Southern Miss and Louisiana Tech battled in the Rivalry in Dixie in last week’s Sun Belt Game of the Week.
The Bulldogs were dominant early in the game and never looked back, picking up a 30-20 victory. Southern Miss quarterback Braylon Braxton passed for 392 yards, but it still wasn’t enough for USM to pick up the road win.
This Game of the Week will feature a pair of teams that aren’t considered in the upper-echelon of the Sun Belt this year, but it has the makings of being a competitive game. It’ll be the first conference game of the year for both Arkansas State and ULM.
How To Watch Arkansas State-ULM
The game kicks off at 3 p.m. ET on Saturday and will air on ESPN+.
Arkansas State-ULM Betting Odds
ULM is a 2.5-point college football betting odds favorite over Arkansas State at the time of this writing. The Over/Under is at 55.5.
Arkansas State-ULM Coaches & Records
ASU: Butch Jones (104-88 overall, 20-34 at ASU)
ULM: Bryant Vincent (14-14 overall, 7-8 at ULM)
Last meeting: Arkansas State won 28-21 at home last season. The Red Wolves have won 15 consecutive games in this series.
Arkansas State Preview
After nearly pulling off an upset over 14th-ranked Iowa State two weeks ago, the Red Wolves lost to Kennesaw State last week by a touchdown. They were 4.5-point favorites in that game.
It was the third loss in a row for ASU, as its only win this season came against Southeast Missouri State in Week 1. This week will be a key opportunity for the Red Wolves to end their losing skid as things don’t get easier next week with Texas State on tap.
If they’re going to do that, Jaylen Raynor is likely going to need to have a big performance. The standout junior QB is one of the best offensive players in the league and has the potential to take over a game. He has 918 passing yards, 143 rushing yards, and eight total touchdowns this season.
Six different players have caught a TD for the Red Wolves, and their leading receiver isn’t one of them. Chauncy Cobb is pacing the team with 19 receptions for 241 yards while Hunter Summers has 210 yards on 14 catches. Corey Rucker, who had 1,053 yards last year, only has 109 receiving yards so far this season. ASU is averaging 23.3 points per game.
Defensively, Arkansas State is surrendering 33 PPG and has the worst passing defense in the conference (288 YPG). The good news is ULM’s strength isn’t its passing attack.
ULM Preview
There are only three teams in the FBS that have less passing attempts than ULM this season — Rice, Army, and Navy. The Warhawks have only attempted 59 passes led by Aidan Armenta’s 51 attempts. Armenta has 259 passing yards this year and 136 of those came during last week’s win over UTEP on just eight completions. Two were touchdowns.
ULM’s defense held off a late surge from UTEP and had two interceptions in the final three minutes of the game to improve to 2-1. Its other win came against Saint Francis in Week 1.
Led by running back Braylon McReynolds, the Warhawks are averaging 218 rushing yards per game behind an experienced offensive line. McReynolds has 244 yards and is averaging 6.8 yards per carry. Dorian Lewis is second on the roster with 131 rushing yards.
The only team in the Sun Belt that’s statistically worse than ULM at defending the pass is Arkansas State, meaning the Warhawks will need to tighten up against Raynor and ASU’s passing game and not allow big plays. They gave up 404 yards to UTEP QB Malachi Nelson last week on just 22 completions.
ULM is allowing 32.7 PPG, but that is skewed by a 73-0 loss to Alabama. Redshirt senior defensive back D’Arco Perkins-McAllister already has two tackles for loss, two sacks, and four pass breakups through three games.
Arkansas State-ULM Prediction
I predict ULM will grind out a win and end the 15-game losing streak to the Red Wolves.
This could be the only game the Warhawks will be favored in the rest of the season, and they were 2-0 as a favorite under head coach Bryant Vincent last year.
I think ULM will have a lot of success behind its run game, control the clock, and limit Raynor from doing damage by keeping ASU’s offense off the field.
