Troy Ranked for the First Time in School History

After improving to 8-1 winning streak after Saturday’s 28-24 win over Appalachian State, the Troy Trojans have earned a spot in the Associated Press Top 25 for the first time in program history.

A nationwide panel of sports writers’ votes in the poll weekly, and points are awarded for each vote. The Trojans had been in the “receiving votes” category since the Week eight entry, released on October, 16th.

In last week’s poll, Troy received 28 points – the 29th-most in the entry. The win over the Mountaineers (7-3), who had votes in last week’s Amway Coaches Poll, catapulted them into this week’s rankings at Number 25 with 63 points.

Troy has won seven straight games since losing at current No. 5 Clemson 30-24, and the 8-1 start is the best for the Trojans since they joined the FBS in 2001. The start spawned a national campaign, spearheaded by the #RankTroy designation, to encourage AP poll voters to include Troy in the rankings.

"This is a testament to the hard work of a lot of people within our program, starting first and foremost with our players," Troy head coach Neal Brown said in a press release. “To be the first team in Troy and Sun Belt history to earn a national ranking is gratifying because of the number of quality teams that this league and this program have produced over the years.”

The Trojans, who are 5-0 in Sun Belt play, will quickly put the ranking to the test. They play Arkansas State, the other team undefeated in Sun Belt games, on Thursday at home at 8:30 p.m. in front of a nationally televised audience.