The Trojans are back in the hunt for a Sun Belt Conference Championship after their 40-7 win over Texas State on Saturday afternoon.

The win for Trojans (9-2, 6-1) coupled with Arkansas State’s loss, put’s Troy in a position to claim a share of the Sun Belt crown with Arkansas State and Appalachian State with a win over Georgia Southern on Saturday.

“Good win for us,” said Troy head coach Neal Brown. “That gets us to 9-2 and 6-1 in the league. With a little help from (UL)-Lafayette, we get the opportunity to play for a conference championship against Georgia Southern. We have a lot to play for.”

The win also sets Troy up for the opportunity to become the first Troy team to get to double-digit wins since their move to division one.

After falling in Sun Belt play for the first time, the Trojans jumped on the Bobcats for a tune of 30 first half points en route to a 33-point win.

“I think the quick start really helped us. The defense came out and dominated that game early on,” Brown said. “We went out and took care of business like we should have. You don’t get a loss like we had against Arkansas State out of your system until you play another game. So that game has been played and it is out of our system.”

Troy quarterback Brandon Silvers righted the ship on Saturday by completing 20 of his 28 passes for 218 yards and two touchdowns. Running back Jordan Chunn moved into a tie for third place on the Troy career rushing touchdown list by rushing for 74 yards on 19 carries.

On the defensive side of the ball, Jalen Roundtree hauled in two interceptions for the Trojans. It was the third time this season that Trojans had a player with multiple interceptions. Blace Brown had two interceptions against both New Mexico State and Idaho.

The Bobcats managed 256 yards of total offense including 109 on the ground.

“I thought we were in complete control the entire game,” Brown said. “We stopped the run, 2.8 per rush. We created two turnovers and they really struggled on third down. We had good gap control the entire time.”

The Trojans return to the field on Saturday with the opportunity to claim a share of the championship for the first time since 2010.

“I felt like (UL)-Lafayette would have a chance because they had been playing well down the stretch,” Brown said. “We are thankful for the opportunity to get back into that discussion, that is what you play for.”

The Trojans will have that opportunity in front of a nationally televised audience for the third time this season when they play on ESPN2 against Georgia Southern.

The Trojans hope good play will provide good exposure for the program.

“It is good if you play well,” Brown said. “The South Alabama game was good for us, but the Arkansas State game wasn’t. We have to do something about it. That is the challenge to our football team. We did not put a good product out on the field last time on television, so this is the opportunity to redeem ourselves.”

Kickoff between the Trojans and Eagles is set for 11 a.m.