Troy University Athletics
Saturday, September 16
Las Cruces, N.M.
7 p.m.
Troy University
at
New Mexico State
Troy Heads West Looking for Sun Belt Traction
9/14/2017 3:37:00 PM | Football
Watch Live | Listen Live | Gameday Central | Live Stats
TROY, Alabama – Troy's accomplishments were numerous last season. An appearance in the AP Top 25, a 10-win season and a bowl victory to name just a few. Despite all that success, the Trojans were missing the most important jewel of all – a Sun Belt Conference title.
Troy (1-1) begins its bid for the 2017 Sun Belt crown Saturday when the Trojans make their second trek across the country, this time to New Mexico for the league opener at New Mexico State. Kickoff is set for 7:07 p.m. (CT) and the game will be broadcast live on ESPN3 and on the Troy Sports Radio Network.
"We talked about how successful we were a year ago. What we didn't do was win that conference championship," Troy head coach Neal Brown said at his weekly press conference. "We've got a couple of those Georgia Southern clips when we had the opportunity to clinch the title (last year) and didn't get it done. Those are things that we continually show our team because it's important to understand how close we were, but also how far away we were at the same time. This is the first opportunity for us to play a conference football game since that game in December, and I know our guys are excited about it."
The Trojans entered the regular season finale at Georgia Southern last season needing a victory to claim a share of their first Sun Belt title since 2010. Trailing by four, 28-24, with 6:20 to play in the game, Troy began a drive to win a title. However, 16 plays and 77 yards later, the Trojans' dream of a title ended on the Georgia Southern 9-yard line as the clock hit 0:00.
One of two Sun Belt games on the docket for Saturday, Troy and New Mexico State will feature strength against strength. The Trojans enter the weekend allowing just 7.0 points (defense only) and 261.0 yards per game, while the Aggies (1-1) are averaging 30.5 points and 524.5 yards per game offensively.
"Offensively, we've really struggled stopping them the last two years. We've almost given up 1,000 total yards of offense in those two games," Brown said. "They have one of the top receiving corps in our conference and have two running backs led by Larry Rose, who is special."
Troy is coming off a commanding 34-7 victory over Alabama State last Saturday in front of a record crowd at The Vet. The Trojans held a decisive 611-165 advantage in total yards and did not allow the Hornets to score an offensive touchdown.
"I'm proud of how our guys responded (against Alabama State)," Brown said. "What a great atmosphere for college football right here in Troy, Alabama, at The Vet. It's a real honor to set the school's attendance record. We've been playing football here for over 100 years and to set that attendance record is a source of great pride for the staff and for our players.
"The win got us to 1-1. We always celebrate winning here. I think the minute you take winning for granted, it stops happening some. Winning is hard to do."
Troy has held the upper hand in the series since New Mexico State rejoined the Sun Belt in 2014, as the Trojans have won all three meetings, including the last two by a combined 104-13 margin.
The Aggies opened their season with a 37-31 loss at Arizona State before knocking off in-state rival New Mexico, 30-28, on the road.
Notable
• Senior running back Jordan Chunn enters the game just nine rushing touchdowns shy of setting the Sun Belt Conference career record of 48 held by UL Lafayette's Tyrell Fenroy. Chunn has rushed for three touchdowns in two of Troy's last three games.
• Troy ranks third nationally with 10.5 tackles for loss per game this season. The Trojans finished with nine tackles for loss against Alabama State; one more would have giving Troy double-digit tackles for loss in consecutive games for the first time since 2002.
• Troy is 10-0 under Neal Brown when rushing for over 150 yards in a game. The Trojans rushed for 256 yards and five touchdowns against Alabama State last weekend.
TROY, Alabama – Troy's accomplishments were numerous last season. An appearance in the AP Top 25, a 10-win season and a bowl victory to name just a few. Despite all that success, the Trojans were missing the most important jewel of all – a Sun Belt Conference title.
Troy (1-1) begins its bid for the 2017 Sun Belt crown Saturday when the Trojans make their second trek across the country, this time to New Mexico for the league opener at New Mexico State. Kickoff is set for 7:07 p.m. (CT) and the game will be broadcast live on ESPN3 and on the Troy Sports Radio Network.
"We talked about how successful we were a year ago. What we didn't do was win that conference championship," Troy head coach Neal Brown said at his weekly press conference. "We've got a couple of those Georgia Southern clips when we had the opportunity to clinch the title (last year) and didn't get it done. Those are things that we continually show our team because it's important to understand how close we were, but also how far away we were at the same time. This is the first opportunity for us to play a conference football game since that game in December, and I know our guys are excited about it."
The Trojans entered the regular season finale at Georgia Southern last season needing a victory to claim a share of their first Sun Belt title since 2010. Trailing by four, 28-24, with 6:20 to play in the game, Troy began a drive to win a title. However, 16 plays and 77 yards later, the Trojans' dream of a title ended on the Georgia Southern 9-yard line as the clock hit 0:00.
One of two Sun Belt games on the docket for Saturday, Troy and New Mexico State will feature strength against strength. The Trojans enter the weekend allowing just 7.0 points (defense only) and 261.0 yards per game, while the Aggies (1-1) are averaging 30.5 points and 524.5 yards per game offensively.
"Offensively, we've really struggled stopping them the last two years. We've almost given up 1,000 total yards of offense in those two games," Brown said. "They have one of the top receiving corps in our conference and have two running backs led by Larry Rose, who is special."
Troy is coming off a commanding 34-7 victory over Alabama State last Saturday in front of a record crowd at The Vet. The Trojans held a decisive 611-165 advantage in total yards and did not allow the Hornets to score an offensive touchdown.
"I'm proud of how our guys responded (against Alabama State)," Brown said. "What a great atmosphere for college football right here in Troy, Alabama, at The Vet. It's a real honor to set the school's attendance record. We've been playing football here for over 100 years and to set that attendance record is a source of great pride for the staff and for our players.
"The win got us to 1-1. We always celebrate winning here. I think the minute you take winning for granted, it stops happening some. Winning is hard to do."
Troy has held the upper hand in the series since New Mexico State rejoined the Sun Belt in 2014, as the Trojans have won all three meetings, including the last two by a combined 104-13 margin.
The Aggies opened their season with a 37-31 loss at Arizona State before knocking off in-state rival New Mexico, 30-28, on the road.
Notable
• Senior running back Jordan Chunn enters the game just nine rushing touchdowns shy of setting the Sun Belt Conference career record of 48 held by UL Lafayette's Tyrell Fenroy. Chunn has rushed for three touchdowns in two of Troy's last three games.
• Troy ranks third nationally with 10.5 tackles for loss per game this season. The Trojans finished with nine tackles for loss against Alabama State; one more would have giving Troy double-digit tackles for loss in consecutive games for the first time since 2002.
• Troy is 10-0 under Neal Brown when rushing for over 150 yards in a game. The Trojans rushed for 256 yards and five touchdowns against Alabama State last weekend.
Players Mentioned
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