Arkansas State (1-3, 1-2 ATS) @ Louisiana-Monroe

THE SPORTS ADVISORS courtesy of depositsports.com

Arkansas State (1-3, 1-2 ATS) at Louisiana-Monroe (3-2, 3-1 ATS)

The Sun Belt Conference gets some rare national exposure as Arkansas State heads south for a league battle with the Warhawks at Malone Stadium.

The Red Wolves bring a three-game SU losing streak to Monroe, La., though they put a big scare into then-No. 13 and undefeated Iowa 10 days ago, losing 24-21 and covering easily as a 21-point road underdog. Arkansas State trailed 14-0 for nearly the entire first half and got outgained 420-296, but it picked off Iowa QB Richard Stanzi twice, returning one for a second-half touchdown. During their three-game losing skid, the Red Wolves have been outgained by margins of 212, 202 and 124, and they haven’t defeated a Division I-A school this season.

UL-Monroe is coming off consecutive Sun Belt victories over Florida Atlanta (27-25 as a 3½-point road underdog) and Florida International (48-35 as a 6½-point home chalk). In the rout of FIU on Oct. 3, the Warhawks piled up 577 total yards (304 rushing) and surrendered 391 (77 rushing).

The home team has won the last four meetings in this rivalry, but Louisiana-Monroe got the cash all four times, all as an underdog. Last year, the Warhawks went to Arkansas State and fell 37-29, but barely covered as a 14½-point underdog. In fact, the pup has covered in nine straight meetings between these schools since 1998, with six outright upsets. Also, the visitor is 6-2 ATS in the last eight clashes.

Although they easily got the money at Iowa, Arkansas State is still in ATS funks of 2-9 overall, 1-7 on the road, 1-6 in Sun Belt play, 2-8 after a bye, 1-4 in October and 10-26-1 after a spread-cover. Meanwhile, UL-Monroe has failed to cover in eight of its last 10 after a bye, but otherwise, the Warhawks are on impressive ATS runs of 8-3 overall in lined action, 3-0 at home, 21-8-1 in conference action, 10-4-1 in October, 9-3-1 after a SU win and 5-0 when facing opponents with a losing record.

Arkansas State is on “under” runs of 12-3-1 overall in lined action, 12-3-1 on the highway, 9-2-1 when playing on grass and 3-1-1 in October. On the flip side, Louisiana-Monroe carries “over” trends of 5-1 overall, 5-1 at home, 5-1 in October and 18-7-1 in games following a spread-cover.

ATS ADVANTAGE: LOUISIANA-MONROE