Trojans Set for Season Finale

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TROY, Ala. – The Troy University football team will look to close out their season on a high note this weekend as they travel to take on Sun Belt front-runner Arkansas State on Saturday.

The Trojans (3-8, 2-5) and Red Wolves (9-2, 7-0) are set to kickoff at 3:30 p.m. in a game being televised on the Sun Belt Network. The Trojans are 6-6 all-time against the Red Wolves, including a 3-4 mark in Jonesboro.

ASU enters the weekend after a bye week while the Trojans come in after a very physical game at WKU. Troy fell to the Hilltoppers, 41-18, in a game that saw many Trojans go down to injury.

“We're a pretty beat up football team,” said head coach Larry Blakeney. “That's a patented excuse, used by a lot of people, but a lot of folks have missed games and practices because of injury. It's just sort of compounded our problems.”

The key for the Trojans in trying to knock off the Red Wolves will be the ability to move on after last week's tough loss at WKU.

“They're number one in the Sun Belt right now,” said junior defensive tackle Tony Davis. “They're going to be a tough opponent. We've got to play our 'A' game to get this victory. That's what we're hunting.”

“Arkansas State is a great team with one of better defenses in the league,” said sophomore quarterback Corey Robinson. “We're looking forward to the challenge and looking forward to moving on after last week.”

“For me personally, my emotions ran high last week, and I said some things about the officiating that I shouldn't have said after the game,” Robinson added. “I am a better person than that, and I deeply apologize to the Sun Belt, Commissioner Waters, the officials, Western Kentucky University and certainly Troy University, my teammates and coaches.”

Robinson and the Trojan offense will look to build on two consecutive 300-yard passing performances while also running the ball efficiently against the Sun Belt's top ranked total defense.

However, it isn't all about the Troy offense facing a good defense, ASU also boasts the league's top total offense and top scoring offense, led by mobile quarterback Ryan Aplin.

“They are a little bit like us,” Blakeney said of the Red Wolves offense. “They do spread the field offensively and they've got a quarterback (Aplin) who makes good decisions and pulls the trigger. The difference in the two is, he (Aplin) will pull it down and run it more often than most defenses would like.”

On the line for Arkansas State this weekend is an outright conference championship and the right to be the second team in Sun Belt history to finish the season with a perfect league record, with the first being the Trojans in 2009.

“We might help those folks that just beat us (WKU) get a bowl if we can whoop these guys and make them co-champions of this league,” Blakeney said. “It depends on who is motivated and if we've got enough people to be motivated. I know our coaches are motivated and working hard at trying to get everything sorted out.”

Troy University Athletics

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