Sun Belt Leaders Square Off in The Vet on Saturday

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TROY, Alabama – For just the third time in Sun Belt Conference history, two teams will meet this late in the season with unblemished conference records when Troy and Appalachian State play Saturday afternoon in Veterans Memorial Stadium.

Kickoff between the Trojans and Mountaineers is set for 2:34 p.m. and tickets are available by CLICKING HERE. The Troy Sports Radio Network will have full coverage beginning at 12:30 p.m. and the game will be broadcast live on ESPN3.

Troy enters the game 7-1 overall and 4-0 in the Sun Belt, while App State is 7-2 overall with a 5-0 mark in league play. The teams enter the weekend tied for the nation's seventh-longest winning streak at six games and have two of the top 12 conference winning streaks in the country.

The Trojans and Mountaineers played one of the league's most entertaining games last season in a 44-41 triple-overtime affair that saw the homestanding Apps come away with the dramatic victory.

It will be a battle of strengths for both teams on Saturday as the Troy and Appalachian State rank among the top three in the Sun Belt in scoring offense, total offense, scoring defense and total defense.

The Trojans lead both offensive categories – scoring (39.4) and total offense (482.0) – and rank second in both defensive categories – scoring (21.2) and total defense (375.1). App State ranks third in total offense (397.8) and second in scoring (27.3), while leading the league in both defensive marks – scoring (16.9) and total defense (322.3).

Coming off a 52-31 victory over UMass last week, Troy has scored 50 or more points three times this year – the most in Troy's FBS history and second most in DI history – and for the fifth time in the Neal Brown era.

Running back Jordan Chunn ranks 19^th nationally averaging 112.4 rushing yards per game and leads the Sun Belt with eight rushing touchdowns; he has scored on the ground in six straight games. The junior, who is nicknamed "MegaChunn", needs 101 yards to become the ninth player in school history to reach the 1,000-yard plateau.

Brandon Silvers leads the league with his 18 touchdown passes, while Emanual Thompson leads the Sun Belt with five touchdown receptions and Deondre Douglas is tied for third with four touchdown grabs.

Troy has held five of its eight opponents under 100 yards rushing on the season and the Trojans enter this weekend's tilt ranked fourth nationally yielding just 97.8 rushing yards per game. Troy's secondary has been opportunistic with 15 interceptions on the season – a tally that is tied for the third most nationally.

Senior bandit Rashad Dillard ranks second in the league with 0.81 sacks per game and third overall with 6.5 total sacks; he also checks in sixth nationally among active players with 0.64 sacks per game in his career.

Blace Brown is tied for second in the country with five interceptions and defensive end Junior Gnonkonde leads all defensive lineman in the country with five pass break ups.

App State comes to The Vet on an eight-game Sun Belt Conference winning streak. The Mountaineers are led offensively by a pair of premier running backs in Jalin Moore and Marcus Cox. The duo has combined for 10 100-yard rushing games this season and 12 rushing touchdowns.

Defensively, App State leads the country with 16 interceptions paced by freshman Clifton Duck's five, while Dezmin Reed is tied for fourth in the league with six sacks on the year.

Quotable
"Saturday is a great opportunity for our community and our campus and football program to be showcased," Troy head coach Neal Brown said. "We want to honor our veterans. We also need to have a big crowd in our stadium. We need everyone to turnout and we need to push to sell out the stadium, which I don't think we have ever done. We have back to back home games with talented teams. Their crowd made a difference in the game last year and I think when you are playing a team that is evenly matched, the home team crowd can make all the difference. That starts with our students. We need people to be into the game from the first kick all the way through."

Notable
• Troy has recorded 4.3 sacks per game in its four league contests this season; the number is the third most in the county in league games.

• Troy's defense has allowed just four rushes of 20 or more yards this season, which is the second fewest in the country.

• Troy's two-minute offense has converted drives into points on 60 percent of its opportunities this season; the national average is 15.9 percent.

• Troy is 7-0 all-time under Neal Brown when rushing for 150 or more yards and 11-1 when scoring 28 or more points.

Sun Belt Leaders Square Off in The Vet on Saturday

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Players Mentioned

Blace Brown

Jordan Chunn

Rashad Dillard

Deondre Douglas

Junior Gnonkonde

Brandon Silvers

Troy University Athletics