A-State puts undefeated conference record on the line against #25 Troy

A-State puts undefeated conference record on the line against #25 Troy

Red Wolves look to go 6- 0 in Sun Belt, face Trojans tomorrow night

ASU Media Relations Arkansas State holds a 5-0 Sun Belt Conference record and continues league play Nov. 17 with an ESPNU-televised road game against No. 25 Troy at Veterans Memorial Stadium. Every A-State game can be heard live on 107.9 FM in the Northeast Arkansas area. The live radio broadcast can also be accessed online at AStateRedWolves.com and the A-State Athletics app.

The only two remaining undefeated teams in Sun Belt Conference play, Arkansas State and Troy will meet Thursday night in a showdown for first place in the league standings. The Red Wolves will carry a 14-game winning streak against conference opponents into the matchup, while the Trojans have the nation’s fourth longest overall winning streak at seven games. Not only is the Red Wolves’ conference winning streak tied for the third longest in the nation, A-State is the only FBS program in the country to win four conference championships over the last five seasons. AState can reach bowl eligibility for the sixth consecutive year with a victory against a Troy team that is the first ever Sun Belt program to be ranked in the Associated Press Top 25 Poll. While the Red Wolves have won 17 of their last 20 conference road games, the Trojans are undefeated at home this season with a 5-0 record at Veterans Memorial Stadium.

Head Coach Blake Anderson, a 16-year coaching veteran at the NCAA FBS level who also coached in an NJCAA National Championship game, was named the Red Wolves’ 30th all-time head football coach on Dec. 19, 2013. Anderson led AState to back-to-back winning seasons, a pair of bowl game appearances (2015 New Orleans Bowl and 2014 GoDaddy Bowl) and the 2015 Sun?Belt Conference championship his first two seasons at the helm, which also saw the Red Wolves break the school records for total offense (6,174 yards in 2014), average yards total offense (476.5 yards per game in 2014), total plays (1,024 in 2014), points scored (520 in 2015), touchdowns scored (69 in 2015) and interceptions (26 in 2015). During his first two years at the helm of the program, he saw 20 of his players earn 26 All-Sun Belt Conference selections — the most in the league over that span.

Arkansas State is set to play Troy for the 11th time as Sun Belt Conference opponents and 14th time overall in the series that dates back to 1951, but also find the Trojans on its schedule for the first time since 2013. A-State leads the all-time series with Troy 8-5. The Red Wolves picked up a 39-0 road victory in the 1951 game. The two teams also split a pair of games in 1991 and 1992 in Jonesboro, but have played the last 10 games as Sun Belt Conference foes.

The Red Wolves won the first three games as SBC foes, the Trojans won the next four through the 2010 season, and now A-State has won the last three (4514 in Jonesboro in 2011, 41-34 at Troy in 2012 and 41-34 at home in 2013).

Thursday’s game between the Red Wolves and Trojans will be the first ever between two Sun Belt teams that both hold a 5-0 or better record in league play. Additionally, the contest will mark the latest date in a calendar year that two teams undefeated in Sun Belt Conference action have ever played each other. ?The previous latest date came on Nov.

16, 2002, when North Texas (5-5, 4-0 Sun Belt) played New Mexico?State (6-4, 4-0 Sun Belt). The Mean Green defeated the Aggies, 38-27.

Arkansas State has won 38 of its last 44 Sun Belt Conference games (.863 winning percentage) to run its all-time record in the conference to 71-42. The Red Wolves hold their most all-time victories against ULM with 24. The Red Wolves have defeated every team in the conference since the football league was formed in 2001. Along with ULM and Louisiana-Lafayette, A-State is one of three teams that have been a part of the conference since its inaugural football season.

Arkansas State has won 17 of its last 20 conference road games, including its last five in a row, dating back to the 2011 season.

A-State had won 10 consecutive conference road games, its longest streak ever as a member of any league, before falling at Western Kentucky in its 2013 regular-season finale.

The Red Wolves went 4-0 in conference road games in 2011, 2012 and 2015, 21 in 2013 and 2-2 in 2014.

This year A-State is 1-0 with its win coming at Georgia State.

Arkansas State holds a 5-0 record in Sun Belt Conference play for the second consecutive year and third time in school history, also beginning league play with a 5-0 record in 2011. The previous two A-State teams to start Sun Belt action with five consecutive victories went on to go undefeated in league play and claim the SBC championship.

An A-State win would improve A-State’s all-time record against Troy to 9-5, give the Red Wolves their fourth consecutive win against the Trojans, make it 6-0 in Sun Belt Conference play for the second consecutive season and third time school history, extend its conference winning streak to 15 games, improve its record in the month of November to 19-3 since the 2011 season, including wins the last seven games in a row, move A-State’s record against Sun Belt foes to 39-6 over its last 45 league games, give the Red Wolves a winning record through 10 games for the sixth consecutive year, give it 18 wins over its last 21 conference road games, iand make it bowl eligible for the ninth time in 12 seasons.

By Jerry Scott