Matchups to Watch as Troy Takes On Georgia Southern
The Troy Trojans enter Saturday’s game at Georgia Southern as the soul leader of the Sun Belt East.
Troy (7-2, 5-0 Sun belt) is coming off of a 26-16 win over Louisiana that saw the Trojans build a 23-3 lead, before closing out the game.
Georgia Southern (7-2, 4-1 Sun Belt) is coming off a road loss to UL-Monroe in which the Eagles fell behind 27-3 in the second quarter, eventually falling 42-24. It was a gut punch to the Eagles, just a week after they took down #25 App State at home.
The Eagles must find a way to rally against a very good Troy team. Whoever wins this one is in the driver’s seat to win the Sun Belt East and host the Sun Belt Championship.
Matchups to watch:
Georgia Southern’s running game vs Troy’s rush defense:
Americus Sumter graduate Wesley Fields collects his 7th 100 yard career game vs App State pic.twitter.com/3atyhAuOOS
— Marvin James (@sportsguymarv) October 27, 2018
Both teams enter at the top of the conference in those respective categories.
The Eagles’ rushing attack averages 260.4 yards per game, 30 yards per game higher than the next closest team. Even more impressive, for as much as they run it, the Eagles still rank 5th in the conference in rushing yards per attempts at 5.1.
Meanwhile, Troy is only giving up 126.7 yards per game (3.1 ypa).
Whichever team wins this particular battle will be in great shape to win on Saturday.
Georgia Southern’s secondary vs Troy’s passing game
Ten weeks down. 🏈
— Sun Belt (@SunBelt) November 5, 2018
Catch highlights from your Week 10 #SunBeltFB Players of the Week: @ULM_FB's Caleb Evans, @AppState_FB's Jordan Fehr and @TroyTrojansFB's Tyler Sumpter.#RiseAbove pic.twitter.com/gSRXOpbgfE
Southern’s typically solid secondary was shredded by UL-Monroe last Saturday. Warhawk quarterback Caleb Evans aired it out for 337 yards and two score, on just 13 completions.
The Eagles blew numerous coverages, and were consistently on their heels. The lone bright spot for the secondary was the two interceptions. One of the interceptions led to a quick score for the Eagles, and the other, by Jessie Liptrot, was returned for a touchdown.
Georgia Southern currently leads the Sun Belt in interception with 14, and is tied for 4th in the FBS.
The Trojans are coming off an excellent game though the air. Quarterback Sawyer Smith threw for 317 yards in the win over Louisiana, 213 of which went to wideout Damion Willis.
The Eagles struggles at Monroe can’t be completely placed on the secondary, as the pass Ruch struggled to get home.
In front of a big crowd at Paulson, the Eagles should have more luck.
It will be interesting to see how both teams respond to their scenarios:
Troy as the frontrunner.
Georgia Southern as the humbled team looking for redemption.
One things for sure, this will be must see “Fun Belt” action at 1:00pm in Statesboro.