Arkansas State at Troy Line
Written by Anthony Moretti - Google +
The Arkansas State Red Wolves will host the Troy Trojans in a matchup that is deemed to be a lopsided victory in favor of the Red Wolves. The Red Wolves won their last outing against Middle Tennessee 45-19 a couple of weeks back thanks to solid play by QB Ryan Aplin who threw for two touchdowns and ran for another. Meanwhile the Troy Trojans lost their last matchup against Western Kentucky last week 41-18. Bobby Rainey became Western Kentucky’s all time rushing leader as he rushed for 227 yards on 43 carries and scored three second-half touchdowns to ensure the team’s first winning season since 2009. The Trojans beat Arkansas last year 28-35 and has won three straight games in this series.
According to the latest odds, the Red Wolves are 18 point favorites with a total set of 57.5 points.
ARKANSAS STATE RED WOLVES
The Red Wolves wrapped up the Sun title with their win against Middle Tennessee a couple of weeks ago. They now boast a record of 9-2 and 7-0 in the Sun Belt Conference. In their last win, Ryan Aplin was 25 of 27 passing for 294 yards and two touchdowns. He also ran for 41 yards on 15 carries. Aplin’s 21 yard touchdown pass to Anthony Kincy started a 17 point scoring barrage to help let the Red Wolves pull away.
The Red Wolves rank 31st in the nation averaging 32 points/game. They have also played well on the defensive end allowing the opposing team to score just 19.8 points/game good for 18th in the nation. Arkansas State has played consistently all year that a victory come Saturday is almost a lock.
Junior quarterback Ryan Aplin is completing 65.6% of his passes for 2879 yards and 15 touchdowns to 12 interceptions. Ryan Aplin has also rushed for 570 yards and nine touchdowns on the year. Don’t be surprised if the Red Wolves run away with the victory when they face the lowly Troy Trojans this Saturday.
TROY TROJANS
Troy comes into this game with just one win in its last seven games and have a record of just 3-8 and 2-5 in the Sun Belt conference. They lost their last bout last week against Western Kentucky 41-18. The Trojans tried to play physical defense against their opponents but they failed, as they were on the receiving end of a history-in-the-making game by Bobby Rainey.
The Trojans rank 87th in points scored with 23.2 but they are allowing 32.6 points/game. Although they have a decent passing attack ranking 16th in the nation with 289.5 points/game, they have failed to capitalize and convert them to points. In this game against the Red Wolves, for them to even make this game competitive, they need to score more points and capitalize on whatever they need to do to gain back momentum.
They need a stellar performance from quarterback Corey Robinson. He has completed 62.3% of his passes for 3100 yards and 19 touchdowns to 13 interceptions. They also need solid games from lead rushers Shawn Southward and DJ Taylor.
BETTING TRENDS
The Trojans are 3-7 ATS in their last 10 games on the road and 2-5 ATS in their last seven conference games. The Red Wolves are 4-1 ATS in their last five home games and 5-1 ATS in their last six games against Sun Belt Conference opponents.
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