ARKANSAS STATE VS. TROY: Sun Belt showdowns nothing new

JONESBORO -- The stakes never have been higher between the Sun Belt Conference's two most successful football programs.

Arkansas State University (7-3, 6-1 Sun Belt) will host Troy (9-2, 6-1) in the regular-season finale Saturday at 6:30 p.m., and the winner will receive at least a share of the conference championship.

Appalachian State (7-4, 6-1), which didn't play ASU or Troy this season, can earn a share of the title if it wins its home game against Louisiana-Lafayette (5-6, 4-3) on Saturday.

ASU's six conference titles are the most in Sun Belt history, and Troy won five consecutive titles from 2006-2010. Six of their combined titles were shared.

Naming a single champion is partly the reason the 9 other conferences in the Football Bowl Subdivision switched to a championship game format. The Sun Belt will hold its first championship game next season.

The title has been shared seven times in the Sun Belt's 16-year history, and this will be just the second time that two teams tied atop the league standings will play each other in the regular-season finale.

The last time was in 2012, when Gus Malzahn's Red Wolves defeated Middle Tennessee State 45-0 to earn the second of three consecutive Sun Belt championships.

ASU defensive coordinator Joe Cauthen was a defensive line coach at Middle Tennessee State for that game, and he witnessed ASU's largest crowd ever of 31,243.

"I still haven't forgotten that day," Cauthen said Monday at ASU's weekly news conference. "I happened to be in the box that day, and it was just a sea of red everywhere. It was a pretty electric day for a football game.

"It was quite an environment, and obviously I was on the losing end of that one. But I tell you what, the Jonesboro fans are really good when they get out here and fill this thing up. It sure creates a totally different atmosphere. So obviously, we would like to see that again this weekend."

It was one of several requests made by the ASU coaching staff for a large home crowd.

The 23,019 average attendance at Centennial Bank Stadium this season is higher than last season's average of 22,700.

"National audience with ESPN2 [broadcasting]," ASU Coach Blake Anderson said. "We need people to see this place for what it really is."

ASU home games have been nationally broadcast 10 times since 2005, with an average home crowd of 21,963. It will be the first time the Red Wolves will host a nationally televised game on a Saturday since its 3-0 victory over Florida Atlantic in 2005 was broadcast on ESPNU. At the time, the channel was in its first year and available on only two cable networks.

Although this weekend's matchup is the first time when a conference title will be at stake in a game between ASU and Troy, the teams finished within a game of each other last season. The Red Wolves won a share of its second consecutive Sun Belt title after beating then-No. 25 Troy 35-3 earlier in the season.

"[Troy] looks like the same team to me," Anderson said. "Tremendous amount of confidence. They're still committed to the run game."

Troy senior running back Jordan Chunn is the Sun Belt's third-leading rusher with 741 yards and 10 touchdowns, and he rushed for 191 yards on 30 carries and a touchdown in the Trojan's 24-21 victory over then-No. 25 LSU earlier this season.

ASU's rush defense ranks 41st in the nation (146.6 yards per game), but Anderson announced that sophomore linebacker Trent Ellis-Brewer will undergo season-ending ACL surgery.

Senior linebacker Kyle Wilson suffered a rib injury in ASU's 67-50 victory over Louisiana-Monroe on Saturday, but Anderson said he expects Wilson to play against Troy.

ASU has won its past four matchups against Troy, and the Red Wolves would win its sixth conference championship in seven seasons.

"Another opportunity for a championship," Anderson said. "Win or lose, it still says a lot about the program and where we're headed."

Sports on 11/28/2017