Turn the Page, Troy Travels to ULM to Open Sun Belt Play

Saturday, September 22

Monroe, La.

6 p.m.

Troy University

ULM

Turn the Page, Troy Travels to ULM to Open Sun Belt Play

9/20/2018 2:56:00 PM | Football

By: Troy Athletics Communications

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TROY, Ala. – The bullseye is squarely on Troy's back heading into Saturday's Sun Belt Conference opener at ULM as the Trojans travel to Monroe as the defending Sun Belt Conference champions and fresh off a second straight victory over a Power Five opponent.

Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. from Malone Stadium and the game will be broadcast live on ESPN+ and the Troy Sports Radio Network will have full coverage beginning at 4 p.m.

"We open conference play this week and it's a critical game for us," Troy head coach Neal Brown said at his weekly press conference. "When (the schedule) came out and I saw that we had to go to Monroe to open up the conference slate, I knew this was going to be a critical game for us. I thought ULM along with Georgia Southern would be the two most improved teams in our league. (Head coach) Matt (Viator) has done a great job there, if you look at his career he has always won."

Troy (2-1) jumped into the national spotlight for the third straight season with its 24-19 victory at Nebraska last Saturday. Just like their game at No. 22 LSU last season, the Trojans jumped out to a 17-0 lead over the Cornhuskers en route to their fifth victory over a Power Five opponent since moving to the FBS level in 2001.

Junior running back B.J. Smith found the end zone twice against the Cornhuskers and has scored in each of the Trojans' games this season, while junior quarterback Kaleb Barker has thrown five touchdown passes and is completing 65.8 percent of his passes.

The Trojans have made their name on the defensive side of the football and 2018 is no different. Troy ranks 13^thnationally in tackles for loss after recording 24 combined in the last two games, while forcing eight turnovers in three games this season. The Trojans have forced the second-most turnovers since 2016 with an average of 21.33 per season.

Tron Folsom earned Sun Belt Defensive Player of the Week honors after recording 14 tackles and a sack against the Cornhuskers and he leads Troy in tackles (21), tackles for loss (3.5) and interceptions (2).

The third phase of the game could be the most important this weekend as both teams have excelled in special teams in recent history. Both Troy and ULM feature an All-American at kick returner in Marcus Jones and Marcus Green, respectively, and Troy has blocked a punt and returned another for a touchdown this season.

Know Your Foe
ULM (2-1) won its first two games of the season over Southeastern Louisiana and Southern Miss before falling at Texas A&M last Saturday. The Warhawks have one of the most dynamic offense's in the Sun Belt Conference led by All-America wide receiver Marcus Green and quarterback Caleb Green. ULM enters the weekend averaging 21.7 points and 412.0 yards per game, while allowing 33.0 points and 467.7 yards per contest.

Quotable – Head Coach Neal Brown
"We are better prepared from a football program and athletic department standpoint to handle success now than we were a year ago. We've had a lot of media attention going on two-plus years here, we have had more national media attention in the past six months than we've had ever as a program. I think our kids know how to handle success better."

Notable
• Troy has won six straight road games dating back to last season, which is the fourth-longest active road winning streak in the country.

• Troy has scored seven special teams touchdowns since 2015 which ranks as the 12^thmost in the country over that time period.

• The Trojans have averaged 28 forced turnovers the previous two seasons, which ranks as the seventh most in the country (2.15 per game) … so far this season, Troy has forced eight turnovers which equals out to 2.67 per game.