BOONE, N.C. — App State's final road game of the 2021 regular season could help determine if the Mountaineers hit the road again in early December.
With two regular-season games left, App State (8-2, 5-1) leads the Sun Belt's East Division as the only East team with one conference loss — and it has head-to-head wins over two-loss squads Georgia State and Coastal Carolina.
A victory on Saturday at Troy (5-5, 3-3) in a 3:30 p.m. ET matchup available on ESPN+ would enable the Mountaineers to clinch a berth in the Dec. 4 league championship game that will be hosted by West Division champion Louisiana, which beat App State on Oct. 12 in Lafayette, La.
"Our guys are excited to go down to Troy and play — they know we're playing for a championship," App State head coach
Shawn Clark said. "We've been playing for a championship since the Lafayette game, so they've been locked in all week."
With the work of running back Kimani Vidal creating more balance for an offense with prolific passing numbers from Gunnar Watson, Troy is also formidable with a Carlton Martial-led defense, as it entered this week with the most tackles for loss in the country (85) and third-most sacks (36).
App State isn't far behind — the Mountaineers were second in the league (seventh nationally) at 78 tackles for loss and tied for second in the Sun Belt at 26 sacks entering this week. In the last two games, App State has totaled 21 TFLs, six sacks, five interceptions and just 120 rushing yards allowed (or 1.97 yards per carry).
Steven Jones Jr.'s strong stretch of play, with two pick-six TDs at Arkansas State, has contributed to his 11 passes defended this season — in addition to his five interceptions, he has six breakups to go along with 41 tackles. Inside linebacker
Trey Cobb's last three games have included 21 tackles, three interceptions (with a 100-yard return for a touchdown), 2.5 tackles for loss and one fumble recovery.
They've emerged within a group that features behind-the-line menaces in
D'Marco Jackson,
Demetrius Taylor and
Nick Hampton. They've combined for 16.0 sacks and 33.0 TFLs this season.
App State's defense will be tested by a Troy offense that has averaged 246.8 passing yards per game, with Watson appearing in six of the first 10 games and completing 29 of 55 passes for 350 yards last weekend against Louisiana. His top target has been 160-pound freshman Tez Johnson, who has 59 catches for 635 yards.
Troy is averaging just 110.7 rushing yards per game, but the 5-foot-8, 215-pound Vidal had back-to-back games of 162 yards against Texas State and 142 yards against Coastal Carolina in October. His hard running against Coastal kept the Trojans' upset hopes alive in a 35-28 loss.
The unquestioned leader of Troy's defense is the 5-9 Martial, whose 417 career tackles include 13-stop games in each of the last two seasons against App State and a career-high 21 stops in last season's game against Coastal Carolina. Clark has compared Martial to App State alum and former NFL linebacker Dexter Coakley.
Teams are averaging 23.1 points, 123.6 rushing yards and 198.7 passing yards per game against Troy. Turnovers and a stout South Alabama defense, plus some pass-altering conditions in Boone, contributed to the Mountaineers posting only 330 yards of offense last weekend, but they have thrown for an average of 256.3 yards per game this season and rushed for an average of 194.2.
"We have to have a great game plan, and we have to execute," Clark said. "We can't turn the football over and have a chance to win."
While Troy has recorded 36 sacks, App State has allowed just eight, and it boasts the league's top two rushers in
Nate Noel (No. 1 at 91.1 yards per game) and
Camerun Peoples (No. 2 at 87.4 yards per game, No. 1 with 13 rushing touchdowns).
Before entering Sun Belt play, Troy's 2-2 nonconference record included close losses to Liberty and South Carolina. It has league wins against Georgia Southern (27-24), Texas State (31-28) and South Alabama (31-24) to go with losses against ULM (29-16), Coastal Carolina (35-28) and Louisiana (35-21).
"They've lost some tough games, but you watch them, they're running the football better now, they're throwing the football and their defense is just as stout, if not better, than South Alabama's," Clark said. "They're playing well right now."
