The Texas State football team plays its final road game of the season when the Bobcats travel to Troy for a Sun Belt Conference contest at 2:30 p.m. Saturday. The contest will be shown on ESPN+ and can be heard on FM 103.1 in Austin, FM 89.9 in San Marcos and AM 930 in San Antonio.
Texas State enters the game with a 3-7 record and is 1-5 against Sun Belt Conference teams this season following last Saturday's 38-7 loss against Appalachian State. Troy is 6-0 in Sun Belt play and 8-2 overall this season after a 35-21 victory at Georgia Southern on Nov. 10.
ABOUT TEXAS STATE
Texas State seeks its third win in the four games when the Bobcats travel to Troy for a Sun Belt Conference game. The Bobcats suffered a 38-7 loss against Appalachian State last Saturday after defeating New Mexico State 27-20 on Oct. 27 and winning 40-31 at Georgia State on Nov. 3.
The Bobcats had their two longest kickoff returns of the season against Appalachian State when
Jah'Marae Sheread had a 54-yard return and
Jeremiah Haydel ran back a kickoff for 50 yards.
Texas State is tied for 22nd in the nation with two defensive touchdowns this season. The Bobcats are tied with Georgia Southern and Arkansas State for the Sun Belt Conference lead.
Texas State has two of the top three tackling leaders in the Sun Belt Conference.
Bryan London II ranks second in the league with an average of 8.6 per game after collecting seven tackles in the second half against Appalachian State.
Nikolas Daniels is averaging 8.3 tackles per game to rank third among league leaders. He collected a career-high of 13 tackles against Appalachian State.
Daniels has led the Bobcats in tackles in each of the last four games. He tied
Frankie Griffin for the team lead with a game-high of nine tackles at Georgia State after recording 11 tackles at ULM and eight against New Mexico State. He also registered 10 tackles versus Georgia Southern.
London II's seven tackles against the Mountaineers came after he logged six tackles against Georgia State and New Mexico State. He also recorded nine tackles at ULM, and led the Bobcats with 11 tackles against Georgia Southern, 10 versus Louisiana and South Alabama, along with nine in three other games.
Frankie Griffin leads the league in forced fumbles with an average of 0.3 per game this season.
Hal Vinson recorded his second forced fumble of the season against Appalachian State and ranks second among Sun Belt Conference leaders with an average of 0.25 per game.
ABOUT TROY
Troy has won 12 straight Sun Belt Conference games dating back to last season; it is the second-longest active conference winning streak in the country.
Troy controls its own destiny for a berth in the inaugural Sun Belt Conference Championship Game on Dec. 1. The Trojans can secure a spot in the game with wins against Texas State and Appalachian State.
The Trojans have 34 sacks this season, which ranks sixth nationally. Troy has 25 sacks in conference play this season and their 4.17 sacks per game against league foes lead the country.
Offensively, Troy features the top passer, running back, receiver and offensive line in the Sun Belt. Sawyer Smith leads the league with a 158.4 passer rating this season and has completed 72.7 percent of his passes for 604 yards and five touchdowns the last three starts. Troy's offensive line has allowed the fewest sacks in league play with just six this year and running back B.J. Smith leads the Sun Belt in rushing with an average of 94.6 yards per game and has run for 12 touchdowns. .
Troy's 29 wins are just two wins shy of the best three-year period in school history; Troy won 31 games from 1993 to 1995.
TEXAS STATE vs. TROY SERIES
In a series that began Oct. 19, 1996, Texas State enters Saturday's game with a 1-7 series record against Troy. The Bobcats are seeking their first road win against the Trojans after losing 62-9 last season. TXST has a 0-5 record at Troy. Texas State's lone win in the series came on Oct. 4, 1997, when the Bobcats won 31-17 in San Marcos.
TXST and Troy have met three times since the Bobcats joined the Sun Belt Conference in 2013. Texas State suffered losses of 42-28 in 2013, 40-7 in 2016 and 62-9 last season.
TEXAS STATE STORYLINES
Texas State enters the Troy game averaging 353.0 total yards with 163.0 yards rushing and 190.0 yards passing in the past three games. The Bobcats are also scoring 24.7 points per game while surrendering 29.7 points per game.
Texas State ranks fifth among NCAA FBS leaders and leads the Sun Belt Conference in fumble recoveries with 11 this season. The Bobcats recovered two or more fumbles in three games this season.
The Bobcats rank 15th and second in the Sun Belt Conference on kickoff return defense after surrendering an average of 17.39 yards per return. The Bobcats gave up 36 yards on two kickoff returns by Appalachian State.
Texas State is ranked 28th among FBS leaders and second in the Sun Belt with two blocked kicks.
Anthony D. Taylor's blocked a punt at UTSA and
London Harris blocked an extra-point attempt at South Alabama. This marks the third straight season that the Bobcats have been among the top 20 NCAA leaders in blocked kicks. The Bobcats led the nation with eight blocked kicks in 2016 and ranked 19th with three in 2017.
The Bobcats rank No. 54 nationally and fourth in the Sun Belt Conference in turnover margin with an average margin of 0.10 per game. Texas State has forced 17 turnovers and committed 16 turnovers this season.
Texas State's defense enters the Troy game ranked No. 16 among NCAA FBS team in three and outs on defense with an average of 4.50 per game this season. The Bobcats are tied with Fresno State and Iowa in the rankings and are above West Virginia, Auburn, Florida, Penn State, Michigan, Texas A&M and Houston. The Bobcats are holding teams to three and outs on 35.7 percent (45) of their 126 drives in the first 10 games this season.
Texas State ranks 39th among NCAA FBS teams and third in the Sun Belt after collecting 17 turnovers of the season. The Bobcats have 11 fumble recoveries and six interceptions this season after recovering two fumbles at Georgia State.
