Troy vs App State: Preview and Prediction

Location: Kidd-Brewer Stadium, Boone, NC

Kickoff: 2:30 PM Eastern Time, Saturday, November 24th

TV/Radio: ESPN+; Troy Sports Radio Network

Live Stats: stats.statbroadcast.com

Odds: Appalachian State -10.5; O/U 48

The Trojans (9-2, 7-0) will travel to Boone to play their last game of the regular season against the Appalachian State Mountaineers (8-2, 6-1).

This game will decide who will play in the Sun Belt’s inaugural championship game on December 1^st. If Troy wins, they will be the East Division Champion and host the championship game. If Troy loses, the game will be in Boone.

In their first game, the Mountaineers took No. 9 Penn State into overtime with three touchdowns in the fourth quarter, and they haven’t slowed down since. They had a slip against Georgia Southern, but since then, they’ve scored 106 points in their last three games while holding opponents to just 31.

Troy hasn’t been as consistent. They’ve played better against better competition, and they didn’t play well at all in games they were predicted to easily win. In their games against Nebraska and Georgia Southern, Troy looked like a top 25 team. Against Liberty and Texas State they only posted one touchdown total. Since the Mountaineers are in the “better competition” group, Troy will need to play accordingly.

One difference is on the injury list. Troy still has several starters that are either sidelined or questionable. App State appears to be healthy and ready to go.

This is the kind of game college football fans love to watch and players love to play. These are two very good teams going head-to-head for the East Division title and home-field advantage for the Sun Belt’s first championship game. Both teams should be mentally and physically prepared. Coaches will run every “what if” scenario they can think of this week in practice. Both teams will bring their best, and it’ll be decided on the field.

Prediction: App St 38, Troy 34