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FACTS & STATS: Site: Veterans Memorial Stadium (30,000) -- Troy, Alabama. Television: Sun Belt Network. Home Record: MT 0-1, Troy 0-0. Away Record: MT 0-1, Troy 0-2. Neutral Record: MT 0-0, Troy 0-0. Conference Record: MT 0-0, Troy 0-0. Series Record: Middle Tennessee leads, 11-7.

GAME NOTES: Sun Belt Conference rivals will square off at Veterans Memorial Stadium this Saturday, as the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders visit the Troy Trojans in the Battle for the Palladium.

Middle Tennessee comes off a bye week to open their conference season. The Blue Raiders find themselves at 0-2 after a close loss at Purdue in their season opener, and a 49-21 thrashing by Georgia Tech the following week.

Troy is also sitting at 0-2 thanks to road losses at Clemson and Arkansas. The Trojans started the season well enough, by going into halftime against a heavily-favored Clemson squad with a 16-13 lead. But then the Tigers awakened and took control of things down the stretch. Troy showed promise last week as well, after falling behind by 24 points early they fought back before losing in a 38-28 final to Arkansas.

This is 19th meeting between Middle Tennessee and Troy on the gridiron, with the former holding an 11-7 edge in the all-time series. Last year, Troy quarterback Cory Robinson threw for 259 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Trojans to a 42-13 rout of the Blue Raiders on the road. As a result, Troy has won six straight against Middle Tennessee.

Middle Tennessee quarterback Logan Kilgore started the season with a 330-yard, two-touchdown performance against Purdue. However, Kilgore struggled in the Blue Raiders' clash with Georgia Tech, throwing for only 114 yards with an interception. The Blue Raiders will turn to running back Benny Cunningham to set the pace. Against the Yellow Jackets, Cunningham ran for 80 yards on 15 carries. Sancho McDonald leads the receiving corps with 105 yards and two touchdowns.

The Blue Raider defense has made some big plays in the first two games, forcing four fumbles and recording an interception. The defense struggled late in the season opener against Purdue, giving up 17 fourth-quarter points. They reversed the timing of their poor play in their second game against Georgia Tech as they allowed 21 points in the opening frame. The defense has been led by Eric Russell, as the senior safety recorded 13 tackles, a sack, and an interception in the game versus Purdue. Defensive end Omar McLendon put forth an outstanding performance against Georgia Tech, logging a game-high ten tackles.

Offensively, Troy has relied heavily on quarterback Corey Robinson for production. Robinson is averaging 52.5 pass attempts per game and has racked up 631 yards and four touchdowns through the air so far. His favorite target has been Eric Thomas, who leads the team with 144 receiving yards and three touchdowns. The Trojan running game has not been very effective thus far, as starting running back Shawn Southward has gained only 66 yards on 20 touches. Against Arkansas, Troy outgained the Razorbacks by three yards.

The Trojans hope to receive a boost from their defense this week as they did last time out when LaDarrius Madden returned an interception 53 yards for a touchdown. Safety Brynden Trawick has led the team in tackles in both games, the most recent of which was a 10-tackle effort against Arkansas. Troy's defense was a big contributor in the comeback effort against the Hogs, as the unit forced three second-half turnovers.

Rivalry games always bring a great deal of excitement and emotion to the table. Troy was able to dominate last year's clash with a solid passing attack, but Middle Tennessee showed the ability to hang around against Purdue. Robinson should be able to carry his squad to victory in this one.

Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Troy 38, Middle Tennessee 31