North Texas vs. UL Lafayette: Sun Belt comes to primetime as Mean Green host Ragin' Cajuns

The Sun Belt Conference takes center stage in primetime on Tuesday when the North Texas Mean Green (2-4, 1-1) host the Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns (4-1, 2-0) on ESPN2 at 9:00 p.m. ET.

The Mean Green have struggled early in the season, but three of the team's four losses have come to LSU, Kansas State and Houston. An upset of the Ragin' Cajuns on Tuesday night, however, puts North Texas squarely in the mix for the Sun Belt title.

Louisiana-Lafayette's only loss of the year came at the hands of Oklahoma State, a 65-24 thrashing on Sept. 15. Despite losing starting quarterback Blaine Gautier, the Ragin' Cajuns have scored 41.5 points per game in their victories.

North Texas will need a strong game from junior quarterback Derek Thompson in order to win on Tuesday night. Thompson has completed more than 50 percent of his passes in just three of his six games this season, though he did show potential against Kansas State, throwing for 208 yards and a touchdown on 25 of 28 passing.

Louisiana-Lafayette has won the past five matchups between the two teams, including a 30-10 victory in last season's contest.