Arkansas State (4-3) at Louisiana (4-2)

A pair of Sun Belt Conference foes currently sporting 2-1 league records meet on Tuesday night‚ as the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns entertain the Arkansas State Red Wolves.

Arkansas State have won back-to-back games for the first time this season‚ beating FIU (34-20) and South Alabama (36-29) to move to 4-3 overall. The Red Wolves have played well away from Jonesboro over the past two seasons as they are riding a five-game road winning streak against conference opponents‚ although they haven't beaten the Cajuns in Lafayette since 1992.

Louisiana opened the season with wins in four of its first five games before losing on the road to North Texas last Tuesday night‚ 30-23. The Cajuns are happy to be back home as they have one of the SBC's best home field advantages at Cajun Field. They have won eight straight games in Lafayette‚ with their last home loss coming in November of 2010.

These two programs have played a very tight series dating back to 1953‚ with Louisiana holding to a slim 21-18-1 lead

Arkansas State possesses one of the best offenses in the conference‚ averaging 31.3 points and 448.7 yards per game‚ including a Sun Belt-best 215.1 rushing yards per contest. It does a great job protecting the quarterback as well as the offensive line hasn't allowed a sack in four of seven games.

Ryan Aplin is one of the top quarterbacks in Sun Belt history and he ranks third among all active FBS players in career yards with 10‚569. This season has been no different for the senior signal-caller‚ as he has passed for 1‚591 yards with 11 touchdowns against only two interceptions while rushing for another 244 yards and three scores.

Alongside Aplin in the rushing game‚ David Oku has played well at running back‚ carrying the ball 125 times for 544 yards and seven touchdowns. Rocky Hayes has also made an impact with limited touches‚ gaining 231 yards on only 21 carries (11.0 ypc).

Freshman receiver J.D. McKissic (46 receptions‚ 493 yards) has stepped up his play of late‚ scoring a touchdown in three of the last four games (all ASU victories). Josh Jarboe has also been a reliable receiver with 31 catches for 321 yards and three scores.

Arkansas' defense has not held up to its end of the bargain this season‚ allowing nearly 29 ppg. The unit surrendered 29 points to South Alabama in its last game‚ which is the second-lowest scoring team in the conference.

Nathan Herrold has a team-high 69 tackles and also has an interception and two forced fumbles. Tim Starson has seven tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks‚ but as a team the Red Wolves have just nine sacks total.

Among Sun Belt teams‚ only ULM scores more than Louisiana (35.5 ppg)‚ although it is coming off a game against North Texas where it only recorded 12 first downs.

Quarterback Terrance Broadway has played even better than the man he replaced in the injured Blaine Gautier‚ and he's coming off 349 yards of total offense and two touchdowns last week. He's completed more than 60 percent of his passes on the season for 877 yards with five touchdowns and two interceptions while rushing for another 219 yards and four scores

Alonzo Harris and Effrem Reed split time in the backfield and have been effective‚ as both average 5.1 yards per carry while combining for 657 yards and six touchdowns.

Javone Lawson (321 yards)‚ Harry Peoples (315 yards) and Darryl Surgent (273 yards) each average more than 50 receiving yards per game. Lawson and Peoples are tied for the team lead with three touchdown receptions apiece.

The defense has been suspect in allowing more than 422 yards of total offense per game‚ but with a scoring defense of 25.3 ppg‚ it surprisingly ranks second in the Sun Belt.

Rodney Gillis has accounted for four of the team's 13 turnovers with three interceptions and a fumble recovery. Cordian Hagans has 2.5 of the team's nine sacks.

In a showdown that features pair of quarterbacks that can make plays both within and outside the pocket‚ this midweek matchup is sure to have plenty of fireworks. Arkansas State seems to be hitting its stride offensively‚ but it still has plenty of issues on the defensive side of the ball‚ which will come back to haunt the Red Wolves in a hostile road game.

Predicted Outcome

Louisiana 34‚ Arkansas State 31

Italy

For 120 minutes Italy dominated an ultra-conservative England side. The woodwork was struck twice, the offside flag halted celebrations as the ball finally hit the back of the net, but after 35 shots, the Azzurri could not register a goal.

A victory on penalty kicks brought a euphoric reaction but as the dust settled, Italian coach Cesare Prandelli must quietly have fretted over his side's inability to turn their fine play outside the box into goals. Mario Balotelli had a fine match; he never gave the English central defenders a moment's peace and looked a menacing presence in the box. Yet the maverick striker failed to make the most of the several opportunities that fell his way.  Like Balotelli, the rest of Italy's forward contingent possess undoubted quality, but there remain doubts over their ability to become a decisive factor in tight games against true quality opposition.

Antonio Cassano, who has started each of Italy's matches so far, has in many ways exceeded expectations at this tournament.

Another controversial figure, Cassano came into Euro 2012 having only returned to first-team action with Milan in April following heart surgery last November. The 29-year-old looked in fine fettle as Italy's impressive performance against Spain owed much to his causing problems drifting in behind the Spanish full backs.  But in that game as in each match since, Cassano's performance dropped off before he was inevitably substituted.  Having played 78 minutes on Sunday, there must be doubts over the former Sampdoria star's ability to be at full fitness against Germany.  There is even a suggestion that Alessandro Diamanti may get his first start of the competition as a true trequartista having impressed against England after replacing Cassano.  Prandelli's other selection dilemmas against Germany are in the key area of midfield.  Last time out Italy began with a narrow four, with Riccardo Montolivio making his first appearance of these finals at the head of a variation on a diamond. There is likely to be a strong temptation for Prandelli to start with Antonio Nocerino, after the Milan midfielder look a real threat breaking into the box after coming off the bench late on against England. But it could be Thiago Motta that comes in to offer a better defensive option against the Germany's intimidatingly-strong midfield three.

Germany

Germany has been dominant in the middle of the pitch so far at Euro 2012. Sami Khedira has demonstrated that he is much more than just a tough defensive presence as he is often restricted to atReal Madrid. Alongside him Bastian Schweinsteiger has perhaps not yet reached his peak, but showed his quality with two fine assists to Mario Gomez against the Netherlands.

At the head of the trio, Mesut Ozil's displays have been the pick of the bunch as he has looked imperious going forward. The young player that burst onto the world stage two years ago is now a controlling fulcrum of this side.

Against Greece some of the one-touch link up play he was involved in with the exceptional movement of those around him was a joy to behold. This is a German side that has moved on considerably from the counter-punching outfit of the 2010 World Cup.

Yet Joachim Low is far from resting on the laurels of what his side has achieved thus far. In the quarterfinal with Greece, the long-standing coach left out two of the stalwarts of his side in Lukas Podolski and Thomas Muller in favor of youngsters Andre Schurrle and Marco Reus.

Particularly with Reus the move paid dividends as Germany produced some scintillating attacking football. Not only was the move perhaps a wakeup call to any overly contented members of his own squad, but it was also a demonstration to the competition of the awesome strength in depth they possess. Certainly, in Europe, only Spain can come close to the wealth of options at their disposal. Also impressive in the quarterfinal was Miroslav Klsoe. The veteran front man came in for his first start of the competition and scored a typically headed goal to stake his claim to be named ahead of Mario Gomez against Italy.

The talent that Germany can count on to threaten in the box is what could well the difference in this semifinal.  However, Germany has looked far from impregnable at the back. Conceding two goals despite dominating a limited Greek side will not have please Low. While part of their porousness can be attributed to the team's attacking ethos, there are also doubts about some of the individuals in the German defense.  Jerome Boateng has looked especially vulnerable playing out of his Bayern Munich position at right back, while there is a feeling that Mats Hummels and Holger Badstuber are not yet a rock solid pairing in the middle. The question remains whether Italy can exploit the openings that may come their way.

In what promises to be an entertaining matchup featuring two positive-minded teams, chances should not be at a premium. Yeah… it is likely that Italy's lack of firepower up front will finally cost them as Germany's greater attacking threat will be the difference in a close encounter.

Prediction:  Germany 2:1, Germany to advance, Germany to score 1st goal and Under 1 1/2 in the first half. 

Good Luck!