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FACTS & STATS: Site: LT Smith Stadium (23,000) -- Bowling Green, Kentucky. Television: None. Home Record: Troy 4-0, WKU 0-4. Away Record: Troy 2-2, WKU 0-4. Neutral Record: Troy 0-0, WKU 0-0. Conference Record: Troy 5-0, WKU 0-4. Series Record: Troy leads, 6-0-1.

GAME NOTES: Still in search of their first victory of the season the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers will host the Troy Trojans this Saturday evening in a Sun Belt Conference tussle at LT Smith Stadium.

The Trojans head into this matchup red-hot, winning six straight games, including a convincing, 42-21 decision over UL-Monroe this past weekend. It was the fifth conference win for Troy this season, and the 10th straight league victory since the start of the 2008 campaign.

As for the Hilltoppers, they continue to walk through a nightmare of a season, as the team has lost all eight of its games this year, and currently hold the nation's longest losing skid at 16 games. The last time the Hilltoppers were in action the team was embarrassed by North Texas, 68-49. With the loss to the Mean Green the Hilltoppers fell to 0-4 in league play.

The Trojans have dominated the all-time series against WKU, winning six of the seven matchups, and the one game Troy did not win finished in a tie.

The Trojans threw early and often against UL-Monroe this past weekend and the success of the passing attack led to a 21-point win for Troy. Levi Brown was outstanding, as the quarterback threw for 378 yards and four touchdowns. Brown looked the way of Jerrel Jernigan often and the wideout was up to the task, as he finished with 13 receptions, 203 yards and one score. Thankfully the passing attack had success, because the ground game was bottled up for just 50 yards on 25 carries. However, the lopsided attack is not surprising, considering the Trojans have relied heavily on the pass throughout the season. Brown has been marvelous, completing 65.1 percent of his throws for 2,526 yards and 14 touchdowns against four interceptions. Although the ground game has been inconsistent, the team does have a solid option in DuJuan Harris, who has rushed for 401 yards and seven touchdowns. Overall this unit is producing an impressive 455.8 total ypg, and that has translated into an equally strong 30.2 ppg.

The defense was not as impressive in the win over ULM, as the Trojans allowed 396 total yards, including 279 yards and three scores through the air. What helped the team's cause was the fact that the defense forced four turnovers and also recorded three sacks. With the four takeaways the Trojans now have 15 on the year. The team's inability to stop the pass against ULM is not surprising, considering that has been the weak spot for this unit all year. Troy is being torched for 263.9 ypg through the air, and out of the 27 touchdowns allowed by this unit, 17 have come via the pass. Overall on the season, the Trojans are surrendering 286.2 total yards per matchup and that has led to 26.9 ppg against this defense.

The Hilltoppers had by far their best offensive performance of the season last week, as the team scored 49 points on 425 total yards. However, the bad news for WKU fans is that the team still lost. The ground game did most of the work in the setback, as Marell Booker paced the team with 104 yards and two touchdowns on eight carries, while Bobby Rainey added 87 yards and two more scores. Kawaun Jakes was mediocre at best in the contest, as the quarterback threw for 127 yards and two touchdowns, but was also intercepted once and sacked two times. Although it was a loss the Hilltoppers, who are averaging just 20.5 ppg, should be happy with the production of the offense. On the year the team is only posting 306.5 total ypg, and the majority of the success has come on the ground. Western Kentucky heads into this weekend with 168.6 rushing ypg, and the top option for the Hilltoppers has been Rainey, who is leading the team with 533 yards and five touchdowns.

While the offense had its best showing against North Texas last weekend, the defense had its worst, as the unit was embarrassed for 68 points on 583 total yards. The Hilltoppers could not stop the run or pass, as the Mean Green punished WKU for 321 rushing yards, and added another 262 yards through the air. Western Kentucky allowed North Texas to convert on 9-of-12 third down chances and 8-of-9 red zone opportunities. The performance against North Texas should not be surprising however, as the defense has really disappointed throughout the season, and comes into this weekend surrendering 45.1 ppg. The unit has allowed 245.2 ypg through the air, and sadly enough the team's play against the run has been even worse, as WKU is being gashed for 273.1 rushing ypg and has already allowed 25 rushing touchdowns.

The Hilltoppers have been dreadful all year long and there is little chance they will stay close with Troy. The Trojans should have no trouble scoring early and often en route to yet another league win.

Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Troy 54, Western Kentucky 24