Troy Heads West for Sun Belt Tilt with Idaho

TROY, Alabama – For the first time since 2004, the Troy football team will travel to the Pacific time zone for a game as the Trojans take on Idaho on Saturday in the Kibbie Dome. The Sun Belt Conference contest is set to kickoff at 4 p.m. (CST) and will be broadcast live on ESPN3.

The game will also air on the Troy Sports Radio Network beginning with the pregame show at 2 p.m. The broadcast will be aired live for free on TroyTrojans.com and throughout the Southeast on Troy's 16-station radio network.

The Trojans last trip that far west came in the 2004 Silicon Valley Football Classic, which was the first of Troy's Sun Belt record five bowl appearances. Troy actually made two trips to the Pacific time zone that season as the Trojans defeated Utah State earlier in the year.

Troy (2-8, 2-4 Sun Belt) is coming off a convincing 45-21 victory over Georgia State last weekend. The Trojans rushed for 324 yards in the win and five different players had a rushing touchdown, which is the third most in the NCAA this season and the most by a Troy team since 1994.

As has been the case for a good part of the season, Troy took care of the football against Georgia State, as it didn't turn the ball over once. The Trojans have not committed a turnover in four of their 10 games this season, which is their highest total since 1995. Troy ranks 11^th nationally with just four interceptions thrown and haven't thrown a pick in seven different games, the most since 2000.

Troy's formula for victory has been pretty simple. The Trojans have averaged 505.5 yards of total offensive in their two victories compared to 302.9 yards in the eight losses, while rushing for 342 yards in the wins and 109 yards in the losses.

Defensively it's been getting pressure on the quarterback that has led to victory for Troy. The Trojans are averaging 3.5 sacks in their two wins while recording just a sack per game in their eight losses. Similarly, Troy is averaging seven tackles for loss in its victories and four tackles for loss in its setbacks.

The Trojans forced three turnovers in their victory last weekend with interceptions from Ethan Davis and Montres Kitchens and a forced fumble from Jamal Stadom. Troy has a +2.5 turnover margin in its two victories this season and have gained seven turnovers in those two games compared to just eight gained turnovers in its eight losses.

Idaho (1-8, 1-5), who was a member of the Sun Belt from 2001-04, is coming off a 35-21 loss at San Diego State last weekend. The Vandals lone victory of the season came three games ago in a 29-17 decision over New Mexico State.

The Vandals have had some success moving the ball through the air with Matt Linehan leading the way. Idaho is averaging 281.4 passing yards per game but has been hampered with turnovers. Linehan and Chad Chalich have combined to throw 16 interceptions this season – the third most in the country – and the Vandals have lost eight fumbles.

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Players Mentioned

Ethan Davis

Montres Kitchens

Jamal Stadom