Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders vs. Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin` Cajuns
Oddsmakers currently have the Ragin` Cajuns listed as 5-point favorites versus the Blue Raiders, while the game's total is sitting at 57½.
Middle Tennessee took a 45-13 lead into halftime in Week 13 and cruised from there to a 52-13 win over North Texas.
The Blue Raiders had no trouble covering the big 20-point spread in that contest, while the combined score went OVER the day's posted total (59).
LA Lafayette was pounded 48-3 by Troy in Week 13 as an 11-point underdog on the road. The 51 points went UNDER the posted total of 64.
Michael Desormeaux ran 15 times for 136 yards in a losing effort for LA Lafayette.
Current streak:
Middle Tennessee has won 3 straight games.
Louisiana-Lafayette has lost 3 straight games.
Team records:
Middle Tennessee: 5-6 SU, 5-6 ATS
Louisiana-Lafayette: 5-6 SU, 7-4 ATS
Middle Tennessee most recently:
When playing in December are 0-2
When playing on grass are 3-7
After outgaining opponent are 5-5
When playing within the conference are 5-5
Louisiana-Lafayette most recently:
When playing in December are 0-1
When playing on grass are 5-5
After being outgained are 4-6
When playing within the conference are 6-4
A few trends to consider:
The total has gone UNDER in 9 of Middle Tennessee's last 13 games
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Middle Tennessee's last 6 games
Middle Tennessee is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games when playing Louisiana-Lafayette
Middle Tennessee is 1-4 ATS in its last 5 games when playing Louisiana-Lafayette
Louisiana-Lafayette is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing Middle Tennessee
Louisiana-Lafayette is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games when playing Middle Tennessee
Louisiana-Lafayette is 7-3 ATS in its last 10 games
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Louisiana-Lafayette's last 9 games
MIDDLE TENN ST (5 - 6) at LA LAFAYETTE (5 - 6)
There are no Top Trends with records of significance that apply to this game.
Head-to-Head Series History
LA LAFAYETTE is 1-1 against the spread versus MIDDLE TENN ST over the last 3 seasons
LA LAFAYETTE is 1-1 straight up against MIDDLE TENN ST over the last 3 seasons
1 of 2 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons
Middle Tenn State at LA Lafayette
Middle Tenn State: 8-1 ATS off DD conference win
LA Lafayette: 6-0 Over off Under
MIDDLE TENNESSEE vs. LOUISIANA-LAFAYETTE
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Middle Tennessee's last 6 games
The total has gone UNDER in 9 of Middle Tennessee's last 13 games
Louisiana-Lafayette is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games when playing Middle Tennessee
Louisiana-Lafayette is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing Middle Tennessee
What bettors need to know: MTSU at UL Lafayette
By MATT SEVERANCE
Middle Tennessee State at Louisiana-Lafayette (-5, 57)
Line moves
This line opened with Lafayette at -2.5 and quickly rose to 4.5 or 5 points at most books. The total has risen slightly and sits at 58 at some betting shops.
All-time series
The Ragin' Cajuns lead it 5-4 and beat MTSU 34-24 last season. ULL has won four of the past five in the series.
Recent performance
MTSU is coming off a 52-13 rout of North Texas, its third straight win. The Raiders were led by RB Phillip Tanner. The junior scored six touchdowns, five rushing and one on a kickoff return. He finished with a career-high 159 yards on 14 carries and set the conference record for single-game points and TDs.
Tanner was named the Sun Belt player of the week on offense and special teams - the first time that's ever happened.
The Cajuns dropped their third straight game, 48-3 to Troy. ULL was called for a season-high 15 penalties for 104 yards. That's the most penalties against a Sun Belt team this season. ULL allowed 391 yards rushing to Troy, which had 13 plays of at least 10 yards.
During its three-game slide, ULL has allowed an average of 41.7 points and 463.3 yards. Late-season slumps are nothing new for the Cajuns, who lost five of their final six in 2004 and in '06 and '07 fell in four of their final six games.
What’s at stake
With both teams at 5-6 overall, Wednesday’s winner should factor into the bowl picture with some other conferences falling short on bowl-eligible teams.
UL Lafayette has only played in two bowls in school history, with the last coming in the 1970 Grantland Rice Bowl. MTSU is looking for a second bowl in three seasons after getting an invite to the 2006 Motor City Bowl.
The Sun Belt champ (either Arkansas State or Troy) will head to the New Orleans Bowl. The conference has alternate tie-ins with the PapaJohns.com Bowl, Independence Bowl and new St. Petersburg Bowl. Basically, those bowls must take a six-win team from the Sun Belt over a six-win team from another conference if those bowls can't be filled by their contracted conferences. But those bowls, per NCAA rules, are free to select a seven-win team from any conference over a six-win Sun Belt team.
Got all that?
Quick breakdown
MTSU quarterback Joe Craddock is 315 passing yards from breaking the single-season school record. He also has thrown just six picks in 339 attempts this year.
On the MTSU single-season list, Craddock ranks third in passing yards, pass attempts, completions and total offense. His 13 touchdown passes this season are only two shy of the top five. Craddock leads the Sun Belt in pass efficiency and is in the top 40 in the nation in completions per game, passing yards per game and total passing yards.
MTSU has gained less than 260 total yards six times in conference play in coach Rick Stockstill's three seasons. Two of those performances came against a defense coached by current ULL defensive coordinator Kevin Fouquier, a former MTSU assistant.
Senior RB Tyrell Fenroy leads the Cajuns with 1,292 yards rushing and 17 touchdowns on the season. By breaking the 1,000-yard barrier, he became just the seventh running back in NCAA history to rush for 1,000 yards in four straight seasons.
Cajuns QB Michael Desormeaux has 993 rushing yards this season. If Desormeaux can rush for just seven yards against the Blue Raiders, he and Fenroy would become the first quarterback and running back combo in NCAA history to do so in back-to-back years.
They also would become only the third teammates to ever rush for 1,000 yards apiece in back-to-back seasons. Fenroy, a Doak Walker Award semifinalist, is the nation’s leading active career rusher with 4,563 yards and the career leader in ULL and Sun Belt history. The Cajuns are No. 3 in the country in rushing.
LA-Lafayette Focus Of Big Bettors
By Kelso Sturgeon
There is no dispute in the world of football betting that the name Louisiana-Lafayette is not a household word. For every 100 people who make bets on such main-stream teams as USC, Ohio State, Oklahoma et al, there may be one who wagers on Louisiana-Lafayette.
In other words, this is not a team to which one goes when he needs to win a bet.
That is, unless you are an insider there-and someone most certainly is.
This is a team that has attracted unusual betting action for the past 10 years and it is obvious the NCAA, or anybody else, has ever taken time to look into the matter, although it has been written about on several occasions.
The money hit again this past Saturday-against Lafayette, which lost at Troy, 48-3. It was score time again in a game that saw the money show on Troy at -7 and the volume was so great the game closed with the Trojans -11, a 4-point move on a team to which few pay attention.
This was the fourth time the money has showed on a game involving Lafayette this season and the money went 3-1, or was right 75% of the time. The moves were never less than 4 points and has high as 5½ -and always at the last minute.
This happens so often with this team-and has for so many years-that it is obvious that someone closely connected to this program is either betting himself or feeding inside information to betting groups.
Where is the NCAA-the FBI.
This was published 11/24/2008