FACTS & STATS: Site: Movie Gallery Veterans Stadium (30,000) -- Troy, Alabama. Television: ESPN Regional. Home Record: ULL 3-1, Troy 3-0. Away Record: ULL 2-4, Troy 3-4. Neutral Record: ULL 0-0, Troy 0-0. Conference Record: ULL 4-1, Troy 4-1. Series Record: UL-Lafayette leads, 7-4.

Game Notes: In a huge Sun Belt Conference matchup, the UL-Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns travel to Troy to take on the Trojans this weekend at Movie Gallery Veterans Stadium. This game could determine who wins the SBC as the Trojans and Cajuns are currently first and second, respectively, in the league standings. The winner will clinch at least a tie for first place. After winning four straight games and being in the driver's seat in the SBC, the Cajuns have dropped their last two games to UTEP and Florida Atlantic and put them in a must-win situation against Troy if they are to have any hope of representing the Sun Belt in the New Orleans Bowl. The Cajuns will finish their season with a home game against Middle Tennessee two weeks from this Saturday. The Trojans, much like the Cajuns, come into this crucial matchup on a bit of a downswing. Troy has lost two of its last three games with both losses coming in the state of Louisiana (UL-Monroe and LSU). This will only be the Trojans' fourth home game this season where they have yet to lose. After ULL, Troy finishes the season with its final home game of the 2008 campaign when the Trojans host Arkansas State on December 6th. The Cajuns lead the all- time series with the Trojans by a 7-4 count, however, Troy has won four of the last five meetings, including last year's matchup in Lafayette.

The Ragin' Cajun offense relies heavily on its ability to run the ball, which for the most part this year has kept them in games. Last week, ULL continued to rush for more yards than it passed for but unfortunately the club fell behind early to FAU, 19-0, and trailed 40-7 at the end of three quarters. ULL did rally to score 22 points in the game's final frame but it was not enough to overcome the early deficit as the Owls won the game 40-29. The Cajuns totaled 228 yards on the ground and 204 yards through the air. RB Tyrell Fenroy finished the day with 92 yards on 18 carries and a touchdown, raising his season totals to 1,269 yards and 17 rushing touchdowns, both tops in the Sun Belt. Fenroy ranks eighth in the country in rushing yardage and is the nation's active leader in career rushing yards. Quarterback Michael Desormeaux also contributes to the Cajuns' dominating ground game which is third-best in the nation with 283.7 ypg. Desormeaux enters this contest third in the SBC in rushing yards per game with 96.1, although he had only 70 in the loss to FAU before being taken out in the third quarter. On the season, Desormeaux has thrown for more than 1,500 yards and is averaging 173.4 ypg through the air, but he struggled against the Owls as he threw for just 84 yards on 11 completions and was intercepted twice, raising his season total to 10 picks against just nine touchdowns. The FAU game was the second straight in which Desormeaux threw at least two interceptions (he had three in a loss to UTEP).

The defense has done little to support the Cajuns' offense as it entered the game against FAU allowing 418.2 total ypg, 198.3 of which come on the ground. However, the Owls beat up the Cajuns both on the ground and through the air, rolling up 523 yards of total offense. The Owls ran for 216 yards and torched ULL for 307 yards through the air, which was 100 yards more than the Cajuns were allowing prior to the contest. The ULL defense is giving up an average of 32.8 ppg which ranks second-to-last in the SBC and 104th in the nation. The Cajuns are also allowing over 200 ypg on the ground and 228.6 ypg through the air, which ranks them 105th in the country in total defense (428.7 ypg). Aside from a recovered fumble returned for a touchdown by Scooter Rogers in the fourth quarter, the Cajun defense did very little. The unit did not record a sack or an interception and the team's leading tacklers were Daylon McCoy and Gerren Blount who had five total tackles apiece. McCoy and Blount lead the team in tackles on the year with 56 and 53, respectively, and McCoy has registered three sacks.

The Trojans were absolutely dominant against LSU last week, at least for the first three quarters. After taking a commanding a 31-3 lead early in the third quarter and being on the verge of a unforeseen upset, the Trojans fell asleep and watched as the Tigers scored 37 unanswered points and won the game 40-31. The Trojans outgained the Tigers through the air (316-221) and in total offense (380-340) but committed three turnovers, two of which led directly to quick scores for the SEC squad. Quarterback Levi Brown threw the ball an astonishing 72 times for 316 yards and two touchdowns, however, he struggled in the fourth quarter, passing for just 26 yards and he was unable to sustain drives when it mattered. Brown, who replaced the injured Jamie Hampton, has completed 62.7 percent of his throws for 1,543 yards with 11 touchdowns against only three interceptions this season. The Trojans are led on the ground by Dujuan Harris who is averaging over 5.0 ypc and 71.9 ypg and has seven rushing touchdowns. Wide receiver Jerrell Jernigan was the go-to guy against LSU with 10 receptions and he now has 64 on the season. Jernigan has compiled 729 receiving yards and has five receiving touchdowns.

For the most part this season, the Trojan defense has played brilliantly as they are allowing just 23.5 ppg and 325.6 ypg. The unit is ranked first in the Sun Belt in rushing defense (133.5 ypg), pass defense (192.1 ypg) and total defense (325.6 ypg). Troy has been opportunistic as it leads the conference with 17 interceptions, the sixth-best total nationally. The Trojans also rely on putting pressure on opposing quarterbacks as they have registered 30 sacks in 10 games. That figure also leads the SBC and is sixth-best in the country. Although the Trojans did record an interception against LSU (Terrence Moore) they only sacked the Tigers' trio of quarterbacks once. The sack was recorded by Brandon Lang who now has 6.5 sacks on the season. Lang has recorded 13.5 TFLs for a unit that leads the nation in that category. Lang is second in the Sun Belt in sacks and TFLs. Moore and Sherrod Martin have almost half of the team's interceptions with four apiece.

This matchup is without question the Sun Belt's biggest and most important game to date as the winner will control its own destiny. ULL and Troy are one and two, respectively, in scoring offense, however, the Trojans are by far the better defensive team. Since defense, for the most part wins games, especially late in the year, give the edge to the home team.