TROY, Ala. -- The Troy Trojans face a big challenge to their first national ranking just four days after cracking the Top 25.The 25th-ranked Trojans (8-1, 5-0 Sun Belt Conference) host Arkansas State (5-4, 5-0) Thursday night in Troys second straight battle of teams with perfect league marks.The Trojans survived the first such challenge with a 28-24 win over Appalachian State. Now, the stakes are potentially even higher.Troy is the first ranked Sun Belt team and also the only one to start a season 8-1. The Trojans havent joined fellow Group of Five teams Boise State (No. 20) and Western Michigan (No. 21) in the playoff rankings.It sets up an exciting opportunity for us, Troy coach Neal Brown said. It is a good opportunity to measure ourselves to what has been the premier program in the Sun Belt over the last five years.The Red Wolves have indeed been the leagues team to beat in recent seasons, a mantle once held by Troy. They havent lost since starting out 0-4 and have won 14 consecutive conference games and 17 of 20 road contests within the league.Arkansas State is the only FBS program to win four league titles over the past five seasons.No Sun Belt team has been hotter than the Trojans, who have won seven straight since a 30-24 loss to No. 5 Clemson. None would be bigger than the Appalachian State victory, when Jordan Chunn scored the go-ahead touchdown with 1:02 left.I dont know if I expected them to be 8-1 but I surely expected them to be in the mix in the conference race, Arkansas State coach Blake Anderson said.The result of both teams hot streak is the first Sun Belt game between teams with 5-0 league records or better.---Some other things to know about the Arkansas State-Troy game:SUN BELTS BEST? Troy once dominated the Sun Belt much like Arkansas State has lately. The Trojans havent won a league title since capturing their fifth in a row in 2010, when Brown was offensive coordinator.PROTECTING QBS: Which team will be able to pressure the quarterback best? No team in the nation has given up fewer sacks this season than the three allowed by Troy, and the Trojans defense also leads the Sun Belt with 25 sacks. Arkansas State has strong pass rushers in JaVon Rolland-Jones (7.5 sacks) and Chris Odom (7.0).PICK ARTISTS: Arkansas States Money Hunter, the Sun Belt defensive player of the week, just set the league record with his fourth career interception return for a touchdown. Troys Blace Brown has six interceptions and leads the nation in picks per game.TOP RUSHERS: The game features two of the leagues top four rushers. Troys Chunn is tops with 1,028 yards and 10 touchdowns; Arkansas State counters with Warren Wand, who is averaging 67.4 yards per game.JUSTICE DEPARTMENT: Arkansas State quarterback Justice Hansen is second in the league in pass efficiency. Taking care of the ball will be huge in this one since hes facing a defense with 16 interceptions.---More AP college football: www.collegefootball.ap.org and https://twitter.com/AP-Top25Wholesale Vans Shoes . Calgary scored on the first shift, and Michael Cammalleri scored twice as the Flames cruised to a 5-2 win over the Washington Capitals on Saturday. Cheap Vans Shoes China . Sgt. Eric ONeal says most of the arrests at Monday nights game were for public drunkenness, though one person was taken into custody on suspicion of trying to steal a seat from the stadium. http://www.cheapvansfromchina.com/ . -- The goal posts lying flat on the field, Arizonas fans lingered on the field, congregating around the locker room entrance nearly 30 minutes after rushing out of the stands. Cheap Vans Shoes Free Shipping .Y. -- Sabres defenceman Tyler Myers had no intention of changing his hard-hitting style before taking part in a disciplinary hearing for his illegal check to New Jersey forward Dainius Zubrus head. Vans Shoes Clearance . After the whistle, Thornton skated the length of the ice, pulled Orpik to the ice from behind and punched him in the face several times. Five of ESPN.coms MLB beat writers who cover teams battling for wild-card berths were asked to make a case for why their team will be playing a do-or-die playoff game in October. Below, Katie Strang argues for the?Detroit Tigers?against fellow writers Eddie Matz (Baltimore Orioles), Andrew Marchand (New York Yankees), Mark Saxon (St. Louis Cardinals)?and Adam Rubin (New York Mets).For more on the other contenders, check out Wild-card Wednesday. Strang: After missing the playoffs last year for the first time since 2010, the Detroit Tigers appear primed to secure a postseason berth in 2016 because their key offensive contributors are swinging the bats well at precisely the right time. Look at the clubs big boppers -- Miguel Cabrera, J.D. Martinez and Justin Upton, who are all crushing the ball in September. Factor in that second baseman Ian Kinsler is also scorching hot this month (.314), and his fellow infielder Nick Castellanos is aiming to return within the next week, and the Tigers have one of the most potent lineups in baseball. Beyond that, the Tigers are in the midst of 17 consecutive games against American Leaague Central teams, providing them ample opportunity to make up ground against divisional opponents.ddddddddddddMarchand: If the Tigers dont make the playoffs, it is all on them. While the majority of the wild-card contenders are in the AL East beating each other up, the Tigers only have to just worry about becoming complacent as they face a much easier road.Matz: When it comes the wild card, gaining ground on divisional opponents matters not. What does matter is winning, and given that seven of those 17 AL Central games are against an Indians squad thats owned Detroit this year (11-1), well -- good luck with that.Saxon: You lost me when you started spouting facts and evidence. Im just not a big fan of aging, slugging teams with no athleticism and iffy relief pitching in October.Rubin: The Tigers fatal flaw will be their rotation. In a seven-start stretch that also included an absence for a lat issue, Jordan Zimmermann has a 4.94 ERA. Beyond that, three kids in the rotation are unproven. ' ' '