Sun Belt Football

The college football bowl season is here and although this game will not get the same hype as the National Championship game, it is well worth the watch.

The bowl season started off with a bang, as the Gildan New Mexico Bowl between Nevada and Arizona went down to the wire. This game had the potential to be another great game on the early season bowl schedule. 

The latest college football odds have the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers listed as a 5.5 point favorite.

Western Kentucky will face off against the Central Michigan Chippewas at Ford Field in Detroit. These two teams may not be household names in college football but they do have their share of top talent.

The Chippewas feature superstar junior running back Zurlon Tipton who is a regular in the end zone. Tipton logged 19 touchdowns on the season while piling up 1,391 yards on the year. Tipton averages six yards per carry and is the main threat on offense for this team.

Senior Ryan Radcliff is under center for the Chippewas and his main target is wide receiver Titus Davis. Davis hauled in eight of Radcliff’s 20 touchdowns on the season. This offense is a good test for a Hilltoppers team looking to make a splash during the bowl season.

The Hilltoppers finished fifth in the Sun Belt Conference and will be playing in their first FBS bowl game. They may be new to the bowl game scene, but it would be a mistake to write off this team. They are a senior laden bunch with 19 players participating in their final game.

The Hilltoppers defeated a very gifted Arkansas State team and possess the best defense in the conference. That defense was best in the conference in yards allowed per game with 342.8. The leader of that defense is Quanterus Smith, a sack master who registered 12.5 on the season. The defense is impressive for Western Kentucky, but they also have a play maker on offense.

Multi-purpose back Antonio Andrews is the total package. Andrews posted 1,609 yards on the ground averaging 5.8 yards per carry. Andrews is the main focus on offense and is also a contributor on special teams. Andrews averages 248.1 all-purpose yards for the season and he will get the football early and often in this bowl game.

The Chippewas have been a disaster for football betting backers. The Chippewas are 1-6 against the spread (ATS) in their last seven non-conference games, 1-10 ATS against a team with a winning record and 8-20 ATS in their last 28 games on turf.

The Hilltoppers are 11-2 ATS in their last 13 games following a win and 21-7 ATS in their last 28 games overall.

Defense wins ballgames and the senior led Hilltoppers will go all out to secure their first FBS bowl victory.

Little Caesars Bowl Predictions: Western Kentucky 27 Central Michigan 17

Football Picks: (Western Kentucky -5.5)

James Brown is a B/R featured columnist and can be followed on Twitter. Feel free to contact James at jtsneaks@gmail.com. He also is a contributor at Bookie Blitz, a sports picks website.

It looks like Arkansas State is wasting no time replacing Gus Malzahn. A little more than a week after Malzahn left the Red Wolves to coach Auburn on Dec. 4, the school has hired Texas co-offensive coordinator Bryan Harsin to take over the program, according to Jim Vertuno of the Associated Press:

A person familiar with the negotiations tells The Associated Press that Texas co-offensive coordinator Bryan Harsin will become the head coach at Arkansas State. Harsin is expected to be introduced at Arkansas State on Wednesday. 

UPDATE: Wednesday, Dec. 12 at 12:51 p.m. ET

Texas is also wasting no time in replacing Harsin. According to ESPN's Joe Schad, Major Applewhite and Darrell Wyatt will be taking over as co-offensive coordinators for the Longhorns with the former calling the plays:

Major Applewhite and Darrell Wyatt will be co-offensive coordinators at Texas following the departure of Bryan Harsin, with Applewhite taking over play calling, according to a source. Applewhite, who has coached running backs, will also now coach quarterbacks.

---End of Update---

Harsin has spent the past two seasons under Mack Brown at Texas as the co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. He is considered largely responsible for the development of David Ash, who excelled early in the season before a late-season swoon sent the sophomore quarterback to the bench.

Developing quarterbacks is nothing new for Harsin. A signal-caller during his playing career at Boise State, the young coach joined the team's staff as a graduate assistant in 2001 and was influential on Chris Petersen's Broncos after taking over as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach in 2006.

Though this will be his first attempt at a head coaching job, Harsin joins a program on the rise at Arkansas State. In his first season with the Red Wolves, Malzahn went 9-3 (7-1 in the Sun Belt Conference) en route to the team receiving a GoDaddy.com Bowl berth.

That is the school's second consecutive bowl berth and third invite to a postseason game since joining the FBS in 2005. 

With the talent cupboard pretty full, Harsin should have no trouble continuing to build the program going forward. Still, Arkansas State faithful will be hoping Harsin isn't using this job as a stepping stone 

Both Malzahn and Hugh Freeze left the school after one season to pursue opportunities in the SEC. By hiring Harsin, the Red Wolves hope they've found a guy who will not only continue the program's ascent, but also be there for years to come.

Whether that happens remains to be seen, but Wednesday should be a day for rejoicing, as Arkansas State has brought in one of the top young offensive minds in college football.

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For better or worse, Bobby Petrino will bring Western Kentucky quite a bit of attention.

Per Yahoo! Sports, news of Petrino's hiring was reported Monday. The last time he was seen on the college football scene, Petrino was embroiled in a scandal involving a female member on his staff at Arkansas, with whom he had gotten into a motorcycle accident.

It was just another incident in a long line of bad press that has hovered over Petrino for at least the last decade. The ways in which he departed Louisville and the Atlanta Falcons drew ire almost universally across the sporting landscape.

Petrino, much like John Calipari, is viewed as the kind of coach a school turns to when it wants to win at all costs. With the big business of college football these days, his ability to win causes schools to look past Petrino's, well, past.

Making the jump immediately to a school like Auburn would have been too big of a risk for both the school and coach. The magnifying glass on Petrino would simply be too large.

Western Kentucky is an optimal fit for Petrino. He'll be able to prove once again how good of a football coach he is on a smaller stage, where the pressure to succeed won't be as high. This also allows him to pay some dues for how he left Arkansas, and Louisville, and the Falcons.

Western Kentucky also gets a coach that is quite a few levels above their standing in the college football landscape. The Hilltoppers will become a powerhouse in the Sun Belt Conference for a few years, before Petrino of course leaves for greener pastures.

At this point, you can't be surprised when Petrino pledges his undying love for Western Kentucky and signs a 10-year, $98 million extension to stay at the school forever. Then, like a thief in the night, he'll make a quick exit for a BCS school.

You can't feel sorry for the Hilltoppers either, because they know exactly what they're getting into. They're taking a risk in the short term hoping it will pay huge dividends in the long term.

Western Kentucky put winning ahead of everything else by hiring Petrino. But quite frankly, isn't that how you succeed in college football these days?

The Western Kentucky football team—and fanbase in general—have been on a roller coaster of emotions over the past week. 

After finishing the 2012 season with a record of 7-5 (4-4 in the Sun Belt), the Hilltoppers were selected to play in the Little Caesars Bowl on December 26 in Detroit. This is their first bowl game in the school's history as they have only been a Division I team since 2008. 

WKU's team started off the season on fire as they shot out to a 6-2 start with their only two losses coming from then-No. 1 ranked Alabama and then to Louisiana-Monroe in an overtime thriller. They also picked up a win against an SEC opponent in Kentucky. 

Though they cooled off significantly—only winning one more in their final four games—the team still showed promise. Mainly from do-it-all running back, Antonio Andrews. 

Andrews led the league in all-purpose yards, averaging 248 a game which was 18 more yards than the second place finisher. He is one of four finalists for the Paul Hornung Award, which is given annually to the most versatile player in all of college football. 

With all this excitement surrounding the program, it seemed like things were only looking up. Then after the team's third bowl practice, head coach Willie Taggart decided to leave the team and take a job in his home state at the University of South Florida. 

Taggart, who was in his third year, had completely turned around the Hilltoppers' football team. He led them to their first DI win, first home win, first winning season and most recently their first bowl appearance—before hopping on a flight south. 

That took place on December 8. Less than two days later WKU had already found their replacement: Bobby Petrino.

This was first reported by Chad Bishop and has now been confirmed by the school. 

Petrino was one of the most sought after coaches in college football. He took Louisville to within a field goal of their first National Championship in 2006 then took his talents to the NFL to coach the Atlanta Falcons, though he was fired after just one season. If it wasn't for Michael Vick being arrested that year, he still may be in Atlanta. 

After that he was hired by the Arkansas Razorbacks where he went 34-17 in his four years there. Three of those years the team made a bowl game, including 2010 when they went 10-3, losing in the Sugar Bowl and then winning the Cotton Bowl in 2011 with a record of 11-2. 

In April of this year however, he was in a motorcycle accident that changed his life. Though he wasn't too banged up from the crash, it was discovered he had a mistress on the back off the bike. The girl was then revealed to be a former student and current employee at Arkansas who Petrino was giving improper benefits too. 

This discovery resulted in his firing as the head coach of Arkansas. 

Now he finds himself coaching a team that placed fifth in the Sun Belt Conference, perhaps as a way to get his feet back in the coaching pool and earn back some trust and respect. 

A press conference is to be held today at 4 p.m. Central at Smith Stadium on Western Kentucky's campus to announce the hiring of Bobby Petrino. 

It may not be the Gators and the Seminoles, but the Owls of Florida Atlantic will celebrate a victory over the rival Florida International Panthers all the same.

These two teams haven't exactly been the shining lights of college football in the state of Florida, but they are set to meet again on Saturday for in-state bragging rights.

Last season the Panthers delivered a 41-7 beatdown to the Owls, and FAU is looking for payback. Despite last year's lopsided defeat, the Owls have handled the Panthers through most of the history between the two teams. They have won eight of the 10 meetings between the two South Florida schools.

Gone from the Panthers team that smashed the Owls in 2011 is T.Y. Hilton (now of the Indianapolis Colts). He had a 97-yard kickoff return for a touchdown in that game. It sparked the Panthers and gave them the momentum that they never relinquished.

This season, the Panthers have struggled mightily. They broke a seven-game losing streak by defeating South Alabama 28-20 on Saturday. They are now 2-8 heading just down the road to take on the Owls.

The season hasn't been much better for Florida Atlantic. They are just 3-7 on the season, but they have won two of the last three games. The team has also been a respectable 2-1 at FAU Stadium. The Owls defense should have an opportunity to take advantage of faulty pass protection from the Panthers.

The team has surrendered 30 sacks this season which is the most allowed in the Sun Belt conference. Junior pass rushers  Randell Johnson and Cory Henry should be factors in this game. 

Senior quarterback Graham Wilbert had to sit through the rout last season, but he should be on the happy end of this meeting. He's quietly put together a solid season in 2012. Despite his team's losing record he has thrown for 2,032 yards, 14 touchdowns and only three interceptions.

He'll surely have a role in the Owls gaining their revenge. My prediction is a 35-30 victory for the Owls at home.

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The Western Kentucky Hilltoppers fell to the Blue Raiders of Middle Tennessee State in disappointing fashion, losing 34-29 on Thursday night. But in the midst of the madness, star running back Antonio Andrews once again shined brighter than everyone else. 

Coming into the game, the Junior tailback was fourth in the nation in all-purpose yards and his 917 rushing yards placed him on top of the Sun Belt Conference leaderboard—225 yards ahead of second place. 

Andrews did nothing but pad those stats during this hard-fought rivalry game. 

His night started off slow, as he only gained a total of eight yards rushing in the first quarter, but that didn't last long. 

On Western Kentucky's first drive of the second quarter, Andrews picked up a total of 24 yards on the ground before capping off the team's march with a 24-yard touchdown reception. The TD made the score 17-14 in favor of the Blue Raiders. 

Though this was Andrews only score of the game, his night was far from over. He finished the game with 25 carries for 136 yards.

Since he took over as the starter in Week 3, he has now rushed for over 100 yards in each of the seven games he's played—the longest active streak in the nation. 

His 136 yards in this game pushed him over 1,000 yards on the year, the first time he has seen that mark in his three-year career with the Hilltoppers. 

Besides the huge numbers he collected via the rush, Andrews also picked up 54 yards receiving (including the TD grab) and totaled 202 return yards.

All in all, he racked up 392 all-purpose yards on the night, which could very well move him into the top two in the country, depending on how a few other dynamic players fare this weekend. 

The 392-yard outburst was the third highest total in a NCAA game this season. 

Despite the fact that his Hilltoppers fell to 6-3 (3-2) on the year, Antonio Andrews once again proved to the nation that he is, in fact, the real deal. 

In the midst of a hard-fought 14-6 victory over Sun Belt foe Florida International, Western Kentucky defensive end Quanterus Smith made history. 

Throughout the course of the game, Smith recorded a game-high eight tackles. What was so historic was the fact that five of the takedowns went for quarterback sacks. 

The five sacks are a Sun Belt record and Smith only fell one shy of tying former Louisville Cardinal, Elvis Dumervil, for the NCAA record. His record-breaking sack came on the team's final defensive play of the night as he brought down FIU backup quarterback, E.J. Hillard, forcing a fumble which was recovered by the Hilltoppers.

The senior's big night earned him Defensive Player of the Week honors in the Sun Belt. This was his second time receiving the award this season. 

Besides just having a monster week, Smith is putting together a very impressive 2012 season.

After the game against FIU, the 22-year-old currently sits in first place in the nation for most sacks with 11.5. With that amount, he now has more sacks than 22 other teams do all together. 

Are those numbers impressive? Without a doubt. The amazing part, though, is that all 11.5 of those sacks have come in just three games.  

The first quarterback "Q" haunted this season was A.J. McCarron of the No. 1-ranked Crimson Tide. In that Week 2 matchup, Smith found himself planting one of the nation's best quarterbacks three times. Every other opponent that has faced Alabama this year have only gotten to McCarron 11 times combined.

The other 3.5 came against Arkansas St, which resulted in Smith bringing home his first POTW award.

Thanks to those few aforementioned games, Smith holds three of the top eight single-game sack totals on the year, with his most recent outburst sitting in the top spot. 

His huge season now has him sitting at 23 sacks in his four years with WKU, one shy of the Sun Belt record for most in a career.

With four regular-season games left, it will be interesting to see how Smith finishes. If he can continue to build on his success and show some consistency, it wouldn't be surprising to not only see him take home the sack crown this year, but also take his game to the next level come draft day. 

With the school's all-time leading rusher, Bobby Rainey, graduating a year ago and joining the Baltimore Ravens, the WKU coaching staff had a difficult task in front of them in attempting to replace him on the field.

In the first two weeks of the season against Austin Peay and No. 1 Alabama, the Hilltoppers used a committee of backs before finally finding their man in their week three match up against in-state rival Kentucky. 

That man was Antonio Andrews.

Andrews had shown promise in his first two years with the team, but being behind Rainey made it difficult for him to find playing time.

In the game against UK he finally got his shot. Andrews went off for 125 yards on a career high 34 carries and three touchdowns, also a career best. He also added a game-winning pass on a two-point conversion in overtime. 

That was the first instance in which Andrews had reached the 100-yard plateau, but definitely not the last as he has reached it in each of the five games following. That six game streak is currently the longest in the nation. 

This year he has rushed for 917 yards, putting him at 19th in the country. That's with him only seeing 13 carries total in the first two games and missing a lot of time in their overtime thriller to Louisiana-Monroe due to an injury.

He's amassed that total on 165 carries, good enough for a 5.6 average while finding the end zone seven times on the ground. 

What makes Andrews special, though, is that he is more than just a running back. 

The six foot, 211-pound Fort Campbell native has proven to be one of the most versatile players in the country. He is an excellent receiver out of the backfield and one of the most exciting players in the return game as well.

In his eight games, Andrews has hauled in 23 receptions for 260 yards with one trip to the end-zone. Those 23 catches are tied for second on the team and the 11th most in the country for a running back. He is also only one of three backs who has over 900 yards rushing with 260 or more receiving yards. 

When he's not moving the offense down field, he's setting them up in good field position as a returner. 

The WKU star has had nine kick returns on the year, gaining 274 yards on 9 attempts, a 30.4 average, with his longest being of 58. He has also returned nine punts, gaining only 129 yards (14.3 avg); however, he is one of the 41 players this year that has taken one all the way to the house. 

All of these numbers combined have him sitting at an average of 197.5 all-purpose yards a game.

If that number doesn't blow you away, then maybe knowing that that's good enough for fifth in the entire nation will. That's out of 124 teams with around 100 or so players each.

You do the math: that's good. 

Numbers like these demand attention and it's only a matter of time before Antonio Andrews, and his 6-2 Hilltoppers, get just that. 

The Sun Belt Conference gets the Tuesday night spotlight in college football betting as the Ragin' Cajuns of Louisiana-Lafayette and the Mean Green of North Texas meet up at Apogee Stadium (9 p.m. ET, ESPN2).

Can the Cajuns make it six wins in a row in this series? Or can the Green pull an upset as four-point home underdogs, according to the matchup report?

Lafayette opened this season with a 40-0 blanking of FCS Lamar, then picked up a conference road victory, winning at Troy 37-24. The Cajuns then suffering a 65-24 defeat at Oklahoma State, but followed that up with another conference win, 48-20 over FIU.

Lafayette then stepped back out of conference and knocked off Tulane of Conference USA 41-13.

On the season, the Cajuns have outgained opponents, on average, by a 411-402 yards-per-game (YPG) margin, and outrushed foes 190-107.

Lafayette took a hit in its win over Florida International when senior QB Blaine Gautier broke his throwing hand. But since then, transfer Terrance Broadway has more than picked up the slack, completing 24 of 41 throws for 378 yards, with three TD passes and just one pick.

North Texas, meanwhile, opened with a 41-14 loss at LSU, beat Texas Southern (FCS), then lost respectably at Kansas State 35-21. The Green then opened Sun Belt play with a 14-7 home loss to Troy,  then picked up a conference victory, winning at Florida Atlantic 20-14.

NT then stepped back out of conference and lost at Houston 44-21.

For the season, the Mean Green have been outgained by a slight 395-382 YPG margin, and outrushed 177-175. Both these teams had last weekend off.

As of Monday afternoon, most betting shops were listing Louisiana-Lafayette at around -4 for this game, with a total of 57.

The Cajuns have won the last five games in this series. Last year, Lafayette broke open a close game in the fourth quarter to win 30-10.

Free Pick: The Cajuns have held the upper hand in this series recently, but it's time the Green changed that. We'll take North Texas as a home dog. (courtesy of PickShark.com)

All odds, stats and trends mentioned courtesy of OddShark.com. Mike Pickett is a Contributor to Bleacher Report.