Most of Saturday's games went the way Sun Belt Conference teams needed in its hopes to position another team into a bowl game, but two key games didn't break as hoped.

Specifically, Cincinnati's 26-23 victory over Connecticut gave the Bearkats seven wins and put them in position for an at-large bowl berth. Likewise, San Jose State posted a 28-13 win over Idaho, giving the Spartans seven wins and possibly sending them to the San Diego Poinsettia Bowl - which was a possibility for a Sun Belt team.

Several other games fell positively for the league, including losses by Virginia, Kansas, Oklahoma State and Pittsburgh which likely put all of them out of the bowl picture.

SUN BELT SHOCK: The biggest hit to the bowl hopes of both UL and Arkansas State came from within the Sun Belt, though. Troy's surprising 21-20 win over previously unbeaten Middle Tennessee put the Trojans on the fast track to the New Orleans Bowl and left the Blue Raiders as the league's next-best bowl possibility, a possibility that's now a long shot.

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Dan McDonald
dmcdonald@theadvertiser.com