Last week, in front of a packed house, the Golden Panthers defeated in-state rival and 2010 Conference USA champion, Central Florida, 17-10. The win moved FIU to 3-0 on the season that also includes a win over Louisville on national television and the squad has earned votes in both Top 25 polls after its undefeated start.

However, the Golden Panthers will face a Ragin Cajun team that is on a two-game winning streak of its own after beating Nicholls State last week, 38-21.

With all of the talk down at the tropics about the Golden Panthers having a great chance of going 12-0, one of the reasons why is nursing a hamstring injury and might see limited action this week.

One of the nation’s top wide outs, senior T.Y. Hilton came out of last week’s game late in the first half with a hamstring injury, according to the Miami Herald. FIU head coach Mario Cristobal said during the SBC weekly teleconference on Monday that he is very optimistic after Hilton’s return. Also, the Miami Herald reported earlier this week that is was a mild strain on his right hamstring and he will be re-evaluated mid-week.

ULL head coach Mark Hudspeth hopes Hilton gets to play on Saturday.

“He is a dynamic player,” Hudspeth told the media during the weekly press conference earlier this week. “I am hoping he plays because we want to play against the best. He is a really good player and the thing with him is he is not only a good receiver on the offensive side of the ball, but he’s also a dynamic kick returner. That is going to be a challenge for our kicking teams.”

Two other players to watch for during the game each won an award for last week’s performance in both team’s victories.

FIU sophomore defensive tackle Isame Faciane was the SBC Co-Defensive Player of the Week after returning a fumble 51 yards for a score.  While, ULL senior defensive back Melvin White returned a blocked field goal 68 yards for a touchdown and that play earned him SBC Special Teams Player of the Week.

Kickoff for the key conference game is 5 p.m. on Saturday and it will be shown online on ESPN3.

Two other SBC members will face teams from the Big Ten on Saturday with Louisiana-Monroe heading to Iowa, while North Texas will host Indiana. The ULM-Iowa kickoff is set for 11 a.m. and will be televised on the Big Ten Network, while the UNT-Indiana will be shown online on ESPN3 at 6 p.m.

Florida Atlantic continues its tough non-conference schedule Saturday, as the Owls will face the defending national champion, Auburn. In two games, this season FAU has been outscored 85-3, however those losses were to Florida and Michigan State. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. and it will be shown on FSN.

Finally, Arkansas State will host in-state rival Central Arkansas at 7 p.m. online on ESPN3.