Troy Looks to Bounce Back at Arkansas State

TROY, Ala. – Troy continues its run of 10 straight weeks with a game Saturday with a critical Sun Belt Conference showdown at Arkansas State. Kickoff from Centennial Bank Stadium is set for 2 p.m. and the game will be broadcast on ESPN3.

Troy (3-2, 1-1 Sun Belt) enters the Halloween contest coming off a tough 2-point loss to Georgia State last weekend that saw a Trojan on-side kick get overturned by replay in the final minute. Arkansas State (3-3, 1-2) dropped a 45-17 decision at App State last Thursday; the Red Wolves will be the six straight (9-of-12 overall) opponent to play the Trojans on extended rest.

"This is going to be a big challenge for us on the road. They are a really good team, and it should be a really good football game," head coach Chip Lindsey said at his weekly press conference. "It will be similar to what we had this past weekend, but we just have to get better at doing the little things. I think our team is very close to playing to our potential. I think our team is very mature in that they see the opportunities that we have ahead of us. They are very excited and resilient. All of our goals are still in front of us. We are looking forward to the challenge."

Troy's defense answered the call last week allowing just 4.4 yards per play, forcing three turnovers and even scoring twice (the first time by a Trojan defense since 2015) all despite being on the field for nearly 38 minutes in the game.

Linebacker Carlton Martial has elevated his game in October with 10.33 tackles per game, a tally that ranks 13^thnationally among players who have played multiple games. Martial (15) teamed up with Jayden McDonald (16) and Dell Pettus (10) to become the first Troy trio to record double-digit tackles in a game since 2009.

Offensively, backup quarterback Jacob Free performed well in his three quarters of work completing 24-of-38 passes for 329 yards and two touchdowns; he became the 15^th quarterback in school history to throw for more than 300 yards in a game. Starter Gunnar Watson is third in the Sun Belt (only two yards back) averaging 231.8 yards per game and is eighth (players with multiple games) with his 69.5 completion percentage.

Notable
• Troy has not won a coin toss this season and the Trojans are just 5-of-17 on coin tosses since the start of the 2019 season. However, has received the opening kickoff in 13 of those games and scored on the opening drive eight times.

• Troy ranks fourth nationally (teams with multiple games played) averaging 10.2 points per game off opponent turnovers … the Trojans have scored in 8-of-9 possessions following an opponent turnover.

• Troy has forced opponents into a three-and-out on 32.3 percent of their drives this season and have forced opponents into a 40 percent rate in 3-of-5 games.

• This is just the fourth meeting between Troy and Arkansas State – the teams with the most all-time Sun Belt titles – in the last seven seasons.

Troy Looks to Bounce Back at Arkansas State

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Players Mentioned

Jacob Free

Carlton Martial

Jayden McDonald

Dell Pettus

Gunnar Watson

Troy University Athletics