Troy spent the offseason getting anointed as the team to beat in the Sun Belt West. Louisiana Tech, fresh off an 8-win breakout and a move up in class, shows up with a real argument otherwise.
Bush’s Picks
LTTROY
LTTROY
OverUnder
Best BetTroy
Troy at home is the side to lay a moneyline bet on. This is the deeper overall resume, the preseason West favorite, and a defense that returns its best player in Donnie Smith. Louisiana Tech is the trendier story after an 8-win 2025, but until the Bulldogs prove they can win one of these Sun Belt West measuring-stick games in a new league, the safer lean stays with Troy.
Louisiana Tech
+8-win 2025 season, most points since 2019
+5 players on preseason All-Sun Belt teams
+Luke Olson's defense ranked No. 1 in C-USA
−QB Blake Baker still working back from ACL tear
−First year facing Sun Belt West competition
−Was FBS's most-penalized team last season
Troy
+Picked to repeat as SBC West champs, 12 of 14 votes
+Donnie Smith named preseason Defensive Player of the Year
+Won the West and reached the Sun Belt title game in 2025
−Offense ranked last in Sun Belt in total yards in 2025
−Lost leading rusher and top three returning receivers
−Overhauling most of the defensive line room
This one carries real division weight. Troy enters as the reigning West champs and the near-unanimous preseason pick to repeat, hauling in 12 of a possible 14 first-place votes in the league's media poll behind quarterback Goose Crowder, a second-team All-Sun Belt honoree who's back for another run. Louisiana Tech arrives with its own case: an 8-win 2025 finish, the program's highest point total since 2019, and quarterback Blake Baker healthy again after the torn ACL that ended his season last November.
The concern for Troy is what's missing. The Trojans were dead last in the Sun Belt in total offense a year ago, and most of the skill talent that kept the operation afloat anyway — leading rusher Tae Meadows, leading receiver DJ Epps, and NFL draft pick Rara Thomas — is gone via the portal or the draft. New offensive coordinator Adam Austin arrives from Tarleton State, where his FCS offense averaged 42 points a game, but he's rebuilding around Crowder with almost no proven returning pass-catchers.
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Louisiana Tech's issue is different: nobody in this building has played a Sun Belt West schedule before. The Bulldogs are first-year members of the conference after years in Conference USA, and while defensive coordinator Luke Olson's group ranked No. 1 in C-USA a season ago, every trip like this one is uncharted. Preseason forecasters still like the pieces Sonny Cumbie has back, slotting Louisiana Tech third or fourth in a West that Troy is expected to run.
Where Troy has real separation is up front on defense. Donnie Smith enters as the Sun Belt's preseason Defensive Player of the Year, and the Trojans finished third in the league in both scoring and total defense last season even with most of the defensive line room needing to be reshaped this offseason. Punter Evan Crenshaw, the preseason Special Teams Player of the Year, gives Troy a field-position weapon most Sun Belt teams simply don't have.
Louisiana Tech Bulldogs
Oct 30?@ South Alabama—
Oct 16?@ UL Monroe—
Oct 9?vs Louisiana—
Oct 2?vs Army—
Sep 19?@ Baylor—
Sep 12?@ LSU—
Sep 5?vs Northwestern State—
Troy Trojans
Oct 29?@ James Madison—
Oct 16?@ Louisiana—
Oct 6?vs Southern Miss—
Sep 26?@ Utah State—
Sep 19?@ Missouri—
Sep 12?vs Alabama State—
Sep 5?vs Sam Houston—
Recent form.
Louisiana Tech counters with its own strength up front. Five Bulldogs landed on Athlon's preseason All-Sun Belt teams, and a run game built around Kenny Thomas and portal addition Jaden Miller gives Baker a way to lean on the ground game rather than asking a quarterback who's played eight games over the last calendar year to carry the offense by himself.
Louisiana Tech Bulldogs
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Fully healthy — no injuries on ESPN's report
Troy Trojans
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Fully healthy — no injuries on ESPN's report
Injury report — info via ESPN.
None of it settles anything before kickoff. Troy is the proven quantity with the trophy case and the preseason hardware; Louisiana Tech is the new arrival trying to prove the hype about its conference jump was earned. Whichever team wins up front on both sides of the ball probably wins the West.
