App State v. Troy Preview
The top tier of the Sunbelt prepare to clash this weekend for right to own a share of first place along with Arkansas State. Head Coach Scott Satterfield and Mountaineers (7-2) (5-0) are coming off of a dominant victory against celler dweller Texas State 35-10. Troy continued their stellar season as well by steamrolling Umass 52-31 to improve to (7-1) (4-0). The old saying goes, "Defense wins championships." The Mountaineer defense, who has only allowed two offensive touchdowns in conference play thus far, must come up big again and again with timely defensive stops this week. App State's front seven is nationally ranked 26th with a total of twenty-four sacks. The Legion of Boone has also accounted for sixteen interceptions. Freshman cornerback, Clifton Duck, has corralled five of those interceptions. However, the Trojans, behind quarterback Brandon Silvers, can light up the scoreboard early and often. Troy has averaged an overwhelming 39.4 points per game. We'll ultimately see which side of the game prevails. Will it be the Mountaineer's stout defense along with a one, two punch combo at the RB position behind Cox and Moore? Or will it be Silvers and Chunn who can find holes within the zone and run away with a victory. Ironically, the Trojans actually have a better rushing yards allowed average than App State. ESPN's football power index predicts Troy to be the victors with a percentage of 56.1. Last year's game, however, was hosted and won by the Mountaineers 44-41 in triple overtime. Troy has surely gained some sense of respect from App State after that nail biting game which I, myself, attended. If Appalachian State can pull off the win, their destiny is within their very hands. However, to win an outright Sun Belt Championship, Troy would have to upset Arkansas State. Troy without a doubt has the tougher task by having to beat the Mountaineers and the Red Wolves in back to back weeks for their chance at the title. Then again, the Sun Belt may end in a tie between two teams that do not face each other this year in Arkansas State and Appalachian State. The game between App State and Troy is set to commence Saturday at 3:30 p.m. on ESPN3.
Photo Credit: ESPN360 images / Works Cited: www.ESPN.com and the Offical Twitter Account of App State Football @AppState_FB
