Troy Opens Sun Belt Conference Play at App State

TROY, Ala. – While the eyes of the nation have firmly been planted on Boone, N.C., this week, Jon Sumrall and his Troy football team have quietly been preparing for the Trojans' Sun Belt Conference opener at App State on Saturday at Kidd-Brewer Stadium. Kickoff is set for 2:30 p.m. (CT), and the game will be broadcast on ESPN+.

App State (1-1) took North Carolina to the brink of defeat in its opener before stunning Texas A&M last week in College Station, Texas. Because of that, ESPN's College GameDay is descending on a Sun Belt Conference campus for the second time in league history.

"ESPN GameDay is going to Boone; it's not coming to Troy," Sumrall said. "It shouldn't distract us at all. We've got a game to play. For us, I don't know that it really affects us that much. For our guys, we need to work on getting better each day."

Troy (1-1) has found its stride in the second half of both of its games this season, and the Trojans are +8.5 in second half scoring per game after finishing 2021 with a -4.33 per game average. Troy dominated the second and third quarters against Alabama A&M on the scoreboard, 28-0, and on the stat sheet, 367-76 in total yards, before emptying the bench in the fourth quarter.

Gunnar Watson slung the rock to the tune of four touchdowns and a career-high 351 passing yards and enters the weekend seventh nationally in completions per game and 13^th in passing yards. Additionally, Watson has been good when it counts, leading the country in second half passing (214.5) and third-down completion percentage (83.3).

The Trojans continue to get production from up and down their roster when it comes to catching the football, with eight different players recording four or more catches and five players with a touchdown reception this season.

Troy is seventh nationally through the air but will be challenged by an App State defense that limited Texas A&M to nine first downs, 89 rushing yards and 97 passing yards.

The Mountaineers are 24^th nationally running the football behind Nate Noel and Camerun Peoples and 38^th in scoring after putting up 61 points in its loss to North Carolina.

Troy's defense has played better than the numbers show early on after holding Ole Miss to 165 second half yards and with Alabama A&M scoring 14 of its 17 points late in the fourth quarter after Sumrall pulled his starters.

Notable
• Saturday will mark the second time that Troy will be one of the two primary teams on ESPN's College GameDay - Troy hosted Navy in 2012 at The Vet; the contest was the featured game for GameDay, which was hosted on the U.S.S. San Diego.

• Troy has intercepted multiple passes in 28 different games since the start of the 2016 season, which is the second most nationally (App State's 29 lead the country) ... the Trojans have 3-plus picks in 10 games over that time, the fifth most nationally.

• Troy enters the weekend fourth nationally, attempting a pass on 61.59 percent of its offensive snaps.

• Troy has forced 146 turnovers since the start of the 2016 season, which ranks as the second most in the country.

Troy Opens Sun Belt Conference Play at App State

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Players Mentioned

Gunnar Watson

Troy University Athletics