Your blogger wrote before the 2018-19 season began that the Troy Trojans were potentially becoming the Boise State of the south. I didn’t mean it in a bad way. But the Trojans have to be wishing it wasn’t true.
The Boise Blue whipped Troy from pillar to post in a 56-20 final in Week 1. Since then, the Trojans have gotten back on the mount, winning 4 in a row against lesser competition. But with BSU’s loss to Oklahoma State, that means coach Neal Brown’s team could win several more games in a row without cracking the top 20. It’s the same for Boise – one blown chance against the Power-5 means that no matter how the season plays out, the Broncos will be relegated to “best of the G5” status once again.
Cue Rush lyrics: Subdivisions. In the FBS. Subdivisions. Don’t look at polls, just play your best.
Such is the plight of a mid-major powerhouse. There are only so many chances to impress a national audience.
But thanks to a Thursday night kickoff, at least a handful of Americans from every time zone will be tuning in as the Trojans take on the Georgia State Panthers this week. The Panthers are looking OK at 2-3 following a tough non-conference schedule that included FCS buzz-saw Kennesaw State and ACC/AAC representatives North Carolina State and Memphis. But college football’s odds-makers have made GSU the underdog by more than 2 touchdowns.
Who: Georgia State Panthers at Troy Trojans
When: Thursday, October 4th, 7:30 PM
Where: Veterans Memorial Stadium, Troy, Alabama
Lines: GSU (+16) at Troy (-16) / O/U Total: No markets available as of 10/1 – projected consensus (56.5)
Troy’s most impressive win of the season is undoubtedly the squad’s 24-19 caning of the Cornhuskers in Lincoln, Nebraska. The score is closer than the game itself appeared. B.J. Smith scored on a touchdown run to give the visitors a 24-13 lead with just over 6 minutes to go in the 4th quarter, and Nebraska scored a desperate TD late to close the margin. QB Kaleb Barker had a quiet day, but the Troy secondary intercepted NU’s Andrew Bunch twice.
That doesn’t mean last weekend’s confident league win over Coastal Carolina didn’t also impress. Listen to Underdog Dynasty’s blogger Jay Eller:
After stopping Coastal’s first drive, Troy tossed the ball to wide receiver, Luke Wittemore, who then lobbed a pass to Jabir Daughtry-Frye for 35 yards and another quick touchdown. On Troy’s third drive, B.J. Smith broke through Coastal’s defense for 47 yards to set up his first TD, from the one-yard line, and Troy was ahead 21-0. With almost four minutes left in the first quarter, it looked like this was headed for a blowout, especially after Hunter Reese recovered at the CCU 25-yard line. But Troy was stopped on a fourth down and the ball went back to Coastal. Troy seemed to relax a little and Coastal took advantage of some lackluster defense with two impressive 70-plus yard drives in the second quarter, to put the Chanticleers back into the game.
The second half started almost as badly for the Chants as the first. They received the kickoff and were moving downfield when Tyler Murray intercepted a long pass and returned it 46 yards to Coastal’s 30-yard line. Deondre Douglas scored Troy’s fourth touchdown on a 2-yard pass from Kaleb Barker.
B.J. Smith got his second rushing touchdown to push the score to 38-21 at the start of the fourth quarter.Jibir Daughtry-Frye provided one more stunning highlight when he broke thorough the middle of Coastal’s defensive line and then outran the secondary for 74 yards for his second TD and gave Troy a final score of 45-21.
Okay, so you can tell Jay is wearing Chanticleer-colored glasses. The game looked like a blow-out because it was going to be a blow out. Barker heated up last week with a TD pass and the Trojans rushed for almost 300 yards. But should the defense be concerned against Georgia State?
Last week’s running game against the ULM Warhawks (which produced more ground yards than Troy vs Coastal Carolina) had to feel like a revelation to GaSo fans who suffered through the team’s 30+ point losses to NC State and Memphis. But Louisiana-Monroe hasn’t played much run defense since Week 2 against Southern Miss.
GSU is only rushing for 3.9 ypc on the season. QB Dan Ellington is a good player, but not skilled to an elite passer’s level when it comes to punishing teams that commit to stopping his backs. The Panthers hosted Troy and lost 34-10 last season, rushing for less than 2 yards a pop on 33 tries.
I’m liking Troy all the way here. The Trojans lost to Boise State, but have looked rather Boise-like since then. Nothing too significant has happened to the Georgia State since last year’s loss at home. It won’t go better on the road.
Take the hosts to cover (-16).