Football. Is. Back. Troy Hosts No. 22 Boise State in The Vet

Saturday, September 1

Troy, Ala.

5 p.m.

Troy University

Boise State

Tickets

Football. Is. Back. Troy Hosts No. 22 Boise State in The Vet

8/30/2018 3:27:00 PM | Football

By: Adam Prendergast

Purchase Tickets | Gameday Information | Gameday Central | Watch Live | Listen Live | Live Stats | Game Promotions | Gameday Need to Know

TROY, Ala. – One of the most anticipated games of the opening weekend takes place Saturday in The Vet when Troy plays host to No. 22 Boise State at 5 p.m. The matchup, which will be televised live on ESPNews, pits a pair of defending conference champions who won a combined 22 games last season.

Troy carries the nation's fourth-longest active winning streak into the game after the Trojans ended the 2017 season with seven straight victories. In fact, Troy won 11 of its final 12 games after dropping the season opener, 24-13, at Boise State.

"We've had a solid camp, and we are going into the game pretty healthy which was not the case a year ago," Troy head coach Neal Brown said. "We are going to line up and play against a ranked opponent and this is a great opportunity this week to play against Boise. They are annually a top Group of Five program and that is what we are trying to do at Troy."

For just the third time since 2010, a new quarterback will be under center for the Trojans in a season opener as junior Kaleb Barker earned the nod against the Broncos. However, redshirt sophomore Sawyer Smith figures to play a key role in the game as well.

"Barker earned that opportunity, he had a great fall camp," Brown said. "Sawyer will play in the game and will have a role for sure."

The Trojans will have to replace a chunk of offensive production from a year ago as they return just 33.6 percent of their rushing attack and 4.1 percent of their passing yards. Troy is built to sustain that loss with four returning offensive linemen – three All-Sun Belt performers – and three of its top receivers back.

Defensively, the Trojans boast seven Preseason All-Sun Belt selections with three on the defensive line and three in the secondary. Seniors Hunter Reese, Cedarius Rookard and Blace Brown lead an experienced group that finished seventh nationally against the run last season and held a school record eight teams under 100 yards rushing.

Know Your Foe
Boise State is once again the preseason pick to win the Mountain West Conference following an 11-3 season last year which culminated with a 10-point victory over Oregon in the Las Vegas Bowl. The Broncos are led by senior quarterback Brett Rypien and return a wealth of talent on a defense that finished 22^ndin the country last season.

Notable
• Troy's 21 victories over the past two seasons are tied for the eighth most in the country and are the fourth most in back-to-back seasons in school history.

• Troy has just 12 scholarship seniors on its roster and only four of those players began their collegiate careers at Troy as a scholarship player – Deondre Douglas, Trevon Sanders, Deontae Crumitie and Cedarius Rookard.

• Troy set a school record with 112 tackles for loss last season; the Trojans finished second nationally.

• This marks the second straight season that Troy has played a team ranked No. 22 in one of the two major polls. LSU was ranked No. 22 in the Coaches Poll heading into last season's matchup which Troy won 24-21.