback change.

Carlos Del Rio-Wilson was benched early in the second quarter after three interceptions and a lost fumble. Zion Turner replaced him and had some encouraging moments that helped make the scoreboard look competitive.

The Chanticleers quarterback wasn’t putting the team in awful positions, but he had a quiet night. Deuce Bailey completed 8 of 18 passes for 73 yards, one touchdown and one interception. It was the first time all season Bailey didn’t crack 200 passing yards.

It was a good sign that the Chanticleers didn’t need to rely on Bailey to carry a load offensively. They leaned on their run game, which totaled 235 yards. Most of those came from Dominic Knicely as he rushed for 169 yards. This was by far the best performance of his collegiate career. This was a pleasant surprise from a rushing attack that only averaged 131.8 yards per game entering this matchup.

The Chanticleers picked up a much-needed victory, as they had been struggling all season and looked like the season was slipping through their fingers. They showed that they can still win even if Bailey doesn’t have a monster outing, even though some of Marshall’s poor play played a major role.

For the Thundering Herd, the big question going forward will be about the quarterback. Coming into this season, Del Rio-Wilson had lofty expectations to perform like the best quarterback in the conference. Through six games, he hasn’t lived up to that expectation, and this was rock bottom.

The Chanticleers snapped a three-game losing streak and are now 2-4 overall and 1-1 in the Sun Belt. The Thundering Herd fell to 3-3 overall and 0-2 in the Sun Belt.

Main Photo: Marshall Athletics