Football Back on Road Saturday at Georgia Southern

TROY, Ala. – A week after solving one of the toughest road venues in the Sun Belt, Troy will have another difficult road test Saturday with a trip to Georgia Southern's Paulson Stadium for a SBC East Division showdown. Kickoff is set for 12 p.m. (CT) and the game will be broadcast on ESPN3.

Troy (4-2, 2-1 Sun Belt) dispatched of Arkansas State, 38-10, last weekend for just the Red Wolves' 17^th home loss in their last 86 games in Jonesboro; the second-best winning percentage in the Sun Belt since 2007. This weekend's test is similar with Paulson Stadium holding the nation's second-best winning percentage (.830) since it opened in 1984 and the Eagles (4-2, 2-2) are 27-11 at home since joining the Sun Belt in 2014.

The Trojans have won three straight games in the series after Georgia Southern went on a run of four straight games. Within the three-game run, Troy is averaging 40.7 points per game offensively and the Trojans enter the weekend on a four-game streak with 30-plus points (5-of-6 overall).

"Our performance Saturday says a lot about this team. It really didn't surprise me because I have a lot of confidence in the leadership of our team," head coach Chip Lindsey said at his Monday press conference. "After watching the film last week, we felt that we beat ourselves too much, so the focus against Arkansas State was for us to play good sound football. I was very pleased with how we did that, and it says a lot about both the direction of this team and our leadership."

There is still uncertainty around the quarterback position for the Trojans with regular starter Gunner Watson still working back from an injury sustained two weeks ago. If Watson is unable to go, Jacob Free will make his second straight start coming off a game that was one of the best in school history.

Free completed 33-of-45 passes for 419 yards and a pair of touchdowns while rushing for another score. He became just the fifth player in school history to throw for more than 400 yards in a game while his total ranks as the seventh most in a game in school history.

Kaylon Geiger helped his new quarterback settle in as he pulled down eight of Free's completions for 126 yards; his third 100-yard game of the season and eighth of his career. Geiger was 18^th nationally averaging 108.8 yards per game in the month of October and his three 100-yard games ranks fifth.

An often-maligned unit last year, the Troy defense has continued to step up this season. The Trojans are 22^nd nationally (teams with more than two games) allowing just 5.19 yards per play – an improvement of more than a yard per play from last year.

The defense was on display at Arkansas State with nine pass break ups, a blocked kick and just 10 points allowed against one of the top offensive units in the league. Troy added its third defensive touchdown of the season and reduced its per-game averages in wins to 17.5 points, 324.8 yards and 4.6 yards per play.

Know Your Foe
Georgia Southern has had a propensity for the close game this season with four one-score contents, including two decided by two points or fewer. The Eagles are coming off a 24-17 victory over South Alabama last Thursday and will be the seventh straight opponent to play the Trojans on extended rest.

Georgia Southern's triple-option attack ranks eighth nationally with the Eagles averaging 249.0 yards per game on the ground paced by J.D. King's 94.0 yards and Shai Werts 70.7 yards per game.

Defensively, Georgia Southern has been stout holding opponents to just 20.2 points and 345.0 yards per game. Raymond Johnson leads the Eagles in both tackles for loss (6) and sacks (4) on the year.

Notable
• Troy won its first coin toss of the season last week (1-5 overall) and elected to take the ball. Troy has scored on 9-of-14 opening possessions when receiving the opening kickoff under Chip Lindsey.

• Troy is averaging 9.7 points per game off opponent turnovers this season, which is the second nationally (teams with more than two games). Troy has scored points following 9-of-10 opponent turnovers this season.

• Troy is eighth nationally since the start of the 2019 season scoring 30-plus points in 14 games.

• Troy has outscored opponents by 55 points in the first half this season; the Trojans' 20.33 first half scoring average ranks 17^th nationally.

• Kimani Vidal leads the Sun Belt and ranks 11^th nationally averaging 6.18 yards per carry (min. 50 carries).

Football Back on Road Saturday at Georgia Southern

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Players Mentioned

Jacob Free

Kaylon Geiger

Kimani Vidal

Troy University Athletics