The Arkansas State Red Wolves and Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns meet Thursday night in week 8 Sun Belt college football action from Centennial Bank Stadium in Jonesboro. Louisiana is coming off a big win over Appalachian State last Tuesday. As for the Red Wolves, they had a bye last week. Arkansas State’s last outing was a blowout loss to Coastal Carolina. Check back all season long for free college football picks at Sports Chat Place.
Louisiana began their season with a tough draw, falling 38-18 to Texas. Since then however, it’s been smooth sailing for the Cajuns. They’ve won the last five games, taking out Nicholls State 27-24, Ohio 49-14, GA Southern 28-20, South Alabama 20-18 and App State 41-13.
In the win over the Mountaineers, Louisiana scored 20 points in the first quarter and never looked back. QB Levi Lewis finished on 209 yards with a TD and an interception. Montrell Johnson and Chris Smith combined for 185 yards and three rush scores from 27 carries.
Over on the AR State side, they managed a 40-21 win over Central Arkansas in their first game this season but that’s the only win they’ve gotten so far. The Red Wolves have since lost to Memphis 55-50, Washington 52-3, Tulsa 41-34, GA Southern 59-33 and Coastal Carolina 52-20.
In the blowout loss to Coastal Carolina back on October 7, the Red Wolves were down 24-0 at the break and gave up double-digit points in every quarter. QB Layne Hatcher put up 185 yards and two scores, while Tevailance Hunt had 138 yards and a TD off six catches.
The Cajuns are 5-1 ATS in their last six Thursday games and 4-9 ATS in their last 13 conference games. Louisiana is also 2-6 ATS in their last eight games after an ATS win.
Meanwhile, the Red Wolves are 7-3 ATS in their last 10 home games and 1-4 ATS in their last five conference games. Arkansas State is 0-6 ATS in their last six after a bye week as well.
PICK: I’m going to stick with the Cajuns. Louisiana has found a nice rhythm over their last handful of games, and they’re coming off a nice offensive performance. The Cajuns had 455 yards total against App State, along with 22 first downs and a solid 8-of-15 on third-down tries.
As for Arkansas State, they were highly permissive against a great Coastal team in their last game, giving up 685 yards total with 10.9 on average per play. The extra week off should help in preparation here, but I think Louisiana has the edge on a cover.