Middle Tennessee State at Troy
The Sun Belt Conference takes center stage Tuesday night when defending champion Troy (2-2, 1-0) hosts Middle Tennessee State (3-1, 1-0) at the Movie Gallery Veterans Stadium.
Troy opened a 5.5-point favorite and has moved to ?6.5 since.
Weather
Warm temperatures in the low 70s are expected at kickoff under cloudy skies with a 50 percent chance of thunderstorms. South winds around 5 mph.
Tale of the tape
Both teams are tied at 1-0 in the conference standings, one win behind league leader Louisiana Monroe (2-0).
After opening the 2009 season with back-to-back losses at Bowling Green and at Florida, the Trojans have bounced back with a pair of wins, including a 30-27 upset at Arkansas State. They?ve also put up over 500 yards of offense in each of the last two games.
Troy has won the conference title three straight years, going 6-1 in the Sun Belt each season.
The Blue Raiders have won and covered each of their last three games and are now 3-1 straight up and against the spread on the season following a 23-point loss at Clemson to start the campaign.
MTSU is off to its best start since going 5-0 in 2001 when it earned a share of the Sun Belt title with North Texas. The Blue Raiders have a plus-five turnover margin, and have forced 13 turnovers.
Who?s who
Troy QB Levi Brown is the leading contender for Sun Belt Player of the Year honors. The senior signal-caller has thrown for 1,097 yards, five touchdowns and completed 63.7 percent of his passes. Brown is a big quarterback with a big arm.
Brown?s main target is junior college transfer Tebiarus Gill. He leads Troy with 23 receptions and two touchdowns has been an immediate impact player.
Middle Tennessee QB Dwight Dasher has thrown for 1,028 yards and seven touchdowns with five interceptions. The junior has also rushed for more than 250 yards and three touchdowns.
The Trojans have six sacks and 26 quarterback hurries in four games. Opponents have just nine quarterback hurries.
No offense taken
The Blue Raiders picked up offensive coordinator Tony Frankiln this season after his brief tenure with Auburn last year.
Franklin?s spread offense helped power Troy to conference titles during his stay with the Trojans in 2006 and 2007.
Coaches speak
Troy coach Larry Blakeney realizes the importance of tonight?s game. "It's a conference game from a national showcase. It will be fun to watch if you've got nothing to do with either team."
MTSU coach Rick Stockstill likes the way his team has played. "We've played four emotion games. I wish we had played better at Clemson, but I'm real proud of the way we've played the last three weeks."
The history book says
Troy has won and covered each of the last three meetings in this series.
The Trojans are 7-1 SU and 6-2 ATS on weekdays during the regular season since joining the Sun Belt in 2004
The Blue Raiders are 4-7 SU and 4-5 ATS on weekdays during the regular season including 1-4 SU and 0-4 ATS of late.
The Sun Belt Conference takes center stage Tuesday night when defending champion Troy (2-2, 1-0) hosts Middle Tennessee State (3-1, 1-0) at the Movie Gallery Veterans Stadium.
Troy opened a 5.5-point favorite and has moved to ?6.5 since.
Weather
Warm temperatures in the low 70s are expected at kickoff under cloudy skies with a 50 percent chance of thunderstorms. South winds around 5 mph.
Tale of the tape
Both teams are tied at 1-0 in the conference standings, one win behind league leader Louisiana Monroe (2-0).
After opening the 2009 season with back-to-back losses at Bowling Green and at Florida, the Trojans have bounced back with a pair of wins, including a 30-27 upset at Arkansas State. They?ve also put up over 500 yards of offense in each of the last two games.
Troy has won the conference title three straight years, going 6-1 in the Sun Belt each season.
The Blue Raiders have won and covered each of their last three games and are now 3-1 straight up and against the spread on the season following a 23-point loss at Clemson to start the campaign.
MTSU is off to its best start since going 5-0 in 2001 when it earned a share of the Sun Belt title with North Texas. The Blue Raiders have a plus-five turnover margin, and have forced 13 turnovers.
Who?s who
Troy QB Levi Brown is the leading contender for Sun Belt Player of the Year honors. The senior signal-caller has thrown for 1,097 yards, five touchdowns and completed 63.7 percent of his passes. Brown is a big quarterback with a big arm.
Brown?s main target is junior college transfer Tebiarus Gill. He leads Troy with 23 receptions and two touchdowns has been an immediate impact player.
Middle Tennessee QB Dwight Dasher has thrown for 1,028 yards and seven touchdowns with five interceptions. The junior has also rushed for more than 250 yards and three touchdowns.
The Trojans have six sacks and 26 quarterback hurries in four games. Opponents have just nine quarterback hurries.
No offense taken
The Blue Raiders picked up offensive coordinator Tony Frankiln this season after his brief tenure with Auburn last year.
Franklin?s spread offense helped power Troy to conference titles during his stay with the Trojans in 2006 and 2007.
Coaches speak
Troy coach Larry Blakeney realizes the importance of tonight?s game. "It's a conference game from a national showcase. It will be fun to watch if you've got nothing to do with either team."
MTSU coach Rick Stockstill likes the way his team has played. "We've played four emotion games. I wish we had played better at Clemson, but I'm real proud of the way we've played the last three weeks."
The history book says
Troy has won and covered each of the last three meetings in this series.
The Trojans are 7-1 SU and 6-2 ATS on weekdays during the regular season since joining the Sun Belt in 2004
The Blue Raiders are 4-7 SU and 4-5 ATS on weekdays during the regular season including 1-4 SU and 0-4 ATS of late.
