Troy Locked In for Showdown at Missouri

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TROY, Ala. – Troy has made national headlines the last two season with victories at LSU and Nebraska, the Trojans head Missouri on Saturday hunting their third straight Power Five win. Kickoff is set for 3 p.m. and the game will be televised live on SEC Network.

"I think the opportunity to play in these games is what makes Troy a special place for our players to come to," head coach Chip Lindsey said. "Our players are looking forward to the opportunity to compete against a quality SEC opponent."

Troy (2-2) heads to SEC country with one of the nation's best offenses in tow. The Trojans are on pace to set school records for points, total offense, yards per play and total touchdowns scored through the first four games of the season. Troy is ninth nationally averaging 342 yards per game through the air, 12^thwith 512.5 yards of total offense per game and 15^thwith 40.8 points per game.

In addition to Troy's wins the last two seasons against Power Five teams, the Trojans also have a win over Missouri (3-1) on their ledger as well. In the middle game of a 2-for-1 series, Troy played the spoiler with a 24-14 win over the Tigers in 2004, who were then members of the Big 12 Conference.

Looking forward to Saturday, Troy's powerful offense will face its stiffest test of the season with the Tigers boasting the nation's number three defense – Missouri is allowing just 231.2 yards and 14.5 points per game this season.

The Trojan offense runs through senior quarterback Kaleb Barker who has bounced back just fine from an ACL injury that cost him six games last year. Barker is fifth nationally through the air and has thrown 13 touchdown passes and just two interceptions.

Barker is an equal opportunity quarterback with six Trojans in double figures for catches this season and five different players have topped the 100-yard mark in a game – Troy has eight individual 100-yard receiving games this year, which is already a school record and the most in the country.

Kaylon Geiger has been Barker's favorite target with 26 catches for 388 yards and a pair of scores. The JUCO transfer is third nationally with three 100-yard games so far this season leads the country with a catch on 86.7 percent (26-of-30) of his targets.

A depleted Troy defense will look to do what it does best by stopping the run, causing turnovers and getting pressure in the backfield.

Troy has held opponents to just 76 yards per game on the ground and 2.32 yards per carry, both rank in the top 10 nationally. The Trojans, who have started 18 different players on defense in four games, have forced an NCAA-best 93 turnovers since the start of the 2016 season, including four last week against Arkansas State. Additionally, Troy is fifth nationally over the last three seasons in tackles for loss and seventh in sacks.

Linebacker Carlton Martial is the unquestioned leader of the Troy defense with 43 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss an interception and a forced fumble. The former walk-on is fourth nationally in tackles for loss and 10^thin tackles.

Know Your Foe
After opening the season with a loss at Wyoming, Missouri has outscored its last three opponents by a 122-21 margin – all three at home. In fact, the Tigers have won five straight home games by an average of 28.8 points, and Missouri carries a streak of nine straight games with at least 31 points scored.

Missouri has allowed just 32 plays of 10 or more yards through four games, the fewest in the SEC this season. As a counter, Troy has 69 offensive plays that have covered at least 10 yards.

Transfer quarterback Kelly Bryant has settled in nicely for the Tigers with eight touchdown passes and 256.2 yards per game through the air, while Larry Rountree is a nice compliment in the backfield with 93.8 rushing yards per game and four touchdowns.

Quotable – Troy Head Coach Chip Lindsey
"I'm really excited to get the opportunity to play a quality opponent like Missouri on the road. We have a little bit of a history here at Troy with them, beating them several years ago. Now they're in the SEC, so it's an even better opportunity for us. We're looking forward to that. Head coach Barry Odom does a great job with his team and is a great defensive mind. His teams are always well prepared and play extremely hard."

Notable
• Troy's radio sideline reporter Junior Louissaint and Missouri have a little bit of history. Louissaint, a former left guard, returned a fumble 63 yards for a touchdown in Troy's 24-14 victory over Missouri in 2004.

• Troy is 10-2 in its last 12 road games including victories over LSU and Nebraska.

• The Trojans already have three 90-plus yard touchdown drives this season, which is just one shy of tying the school's FBS record set in 2012.

• Underclassmen have taken 52.8 percent of Troy's defensive snaps this season and 57.5 percent of Troy's snaps in the secondary have been taken by underclassmen.

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Players Mentioned

Kaleb Barker

Kaylon Geiger

Carlton Martial

Troy University Athletics