Two of the three tri-leaders in the Sun Belt Conference go at it when Arkansas State hosts Louisiana-Monroe Thursday night (7 pm ET, ESPNU).

The Wolves, riding a four-game winning streak, were early six-point favorites over the Warhawks, who just had a five-game winning streak of their own snapped over the weekend.



View Louisiana-Monroe vs Arkansas State Odds and Stats.

Betting Line: The home team opened as 1.5-point favorites in this NCAA football battle at Sportsbook. No over under line was available early in the week, but was set to posted shortly.

Power Rankings / Prediction: The OddsShark Power Rankings have the Red Wolves at No. 41 and the Warhawks at No. 42 heading into this contest. Handicapping models project a 41-38 result in favor of the Warhawks.



How They Match Up:
Offensively, the game matches up Arkansas State's No. 36-ranked offense (34 PPG) against a Warhawks defense that ranks No. 72 at 28.4 PPG. The Red Wolves passing attack has averaged 248 yards per game, less than the Warhawks give up through the air (263.9 YPG on average).

Defensively, the Warhawks feature the league's No. 17-rated road run defense, allowing 110.4 yards per game. Arkansas State, meanwhile, ranks No. 22 in rushing offense at home.

Louisiana-Monroe was a 40-24 loser in their most recent outing at home against Louisiana-Lafayette. They failed to cover the 9.5-point spread as favorites, while the total score (64) made winners of OVER bettors. Brent Leonard was good for 168 receiving yards in the Warhawks's most recent action, but while it helped his stats, it didn’t help his team to victory and they fell 40-24 to the Warhawks.

Arkansas State won its last outing, a 37-19 result against North Texas on November 3. Arkansas State covered in that game as a 4.5-point favorite, while the 56 combined points took the game UNDER the total. In Arkansas State's last outing, Ryan Aplin threw for 328 yards to lead the Red Wolves over North Texas 37-19 at Apogee Stadium.


Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks Trends:
When playing in November are 2-8
When playing on turf are 5-5
After being outgained are 5-5
When playing within the conference are 6-4

Arkansas State Red Wolves Trends:
When playing in November are 6-4
When playing on turf are 6-4
After outgaining opponent are 7-3
When playing within the conference are 9-1

A few Warhawks at Red Wolves trends to consider:
Louisiana-Monroe is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games
Louisiana-Monroe is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games on the road
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Louisiana-Monroe's last 5 games on the road
The total has gone OVER in 7 of Louisiana-Monroe's last 9 games
Arkansas State is 9-1 SU in its last 10 games at home
Arkansas State is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games
Arkansas State is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games when playing at home against Louisiana-Monroe
Arkansas State is 7-3 SU in its last 10 games when playing Louisiana-Monroe


Next up:
Louisiana-Monroe home to North Texas, Saturday, November 17
Arkansas State at Troy, Saturday, November 17