The Sun Belt Conference is overlooked by many, but bettors know there's green to be won and sharp bettors will be on Florida International at Middle Tennessee State.
The Sun Belt Conference doesn’t get a lot of national press, and that’s putting it mildly. The relative obscurity of this non-BCS conference offers us a handful of solid betting opportunities each year, as the linesmakers scramble for information every bit as much as the bettors do.
[articleBanner]who2beton[/articleBanner]Florida International has the longest current losing streak in college football, losers of 16 straight games. They’ve suffered a pair of ugly road losses against BCS conference competition on the road, losing at Kansas and at Penn State by a combined margin of 114-3. But when we isolate the Golden Panthers results against Sun Belt competition, they look much, much better.
FIU’s last win came against Middle Tennessee State, a 35-31 season-ender in 2005. Last year, they opened up the season with a trip to Murfreesboro and lost 7-6 thanks to a missed extra point. In fact, FIU has been able to hang tough repeatedly during this losing streak, in large part thanks to a rock solid defense by Sun Belt standards. They’ve lost to South Florida by one, Bowling Green by five, and North Texas by three during this current skid.
Two weeks ago, the Panthers held Miami to 23 points. Three weeks ago, they held Maryland to 26 points and under 300 yards of total offense. Again, judging by their recent results against the Blue Raiders, the talent differential between these two programs is not all that great.
Middle Tennessee enters this game with the same 0-4 record as their counterparts on the opposing sideline. They’ve lost their starting quarterback to injury, leaving frosh Dwight Dasher as one of four freshman starting for the Blue Raiders right now. This team has been devastated by injuries, and Sun Belt teams aren’t known for their extensive depth. The Blue Raiders are just 2-6 ATS as a home favorite over the last 2+ seasons, and they just lost at home to a Western Kentucky team still making the transition from I-AA to I-A football.
Middle Tennessee is going to struggle to win this game outright, let alone to win it by a double digit margin. FIU is a live underdog on Saturday night. Take Florida International.
Free Pick: Florida International +9½ (-108)