Appalachian State (8-2, 5-1 Sun Belt) vs Troy (5-5, 3-3 Sun Belt)
Saturday, November 20th, 2021 3:30pm EST
TV/Video: ESPN+
Radio: 97.3 FM North Wilkesboro, 96.5 FM/1450 AM Boone, 1320 AM Greensboro, 107.7FM/1450 AM Hendersonville, Varsity Network App
Veterans Memorial Stadium
Capacity: 30,000
Surface: Prograss
Jeff Sagarin Ratings
App State: 75.92
Troy: 60.43
Home: 1.99
App State is favored by the Sagarin ratings by 13.5 points
Line: App State -9.5
Series: App State leads 6-3
Last Meeting: App State 47, Troy 13, November 28, 2020, Boone, NC
Wasn’t long ago, the games against Troy were a really big deal; for Sun Belt East division supremacy. The 2015, 2016 and 2018 games were absolute barn burners. Those games were the reason why these two teams began facing off toward the end of the conference calendar. Outside App State’s first year of Sun Belt play, each game has been played no earlier than Halloween. But 2020 changed many things about Sun Belt football. Troy remains to appear later on the App State schedule, but Georgia Southern has grabbed the final date on the regular season calendar. One would assume that App State and Troy will meet again next year prior to conference expansion taking place, but even that is not certain at the moment. As late as 2023, Troy moves to the west division and games with App State will likely become less common. As much as this is not a goodbye, but maybe see you later, games with Troy were fun for awhile. It’s a bittersweet feeling know that this chapter of App State’s Sun Belt history is coming to a close.
One thing is for certain, Troy has been in a bunch of games this year. Only the first game of the season, a 55-3 win over Southern, has been decided by more than two touchdowns. The other 9 games have all been decided by 14 points or less. The Trojans average margin of defeat in their five losses is 10.2 points per game. Outside of Southern, Troy’s average margin of victory is 6.25 points. Their peer wins over Georgia Southern, Texas State, South Alabama and Southern Miss are not much to crow about, but they have played and lost to above average G5 teams in Liberty, Coastal and Louisiana. They had every reason to beat South Carolina, but could not pull it off. That has basically been the mark of Chip Lindsey’s tenure at Troy. A win or two away each season from being bowl eligible. Troy has won five games each season under Lindsey, and they will be likely underdogs in their final two games this season. Of those 15 wins by Lindsey, eight of them have been wins over South Alabama, Texas State, and Georgia Southern. The two times he has faced App State, Lindsey’s teams have looked overmatched, losing 48-13 and 47-10.
Another week, another team who has juggled quarterbacks this season. That’s four straight games App State’s defense will face a quarterback who has not appeared in all of their teams games. Gunnar Watson played throughout the loss to Louisiana last week. Watson was called on to the throw the ball 55 times, because Troy’s ground effort was nonexistent. He threw his first interception of the season against Louisiana, and only 52.7% of his passes were completed, which was a season low. The Troy defense gave them a chance in the fourth quarter, but three turnovers eventually did the Trojans in. Taylor Powell played mostly in the beginning of the season at quarterback for Troy, but has not seen much time recently. He started against South Alabama, but was injured and Watson finished the game. Powell has thrown six interceptions this season to just seven touchdown passes. As a team, Troy is 84th in the country in passing efficiency, which is one spot ahead of Arkansas State, who has thrown sixteen interceptions on the year.
Troy and South Alabama are really similar. They both have enough defense to win, but its their offenses that are lacking. The 23.1 points per game the Trojans defense gives up is going to put them in position to compete in many games. That figure ranks 51st in the country, almost directly behind South Alabama, after giving up 31 to App State. The Troy offense is scoring just 25.7 points per game which is 84th nationwide. That figure is seven spots behind South Alabama, who is 77th at 26.4 points per contest, which includes 7 points scored against App. Now those are season long figures, and surely does not put much emphasis on the Jaguars not having Jake Bentley last week, who had pretty much played every snap at quarterback for the Jags. Reminder that Troy defeated South Alabama at home the week before, without Bentley. Troy raced out to an early lead and held on. South Alabama was the benefactor of four App State turnovers last week, which propelled them to 5th in the country in turnovers gained. Coming in to this game, Troy is already tied for 14th in turnovers gained, yet so is App State.
The difference between App State and Troy is hardly in the numbers, but plays being made. Looking at last week’s boxscore blindly, it would have been hard to imagine App State won going away. Sure, the game was close for a long time, but that’s why you play the full sixty minutes. App State was good when it had to be, and that was the entire second half. Despite many threats, South Alabama could not score beyond a second quarter touchdown. That makes it back to back weeks, that the Mountaineers held their opponents scoreless in the second half. Troy has just eight second half points in its last two games as well. The App State defense has also done a really good job of making their opponents one dimensional. Arkansas State and South Alabama combined for 61 carries and gained just 110 yards. Troy will present an offense that has averaged just 110 yards per game this season on the ground, averaging just 3.6 yards per carry. The Trojans do have seventeen rushing touchdowns, but sit at ninth in the conference on the ground, sandwiched between South Alabama and Arkansas State.
At this point of the season, most teams have pretty much shown their hand. You might get a new play wrinkle added to an offense or defense occasionally, but more often than not, teams know what is coming. It’s just a matter of stopping it. Teams with aspirations to play games beyond their regular schedule might mix a few more things in. App State certainly is going to play in a bowl game and Troy is trying to, but they might focus on the things they have done right this year, versus trying something new. Speaking on trying things new, that might be beneficial for Troy if they want to score more points. The Trojans are second-to-last in red zone offense in the Sun Belt, with only South Alabama trailing. Adding on, Troy has converted every field goal they have made this year (7/7), but six of those made kicks came on a red zone possession. Troy has attempted and made just one field goal outside of the red zone this year. So, if Troy is not attempting field goals, but must be going for it on fourth down a lot? Wrong. Troy is averaging 1.8 fourth down conversion attempts per game, and they do well converting, but that figure puts them solidly in the middle of the conference. However, Troy punts a lot. Only Arkansas State and Monroe have punted more than Troy this season, and the Trojans lead the league in touchbacks after punts. They also rank dead last in kickoff coverage, just in case you needed more kicker statistics in your life. These things are not all super major, but they do add up. Decisions to kick a field goal, attempt a fourth down, to play aggressive or choose the safest play eventually leads to something. And typically, Troy has been on the wrong end of a lot of those 50/50 decisions this year. Twice against Coastal Carolina, the Trojans elected to punt in the second half versus attempting short yardage fourth downs. That could have been the difference in a one possession road game. This Troy team is capable of winning games, but it just seems a lot of things need to go just right for that to happen. Troy will hang for a few quarters, but the App defense will turn it on late and seal the deal.
The First Pick
Aged by Bronze 16
Mountaineers 31
