Troy Travels to Louisiana on Hunt for Bowl Eligibility

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TROY, Ala. – Winners of two straight, Troy travels to Louisiana Saturday looking for its fifth straight win in the Bayou State. Kickoff is scheduled for 4:05 p.m. and the game will be broadcast on ESPN+.

Troy (5-5, 3-3 Sun Belt) has come out firing on all cylinders in its last two games with 112 points – the second most in the country behind Ohio State – and a defense that has forced four turnovers and recorded 11 sacks.

"We just try and build on momentum from the week before," head coach Chip Lindsey said. "For the last four weeks, we've talked about building momentum each week, taking it one day at a time and executing. Texas State was a complete win, executing in all three phases. For us to win these next two games against two quality opponents, we just need to continue building on what works and improve on what necessarily did not."

The Trojans have enjoyed success in the state of Louisiana on their last four trips with wins in Baton Rouge, Lafayette, Monroe and New Orleans. A fifth straight in the state would push Troy into the bowl equation for a fourth straight year.

"We have a lot of our goals still out there," Lindsey said. "We backed ourselves into a corner with two games left, and we are not where we want to be and would rather have things wrapped up. We have to continue being who we are and approach every day to try to improve, have a great plan and go out and execute the next two Saturdays."

There are plenty of stars during Troy's two-game run with quarterback Kaleb Barker shining the brightest. The senior signal caller is fresh off a school record six touchdown passes at Texas State, he leads the country with 12 touchdown passes and is second with 1,078 passing yards so far this month.

Redshirt freshman Trevon Woolfolk became the first Trojan running back in the school's DI history with multiple touchdown receptions in a game, Kaylon Geiger's 27 receptions in the month are second nationally while his 316 receiving yards are sixth and linebacker Carlton Martial continues to be a wrecking ball with 18 tackles, two interceptions and a touchdown the last two weeks.

The path to bowl eligibility runs through the two teams who played in last season's Sun Belt Championship Game and are in the driver's seat for this year's edition as well. First up for Troy is Louisiana (8-2, 5-1) which has won eight of its last nine games after it dropped its opener to Mississippi State.

The Cajuns boast one of the nation's top rushing offenses and scoring defenses – they enter the weekend averaging 278.4 yards per game on the ground while holding opponents to just 18.1 points per game.

The match ups will be intriguing with Troy bringing the Sun Belt's top rushing defense and scoring offense to Cajun Field. Additionally, the game pits Troy's high-powered passing offense against a Louisiana defense that allows just 183.8 yards per game.

Know Your Foe
Louisiana is the second team in three weeks to take on Troy riding a four-game winning streak (Georgia Southern) – the Cajuns have outscored their opponents 143-57 in those four games. Louisiana has a three-headed attack at running back led by Elijah Mitchell's 13 touchdowns and 87.4 yards per game.

Notable
• Troy has topped the 30-point mark in five straight games; the nation's fifth longest active streak.

• Troy has forced 102 turnovers since the start of the 2016 season to lead the country.

• The Trojans have converted on 50 percent of their third down attempts this season; the tally ranks seventh nationally and second in Sun Belt Conference history.

• Troy has scored on 22 straight red zone possessions with touchdowns on 20 of those possessions.

Troy Travels to Louisiana on Hunt for Bowl Eligibility

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Players Mentioned

Kaleb Barker

Kaylon Geiger

Carlton Martial

Trevon Woolfolk

Troy University Athletics