Wes Fortson
Staff Writer
After two weeks on the road and stressful matches against South Alabama and Georgia Southern, Troy returns to Veterans Memorial Stadium to face off against Georgia State this Saturday, Nov. 8 at 2 p.m.
Troy really struggled last Thursday, Oct. 30, against the Eagles of Georgia Southern. The team only had a total of 154 offensive yards including just 13 passing yards.
The Georgia State Panthers are 1-8 (0-6 Sun Belt) and have struggled on defense as well. They have allowed over 300 rushing yards, nearly 200 passing yards and about 43 points per game.
However, Troy’s defense has not done much better than Georgia State. They have allowed over 250 rushing yards, almost 200 passing yards, and about 40 points per game.
This Saturday both defenses will be tested by offenses with similar numbers. Whichever team executes the best on all three phases of the game; offense, defense, and special teams, is going to walk away victorious.
Troy is averaging over 420 yards of total offense this year at home, but has only averaged about 260 on the road. This could be a serious advantage for the Trojans this week since they have home field advantage.
“We may be down, but we’re not out, so I feel like we should have some good energy on Saturday,” freshman wide receiver John Johnson said.
Unfortunately, injuries have hindered the Trojans lately. Senior linebacker Mark Wilson has suffered a season ending injury and junior defensive end Tyler Roberts is questionable for Saturday’s game.
Younger Trojans will have to step up and contribute to the team this week if Troy looks to win on Saturday. Some of these young faces include sophomore linebacker Daniel Warren and redshirt freshman linebacker Sam Lebbie.
Both of these young faces helped stop the bleeding last week against Georgia Southern when called to step in.
This week will be a chance for Troy to pick up its second win on the season. It will also be an opportunity for head coach Larry Blakeney to pick up his 100th win at home. He currently has a home record of 99-22-1 in his career at Troy.
