Troy Trojans vs. Florida Atlantic

                                                                                         

Troy Trojans -3 1/2 vs. Florida Atlantic

The Sun Belt conference is on center stage tonight when the Troy Trojans travel south to Fort Lauderdale to take on the Florida Atlantic Owls. Thanks to baseball's division series wrapping up early, this matchup, broadcast on ESPN2, will receive the eyes of the sports world looking to escape debate coverage on seemingly every other network. Kickoff is at 8 o'clock.

The last time the teams met was last December 1 in Movie Gallery Veterans Stadium and the Owls earned a trip to the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl by edging the Trojans 38-32. While another visit to the Big Easy is not on the line tonight, the Trojans (2-2, 1-0) will be looking for revenge. Troy will be well rested for this rare Tuesday game because they have not taken the field for nine days. Of course that was not the longest "vacation" the Troy Trojans has to endure this season. Their tilt with LSU was rescheduled from September 6 to November 15 because of Hurricane Gustav hitting the Gulf Coast. This resulted 15 days between their first two games of the season. The first layoff was beneficial for Troy as they stormed out to a 2-0 record, but they have lost their last two to fall to 2-2.

Meanwhile, last years bowl bound Owls (1-4, 0-1) have looked nothing like their team from a year ago. After losing to Texas to begin the season, Florida Atlantic destroyed UAB 49-34, giving fans hope that the team would regain its 2007 form and once again feature its explosive offense. Neither of this has yet materialized. FAU has lost three straight, scoring a total of around 5 points during the stretch, including a shutout against Michigan State in rain-soaked East Lansing. Their heartbreaking 14-13 loss against Middle Tennessee last week has put the Owls in a touch place and will probably need to win out the rest of the way in the Sun Belt Conference to successfully defend their league title.

FAU quarterback Rusty Smith threw two interceptions and was 16 of 27 for 210 yards last week. Not bad statistics on its merit, but the fact that Smith has been without a passing touchdown for the third consecutive game, makes it worse. Smith has got to improve on terrible completion rating that is just under 50 percent in order for the Owls to be successful against Troy and for any chance at the Sun Belt Conference title.

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