Troy Hosts Arkansas State on Homecoming at The Vet

TROY, Ala. – Two of the Sun Belt's hottest teams clash Saturday evening as Troy hosts Arkansas State on Homecoming at The Vet; kickoff is set for 7 p.m. and the game will be televised on ESPNU.

Troy (6-2, 4-0 SBC) enters the weekend riding a five-game winning streak, four straight to open league play, while Arkansas State (4-4, 3-1) has won three straight since a loss to ULM to open conference play.

The Trojans' winning streak is their longest since winning 10 consecutive games in 2023, while their 4-0 start to league play hasn't happened since a 7-0 run in 2018. Troy's four victories in league play have all come against teams that beat the Trojans last season; Arkansas State escaped Jonesboro with a 34-31 victory last season.

Behind one of the nation's premier pass rushers in junior Donnie Smith, the Trojans enter the weekend leading the Sun Belt with 23 sacks on the season, including a league-best 15 in conference play. Smith is tied for fourth nationally with a sack in five different games and is sixth with at least a half tackle for loss in seven games.

Troy's pass rush has led to an uptick in turnovers, with seven in the last two games, specifically, and four defensive touchdowns on the season. Troy's 2025 defensive touchdown tally is tied for third in the country, and the Trojans' 18 defensive scores since 2020 and the second most.

The Trojans enter their penultimate home game ranked second in the Sun Belt in both total defense (364.1) and scoring defense (24.3).

Offensively, it's been the unlikely heroes who continue to step up for the Trojans. Tucker Kilcrease improved to 4-0 as a starter this year behind center as he's completed 81-of-121 passes for 1,112 yards and nine touchdowns to go along with four rushing touchdowns since the fourth quarter at Buffalo, while Jordan Lovett stepped in for an injured Tae Meadows to record his first 100-yard game last week to go along with a pair of scores.

Troy will face a dual-threat quarterback for the fourth time in five weeks as A-State's Haylen Raynor is third in the league, averaging 275.3 yards of total offense per game after throwing for 2,202 yards and rushing for 326 yards this season. Defensively, the Red Wolves are bend but don't break, ranking 12^th in yards allowed (432.5) but seventh in points allowed (28.5).

Notable
• Troy has won seven of its last eight Sun Belt Conference and nine of its last 12 games overall ... Troy is 4-0 in Sun Belt play for the first time since the 2018 season, the Trojans opened that season 7-0 before losing at App State in the season finale

• Troy is bowl eligible for the third time in the last four years and for the 13th time in the program's 25-year FBS history; it's the sixth time over the 10 seasons that Troy has become bowl eligible (2016, 17, 18, 22, 23, 25)

• Eli Russ is just four snaps shy of reaching 2,000 career snaps played

• The Trojans have won four straight games against teams that beat them last year -- South Alabama, Texas State, ULM and Louisiana. Troy's game next week against Arkansas State completes the five-game run of teams that beat the Trojans last year

• Troy is averaging just 5.5 penalties per game, the fewest in the Sun Belt

• Troy has forced seven turnovers in its last two games (six of the seven came over an 11-possession span) ... the Trojans had forced just four turnovers all season prior

• Troy is 5-0 this season and has won eight of its last nine games when hitting the 20 first down mark

• Troy became just the 40th team since 1995 and ninth since the start of the 2019 season to win (Texas State) when allowing 40 points, 300 rushing yards and 550 total yards ... the Trojans were just the 19th team to do so on the road

• Troy became one of just 16 teams since 2000 to win overtime games in consecutive weeks -- Virginia did so earlier this year (Florida State & Louisville) and Georgia did so last year (Ga Tech & Texas)

• Troy has been one of the most efficient teams in the country ... the Trojans rank 15th nationally, scoring one point for every 11.7 yards of offense ... additionally, Troy has a 41-spot differential between their national ranking in scoring offense (55) and total offense (105); the third-largest gap in the country (Iowa, Penn State)

• Since the start of the fourth quarter at Buffalo (last 17 quarters), Tucker Kilcrease has completed 81-of-121 passes for 1,112 yards and nine touchdowns, while rushing for 165 yards and four touchdowns

• Troy has forced a three-and-out on 30.7 percent of its opponent's possessions (27-of-88)

Troy Hosts Arkansas State on Homecoming at The Vet

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Players Mentioned

Tucker Kilcrease

Jordan Lovett

Tae Meadows

Eli Russ

Donnie Smith

Troy University Athletics