Man, y'all see that piece over on AL.com? They're finally catching on.

For weeks, everyone's been talking about "bowl eligibility." Six wins. Six wins. Yeah, that’s cool, we checked that box. We're going bowling.

But if you’ve actually been watching us play, you know that’s not what this season is about.

That article hit the nail on the head: we are "beyond bowl eligibility." That’s small potatoes for this squad. We are in the thick of the Sun Belt Conference championship race, and that's the only goal right now.

This team just feels different, doesn't it? We're not just happy to be here, hoping to scrape by. We're dominant. We're focused. We're fighting for that top spot in the Belt.

Forget just getting to a bowl game. We're trying to play for the whole conference title. This is what we've been building for.

It's late October, we're in the hunt, and we control our own destiny. Let's finish this.

Go Trojans!

Excerpts from AL.com

Troy is now bowl-eligible, as safety Justin Powe indicates by holding up six fingers late in a 35-23 victory over Louisiana last week. (Troy athletics)Troy athletics

Troy is now bowl-eligible, but that’s obviously not the goal for a team that is squarely in the Sun Belt Conference championship race.

The Trojans have won five straight games to lift their record to 6-2 overall, 4-0 in conference play. Heading into Saturday night’s nationally-televised home game vs. Arkansas State (4-4, 3-1), Troy is tied with Southern Miss for first place in the Sun Belt West Division.

Troy’s defense has also been more opportunistic in recent weeks, securing seven turnovers in its last two games. In both games, the Trojans returned an interception for a touchdown, and had other takeaways in opposing territory to set up scores.

“It’s something we work on every day,” said safety Justin Powe, who had a game-clinching interception in the fourth quarter vs. Louisiana. “It’s one thing we push — turnovers, turnovers, turnovers. Get in the game, get our offense back the ball so we can have more drives for them, so we can put up more points.”