Sun Belt Leaders Clash Saturday at The Vet

Saturday, September 29

Troy, Ala.

2:30 p.m.

Troy University

Coastal Carolina

Tickets

Sun Belt Leaders Clash Saturday at The Vet

9/27/2018 11:12:00 AM | Football

By: Troy Athletics Communications

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TROY, Ala. – The dynamic has changed with the addition of the Sun Belt Championship game this season and a pair of Sun Belt East Division leaders meet on Saturday at The Vet when Troy squares off against Coastal Carolina at 2:30 p.m.

Both teams picked up key cross-divisional road victories last weekend against the two Louisiana schools and a win on Saturday on Military Appreciation Day would go a long way in what is expected to be a tight East Division.

"I think the next two weeks are really critical for us as a program, we are going to play at home in front of our fans" Troy head coach Neal Brown said. "We have two conference games and we've got to really get better as a football team because we are playing against some quality people. We respect Coastal, but the focus is on us and us making strides in continuing to get better."

The game will be broadcast live on ESPN3 and the Troy Sports Radio Network will have full coverage beginning at 12:30. Trojan Walk is set for 12:15 p.m. and fans are encouraged to be in their seats by 2 p.m. to catch the complete pregame show including a C-130 flyover and giant American flag.

Troy (3-1, 1-0) played its best half of football this season and arguably the last two years in the opening half at ULM. The Trojans scored touchdowns on five-of-six possessions, totaled 368 yards, 23 first downs and 8.6 yards per play. Defensively, Troy held ULM to just 114 yards, 3.3 yards per play and eight first downs.

The tables turned quickly in the second half as ULM rallied to within one score before Marcus Jones intercepted a potential game-tying touchdown in the end zone with less than a minute to play.

Junior quarterback Kaleb Barker accounted for four touchdowns and earned Sun Belt Player of the Week honors for his effort against the Warhawks. Barker has completed 70.3 percent of his passes with seven touchdowns and just two interceptions through four games.

Damion Willis has emerged as a threat on the outside for the Trojans with four touchdown catches this season and a 12.9 per-reception average; Willis has multiple touchdowns in three of the last five games.

Tron Folsom continues to lead the Troy defense as he accounted for nine tackles and a tackle for loss at ULM; he has a team-best 30 tackles and 4.5 tackles for loss on the season. In addition to the game-sealing interception, Jones broke up a pair of passes at ULM and ranks fifth nationally in passes defended.

Jones took over the initial meeting between the two schools last season that Troy won 42-17 as he set an NCAA record with two kickoffs returned for touchdowns, both in the first quarter.

Know Your Foe
Coastal Carolina has dealt with some early-season adversity due to Hurricane Florence as the Chanticleers were displaced from Conway for several weeks, including moving a home game to FCS Campbell. The Chanticleers rank 12^thnationally averaging 266.5 yards per game on the ground with three players averaging 50 yards or more. Coastal has victories over UAB (47-24), Campbell (58-21) and Louisiana (30-28) after a season-opening loss at South Carolina (49-15).

Quotable – Troy Head Coach Neal Brown
"We are excited, we are going to have Military Appreciation Day on Saturday. That is something we take a lot of pride in. Traditionally we have played really well in these contests, but that doesn't mean we will play well on Saturday. It's going to be a fun time and we are glad to get back home. I think we are an improved football team than when we left after the FAMU game, so we have to go out and prove it."

Notable
• Troy has won six straight Sun Belt Conference games dating back to last season which is the fifth longest active conference winning streak nationally.

• Troy is a perfect 27-0 under Neal Brown when leading after three quarters of play; the Trojans are 21-1 under Brown when winning the turnover battle.

• Troy has won 24 games since the start of the 2016 season which is the 10^thmost in the country and the second most among Group of Five programs (South Florida).