Troy vs Louisiana: Preview and Prediction

Location: Veterans Memorial Stadium, Troy, AL

Kickoff: 2:30 PM Central Time, Saturday, November 3rd

TV/Radio: Troy Sports Radio Network; KHXT 107.9 FM / ESPN 1420 AM

Stream: ESPN3

Live Stats: stats.statbroadcast.com

Odds: Troy -10.5; O/U 64

Troy (6-2,4-0) hosts the Louisiana Ragin Cajuns (4-4,2-2) this Saturday for their Homecoming. The Cajuns have four losses but two of those were against #16 Mississippi State and #1 Alabama, and taking that into context, their record doesn’t look that bad.

In their last game against Arkansas State, the Cajuns put up 547 yards of offense and scored 47 points. Since playing Alabama they’ve averaged over 260 yards per game rushing and 288 yards per game in the air. They will not be an easy homecoming opponent.

Troy hasn’t lost a Sun Belt conference game in their last 10 outings. Last week against South Alabama, Troy’s QB, Sawyer Smith, passed for three touchdowns and ran for another. But once again, the Trojans seemed to change tempo in the second half and the offense didn’t have the same fire they did in the first two quarters. This is becoming a pattern with Troy and it may catch up with them this Saturday.

Louisiana has been just the opposite. In the games they’ve won, they’ve outscored their opponents in the second half. Even in their loss against Coastal Carolina, they rallied in the second half, but fell short of the win.

I don’t think Troy will have the luxury of posting a big lead in the first half and then coasting to victory against the Ragin Cajuns. Troy will have to put together four quarters of good football to beat this team. Anything less, and Troy’s undefeated streak in the Sun Belt Conference will be ended. Prediction: Troy 41, Louisiana 38