Troy hosts Georgia State for some Thursday night football

Location: Veterans Memorial Stadium, Troy, AL

Kickoff: 6:30 PM Central Time, Thursday, October 4th

TV/Radio: ESPNU: Troy Sports Radio Network; 92.9-FM & 88.5-FM in Atlanta, GA

Live Stats: stats.statbroadcast.com; www.georgiastatesports.com/liveEvents

Odds: Troy -17 ; O/U N/A

The Troy Trojans (4-1, 2-0) host the Georgia State Panthers (2-3, 1-0) this Thursday on national TV — ESPNU.

Both teams will have only four days rest after winning at home last Saturday. For Troy it was a 45-21 beating over Coastal Carolina, while Georgia State set records in their 46-14 rout of Louisiana-Monroe. The difference is that Troy extended a four-game winning streak while Georgia State broke a three-game losing streak.

The Panthers easily handled ULM; a team that Troy struggled to beat. The Panthers set a school record 308 yards rushing, while their defense limited ULM offense to just 262 total yards. Their leading rusher was Seth Paige, who gained 145 yards on just nine carries. Their quarterback, Dan Ellington, also set a school record completing 15 of 18 pass attempts for an 83.3% completion percentage, 179 yards, and one TD. Ellington’s favorite receiver is Penny Hart who averages 11.1 yards per catch. Hart also leads in all-purpose yards averaging 97.6 yards per game.

Last Saturday the Trojans still had times where Troy beat Troy. Troy sacked the quarterback for Coastal Carolina, forced a fumble, recovered it on the Chanticleers’ 25-yard line, but turned it over on fourth down when their quarterback was sacked. Their defense took a hiatus in the second quarter and almost let Coastal back into the game with two long drives for touchdowns. They only converted two of eight third downs, and one of two fourth down tries.

On the positive side, the Trojans racked up 282 yards on the ground and 467 total yards. B.J. Smith has established himself as the power running back while Jabir Daughtry-Frye has explosive speed. Kaleb Barker is getting better every game at quarterback and his two favorite receivers, Damion Willis and Deondre Douglas, are sure handed and average 13.3 and 11.4 yards per catch, respectively.

The Trojans defense recorded nine QB sacks, twelve tackles for a loss, and two turnovers (fumble and interception). Tron Folsom leads in almost every category with 39 tackles and two interceptions already this season.

And be sure to watch #8 Marcus Jones, last year’s Freshman All-American, on kickoff returns. He ran another one back last Saturday to bring his total to four. He can change a game in a hurry.

Overall this shapes up to what should be a pretty interesting game. Once you get into conference play, every game is a must win game and the chance to show your team on national TV adds to the excitement. However, I think Troy has the edge in too many areas and will probably run away with this game.

Prediction: Troy 41 Georgia State 17