FACTS & STATS: Site: Memorial Stadium (17,500) — Troy, Alabama.
Television: None. Home Record: GSU 1-4, Troy 1-3. Away Record: GSU 0-4, Troy
0-5. Neutral Record: GSU 0-0, Troy 0-0. Conference Record: GSU 0-6, Troy 1-4.
Series Record: Troy leads, 1-0.
GAME NOTES: A pair of teams still seeking just their second win of the season
get together in Alabama this weekend, as the Troy Trojans host the Georgia
State Panthers in a Sun Belt Conference clash.
Not only is Georgia State a mere 1-8 on the campaign, the team is still the
last in the league seeking a win over a fellow Sun Belt member. Since
defeating Abilene Christian in the season opener by a single point on a last-
second field goal, the Panthers have been going down hill fast. Last weekend,
the squad was blanked by Appalachian State on the road, 44-0, which means GSU
has been outscored the last two weeks by a combined score of 113-39.
Georgia State enters this meeting searching for its first road win since
defeating Rhode Island (41-7) back on Oct. 13, 2012.
As for the Trojans, a squad which lost to Abilene Christian (38-35) back in
September, they’ve dropped three straight since defeating New Mexico State
(41-24) during Homecoming last month. The most recent setback was a 42-10 loss
at Georgia Southern on Oct. 30.
Troy won last year’s meeting, the first in the series, by a score of 35-28 in
Georgia.
Not only were the Panthers battling Appalachian State last week, the team was
also fighting the elements as they suffered their first shutout since being
blanked by Houston, 56-0, in 2011. Quarterback Nick Arbuckle completed eight
of his 17 pass attempts for a mere 47 yards, was intercepted once and sacked
four times.
Marcus Caffey managed to produce a team-best 36 rushing yards, but due to the
fact that Arbuckle was taken down so many times behind the line, the Panthers
were limited to just eight net rushing yards. Needless to say, with a pitiful
62 yards of total offense, there was no way GSU was going to compete with
anyone, particularly while giving up 567 yards.
Defensively, the Panthers failed to register a single turnover or even a sack
for that matter, although Sean Jeppesen did come away with a game-high 12
tackles and 1.5 stops for loss.
Through nine games, GSU ranks 124th in the nation with minus-1.67 turnovers
per contest, which has contributed significantly to the squad allowing 43.7
ppg which is also 124th in the nation this week.
The Panthers have given up an average of 307.6 ypg on the ground, which is
again 124th in the country, although the pass defense is far more respectable
(199.2 ypg) as it ranks 29th.
Arbuckle, who has three receivers with at least 34 catches to this point, took
a hit stat-wise by being held down by the Mountaineers, but still he is
averaging 263.9 ypg through the air and has completed close to 60 percent of
his attempts for 12 touchdowns, but also nine interceptions.
While the Trojans were not held scoreless, they still suffered on offense
against Georgia Southern as they went nearly 59 minutes without getting into
the end zone. It wasn’t until the 1:18 mark of the fourth quarter that Khary
Franklin finally crossed the goal line on a three-yard run.
Franklin finished with a team-best 62 yards on eight carries, the club coming
up with 141 yards, which paled in comparison to the massive 421 yards and six
touchdowns registered by one of the strongest running teams in the country.
Dontreal Pruitt and Brandon Silvers combined to hit on only four of 11 pass
attempts for a paltry 13 yards, with each being sacked once.
No matter who it is standing under center these days, the fact remains that
Troy is not a very efficient passing squad. While the team is completing 62.5
percent of its attempts, the results only yield 195.8 ypg and a mere six
touchdowns. Three of those scoring catches have been logged by Chandler
Worthy, who has 31 receptions for 327 yards, but he is far from a game-
breaker.
When you combine the team’s inefficient scoring offense (17.8 ppg) with a
defense that ranks 118th nationally in points allowed (39.3 ppg), the Trojans
consistently make it hard on themselves.
Neither one of these teams seems to focus much on the defensive side of the
ball, which might give the offenses a lift this time around. Being out on the
road where they are quite inept, expect the Panthers to land back in the loss
column yet again this weekend, even though Troy is far from an elite squad.
Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Troy 27, Georgia State 17
