Sport: College FootballPick Selection: Troy Trojans -11.5 -110
Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders at Troy Trojans 7:00 PM ET
Troy Trojans -11.5 -110
The initial temptation is to grab the underdog as the points look very inviting but looking further, the favorite is the play here. Troy has played only three home games all season long and this is its first game at home since October 20th so you know this place is going to be all jazzed up. The Trojans are 19-3 on their home field since the start of the 2003 season and wins in their final two games at Movie Gallery Stadium mean a second straight Sun Belt Conference Championship.
Middle Tennessee is still alive for the Sun Belt Conference title but it will need help along the way as it needs to win here and then have Florida Atlantic defeat the Trojans next week. The Blue Raiders had won four straight games prior to last Saturday where they lost to La-Lafayette as home. Middle Tennessee has been outgained in three straight games by an average of 148.4 ypg. The defense has been lit up all season long and will get hit hard again here.
The Blue Raiders allowed 624 yards against La-Monroe and then 528 yards against the Cajuns so the momentum clearly is not on the defensive side. Troy quarterback Omar Haugabook continues to shine. The reigning Sun Belt offensive player of the year leads the league in total offense, passing for 2,516 yards and running for 481 while accounting for 24 touchdowns. He is 16th in the country in total offense. On the other side, the Trojans have scored seven non-offensive touchdowns, trailing only Wake Forest and Hawaii in that category.
Troy is 7-3 on the season but it is pretty impressive to note that all three losses came against SEC schools Arkansas, Florida and Georgia. The Trojans have managed 81 points against those SEC teams which is a very solid amount of output coming from a SBC school. The lone out of conference victory came against Oklahoma St. at home and it wasn?t even close as the Trojans won by 18 points and outgained the Cowboys by 130 yards. The Trojans also defeated SBC team Western Kentucky last weekend.
Middle Tennessee is 92nd in the nation in rushing defense while Troy is 35th in rushing offense. That is not a good combo and the Trojans also benefit from a huge situation. Play against road teams that are getting outrushed by their opponents by 1.25 or more ypc after allowing six or more ypc in two straight games. This situation is 29-6 ATS (82.9 percent) since 1992 with the average point differential being +25 ppg. Troy gets at least a share of the SBC crown tonight with a rout. Play Troy Trojans 2 Units
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