Sun Belt Division Leaders Clash on Homecoming at Troy

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TROY, Ala. – The final month of the season features many intriguing and critical games leading up to the inaugural Sun Belt Conference Championship Game. The first of those happen Saturday in the Vet with a clash of division leaders between Troy and Louisiana. Kickoff for Troy's annual Homecoming contest is set for 2:30 p.m. and the game will be broadcast on ESPN+.

Troy (6-2, 4-0 Sun Belt) sits tied with Georgia Southern atop the Sun Belt East Division, and Louisiana (4-4, 2-2) is tied with in-state rival ULM at the top of the Sun Belt West Division. The Trojans enter the contest with the nation's second-longest conference winning streak behind UCF with 10 straight Sun Belt victories; the Trojans have won 18 of their last 21 league games.

"It's November football," Troy head coach Neal Brown said. "What I told the team (Sunday) is 'November separates pretenders from contenders.' We are going to find out which one we are. I think the key for us is that we have to keep making steady improvements. I think the teams that make improvements in the month of November and keep climbing and keep getting better are the teams that are able to hold up the hardware at the end of season. We have to have a great week of preparation."

Saturday will feature strength against strength as Troy brings in the conference's top-rated rush defense allowing just 130.0 yards per game while the Cajuns rank third in the league averaging 248.4 yards per game.

The Trojan defense has been a disruptive force all season ranking eighth nationally in sacks and 12^thin tackles for loss and that will have to continue against a Louisiana offense that is 22^ndnationally averaging 465.8 yards per game and fourth converting third downs at a 52.9 percent clip.

Freshman Will Choloh recorded a pair of sacks last week at South Alabama and junior Tron Folsom returned from injury to register a game-high 14 tackles. Senior bandit Hunter Reese carries a 16-game streak with a tackle for loss into the weekend and ranks third in the league in sacks and fourth in tackles for loss.

On the other side of the ball, sophomore quarterback Sawyer Smith found his footing in his second start of the season with three touchdown passes and another on the ground in Troy's victory at South Alabama.

"He made a big-time improvement," Brown said. "I think it goes back to his preparation. I think that he prepared like a starter this past week. His first career start didn't go the way he wanted to and I thought he responded in the right way, very similar to our entire football team. Our guys and our staff believe in him, and I really feel like the more he plays the better he is going to get."

The Trojans scored on five straight possessions and racked up more than 400 yards of total offense against the Jaguars. Leading the charge offensively this season is junior running back B.J. Smith. He leads the league averaging 94.6 yards per game and has topped the 100-yard mark in four straight games; a fifth straight would set him alone in school history. Smith also ranks seventh nationally among players with at least 100 carries averaging 6.53 yards per carry.

Quotable – Troy Head Coach Neal Brown
"(The next four games are) going to define our season and I don't think there is any denying that. Not only where we finish in the conference standings but also where we go bowling and all of those things. You have to approach it week-to-week. This week we approach a team that is dangerous. They are gaining confidence by the week. We have to figure out a way to play our best and keep getting better."

Notable
• Troy has been one of the best first-quarter teams in the country. The Trojans rank fourth nationally outscoring opponents by an 8.5 margin per game in the opening quarter of play.

• Troy has intercepted 49 passes over the past three seasons which ranks as the second most in the country behind Wisconsin's 52. The Trojans picked off three passes at South Alabama last week.

• The Trojans are 23-1 under Neal Brown when winning the turnover battle; the lone loss came in 2016.

Know Your Foe
Louisiana has won three of its last four games after opening the season 1-3. The Cajuns have league victories over Arkansas State and Texas State and league losses to Coastal Carolina and Appalachian State. Tray Ragas leads a powerful Cajun rushing attack with 91.8 yards per game, second in the Sun Belt to only Troy's B.J. Smith, while Andre Nunez completes 67.4 percent of his passes with 13 touchdowns and only six interceptions.

Sun Belt Division Leaders Clash on Homecoming at Troy

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Players Mentioned

Tron Folsom

Hunter Reese

B.J. Smith

Sawyer Smith

Troy University Athletics