Troy Looks to Build Momentum at Texas State

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TROY, Ala. – Coming off its most complete game of the season, Troy opens a two-game road swing with a trip to Texas State Saturday. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m. and the game will be broadcast on ESPN3.

Troy (4-5, 2-3 Sun Belt) heads to the Lone Star state fresh off a 49-28 victory over a Georgia Southern team that was riding a four-game winning streak. The Trojans rolled up 603 yards of offense, held the Eagles' triple-option attack to 100 yards below their season average and recorded a school-record nine sacks.

The win puts the Trojans back in the bowl conversation with Troy needing to win two of its final three games to reach bowl eligibility for the fourth straight season. The trip to Bobcat Stadium is just Troy's second since Texas State (3-6, 2-3) joined the Sun Belt in 2013. The Trojans lead the overall series 8-1 and have won all four meetings as league foes.

The Trojans put forth a balanced offensive attack in the win over Georgia Southern with 330 yards through the air and 273 yards on the ground. Sophomore DK Billingsley had a career day with a pair of touchdown runs to go along with 163 rushing yards.

Saturday's matchup will feature two of the conference's top passing attacks led by Troy's league-leading 320.3 yards per game. The Trojans also rank third in the league averaging 478.4 yards of total offense per game and with 36.3 points per game.

Texas State is third in the league putting up 242.6 passing yards per game but rank last in rushing offense (75.2) and scoring (16.1).

The key to the game could be the play in the trenches where Troy leads the Sun Belt with 27 sacks on the season and the Bobcats have the third-most sacks in the league with 22. Troy also leads the Sun Belt in rushing defense and tackles for loss, which has been a staple of that side of the ball for several years.

The Trojans rank sixth nationally over the last three seasons with a negative defensive play forced on 14.1 percent of opponent's offensive snaps. Troy leads the country with 2.04 turnovers forced per game since 2016, and the Trojans' 274 tackles for loss since 2017 are the fifth most nationally.

Quotable – Troy Head Coach Chip Lindsey
When you're playing and coaching you deal in realities. We've lost three games by a combined 12 points and had opportunities in each game. I think our team is very confident and knows we have a good team. Georgia Southern is one of the better teams in our league and beat App State on the road, but I think our league has a lot of parity and a lot of good football teams.

Know Your Foe
Under first-year head coach Jake Spavital, Texas State enters the weekend 3-6 on the year including wins over Georgia State and South Alabama. The Bobcats have one of the league's top passing defenses allowing just 186.4 yards per game through the air. Texas State has played a pair of quarterbacks with Tyler Vitt and Gresch Jensen combining for 11 touchdowns and 14 interceptions.

Notable
• Troy has scored 327 points through nine games this season, which ranks as the second most in the school's DI history at this point in the year. The 2016 Trojans scored 343 points in their first nine games and finished the year averaging 33.7 points per game, this year's team is currently averaging a school-record pace of 36.3 points per game.

• Troy already has six games with 500-plus yards of total offense to tie the school's DI record. The Trojans have topped the 500-yard mark in three straight games for the first time since 2012, it hasn't been done four straight in the DI era.

• Sophomore linebacker Carlton Martial's 16.5 tackles for loss are just five shy of the school record. He leads the country with a 91.8 overall defensive grade and 92.2 rush defensive grade according to Pro Football Focus for players with a minimum of 600 snaps.

Troy Looks to Build Momentum at Texas State

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Players Mentioned

DK Billingsley

Carlton Martial

Troy University Athletics