Middle Tennessee State at Louisiana-Lafayette

[Raji]

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.

Raji