Troy draws notice for making AP 25

JONESBORO -- Arkansas State didn't play Troy last season, so Coach Blake Anderson didn't have a reason to fully dive into scouting the Trojans.

But Anderson and his staff still watched plenty of Troy's games. Coach Neal Brown's up-tempo Spread offense is similar to what Anderson has run at ASU. So when ASU coaches would scout future opponents they would frequently turn to film of Troy to see how it was defended by other teams.

Those "crossover" film sessions and some phone conversations late last season with Brown led Anderson to believe one thing heading into this season: One of the Sun Belt's traditional pillars was primed for a return to the top.

"I felt like they were one of the top three or four teams in the league when the season began," Anderson said. "I don't know if I expected them to be 8-1, but I surely expected them to be in the mix for the conference race."

And here we are.

ASU (5-4, 5-0 Sun Belt) won its fifth consecutive game 41-22 over New Mexico State on Saturday to set up a game that will likely decide which team with five Sun Belt titles wins its sixth. The Red Wolves will play the Trojans (8-1, 5-0) at 8:30 p.m. on Thursday night, a game that will be nationally televised on ESPNU and will be the first time two Sun Belt teams have met with 5-0 league records.

It will also be the first time two Sun Belt teams have played while one of them is ranked. Troy cracked into the Associated Press poll at No. 25 this week, making it the first time a league that formed in 2001 has had a team ranked.

Anderson, whose team received votes last season but never made it into a national poll, said the ranking is a positive for the conference. But it won't matter much on Thursday night.

"Whether they are or were not, it's still a chance to be 6-0 and be the only undefeated team in the league," Anderson said. "That's really enough."

I'tll be the first time ASU and Troy have met since 2013 and the first time ASU has played at Veterans Memorial Stadium since 2012, a game it won 41-34 under Coach Gus Malzahn en route to a Sun Belt title. Since, ASU has won a share of the Sun Belt (2013) and an outright title (2015) while Troy has struggled through its roughest stretch as an FBS program.

The Trojans won at least shares of the Sun Belt each season from 2006-2010. But this year is its first winning season since. Brown, a former offensive coordinator at Troy, went 4-8 after taking over for Larry Blakeney last year before breaking out this season.

How did it happen so quick?

Anderson cited Brandon Silvers, a dual-threat quarterback who gives play-callers "the freedom" to do what they want as one of the main reasons. But defensive coordinator Vic Koenning, with whom Anderson worked at North Carolina, deserves credit, too.

The Trojans lead the Sun Belt in scoring offense (38.1 points per game), total offense (474.0 yards per game), rushing defense (105.4) and turnovers forced (22). They're also second in scoring defense (21.6), total defense (370.6) and pass offense (276.6).

ASU will be trying to stop the league's top rusher in Jordan Chunn (114.2) and two receivers who have caught a league-best 5 touchdown passes in an offense led by Silvers, who has started 31 career games and is second in the Sun Belt in total offense.

If that's not enough to convince ASU of Troy's reemergence, the Red Wolves can just flip on the film from last week, when it beat preseason favorite Appalachian State 28-24 with a last-minute 85-yard touchdown drive.

"I think we have a good feel of how App. State was, "Anderson said. "And to see how they played them this past week, you know you're going up against a really good opponent."

The stakes of the game aren't going to be lost on Anderson's players. And he said he won't shy from them. Conversation following Saturday's victory over New Mexico State was almost as much about playing Troy as it was the victory.

"It's just another game, another opponent in the way," senior safety Money Hunter said.

"Troy is a great team, but I think it's all about us," senior linebacker Xavier Woodson-Luster said.

"There's a lot around it, but at the same time, the field is still 100 yards long," said quarterback Justice Hansen.

It's a similar challenge to what ASU faced last season, when it traveled to Appalachian State for a battle of league unbeaten teams. ASU won that game 40-27, then won a conference title. Little will change this week with regard to preparation.

"We've been there," Anderson said. "I think we take the same approach. It's the next game. We've got to win this game for the next one to matter and the environment is what it is. I don't think you can down play it, because our kids are smart enough to know it's a big game."

Sports on 11/15/2016