Ah yes, the irresitible pull of Tuesday Night Football. Why watch a winner-take-all baseball playoff game when there is a nfity Sun Belt Conference clash on instead.
If stakes are your thing, well then this SBC clash is for you. How do you not break off time to watch the grudge match that is the Battle of the Palladium Trophy?
There is also the fact that only the league champion is guaranteed a bowl bid–in this case the New Orleans Bowl–and in the Trojans and Racers we may have the league’s top two teams. While Lousiana-Monroe, and Arkansas State Florida Atlantic expect to be factors, they winner tonight would be the heavy favorite from here on out and quite possibly hold the most important tie breaker chip as a result.
Compelling coaching drama circles this game as well. Do you remember Tony Franklin? He was the offensive guru that Tommy Tuberville hired to upgrade the Auburn offense only to be fired by midseason during the soap opera that was Tuberville’s swan song on the Plains. He hired Franklin away from Troy. Now Middle Tennessee State is coming to town and guess who their O.C. is? Yep, Franklin only a season removed from his last one in Troy where he helped create an explosive outfit. The Trojans respect their former coach, but they also expect him to a trick or two on the menu tonight.
So far, Franklin’s mojo is working in Mufreesboro. After dropping their opener at Clemson, the Racers have ripped off three wins in a row. After beating Memphis at home, the won road games at Maryland and North Texas. In all three games, the Racers have topped 31 points. Last year, the team only scored more than 30 points once, scoring a mere 22 points a game. One-third of the way into 2009, the Racers scoring average has already been increased by a full touchdown. They have a playmaking QB in Dwight Dasher, who also leads the team in rushing. Dasher spreads the ball around to about four or five different guys, all of whom stretch the field and have impressive yards per catch numbers. Defensively, they have a good pass rush and are ballhawkers with 13 turnovers forced in the season’s first four games.
I picked the Trojans to win this league back in the summer. That puts me in the company of, well, everyone. How do you not tab the team with some of the best returning talent on paper in the league that’s also 18-3 in Sun Belt play since 2006? You dont. You play chalk. Troy has not looked great. Bowling Green manhandled them in a bit in the opener and the were, as expected, routed by Florida. They’ve won two in a row since then including their conference opener against Arkansas State.
They have an explosive QB in Levi Brown. After struggling with four picks in the first two games of the season (after tossing just three all of last year), Brown has been great and won back-to-back league offensive player of the week honors. The league’s best set of linebackers in Boris Lee and Bear Woods and best set of defensive ends in Brandon Long and Cameron Sheffield. They will be tough to beat in Sun Belt play.
And, I dont expect them to lose tonight. I expect a fun game with bouts of offensive explosiveness. Both teams will get turnovers. In the end, I think the Trojans will have too much speed and athleticism for the Racers. But, MTSU’s new offensive outlook will negate that a bit. Troy has won this rivalry in cakewalks the last two seasons. Not this year, though. Troy gets it done, but it will be closer than the experts think.
The Pick: MTSU +7
