Troy University Athletics
Trojans Head To Cajun Country In Search Of Third Straight Win
11/9/2004 12:00:00 AM | Football
Hard to believe as it may be, the Trojans will try to do something this week at Louisiana-Lafayette that the Troy football team hasn't done since early last season -- win three games in a row. The Trojans haven't won three straight since the last three games of September last year with wins over UAB, Southeast Louisiana and Marshall.
After wins over Idaho and Florida Atlantic at home the last two weeks, Troy will hit the road for the final time this season to face a Ragin' Cajuns team that is coming off a disappointing home loss to North Texas. That loss snapped ULL's modest five-game home win streak.
For Troy, the faint glimmer of hope for a bowl game continues to grow brighter with each victory. Winning the final two games, at ULL and at home against Middle Tennessee, is the only way for the Trojans to have a chance to earn a bowl invitation.
The Trojans are coming off another dominating defensive performance last week against Florida Atlantic. Troy held the Owls to minus 12 yards rushing, nine first downs and 248 yards of total offense. The Trojans have not allowed a touchdown in the last seven quarters and have allowed just 159 rushing yards in the last three games combined.
While the defense has been its normal stingy self, the Trojans special teams have continued to shine. The Trojans rank 11th in Division I-A in kickoff returns, have returned a punt for a touchdown in each of the last two games, and continue to ride the punting of junior Thomas Olmsted to win the battle for field position each game.
While winning two of the three phases of the game will certainly help a team win, it is on offense where the team showed the most improvement last week. Freshman quarterback D.T. McDowell had the best outing of his young career against the Owls, throwing for more than 100 yards for the first time, rushing for 62 more and even catching a pass.
That improvement helped senior Jason Samples near a milestone. Samples recorded his 150th career reception against FAU, and now needs just seven yards to become the fourth player in school history with 2,000 career receiving yards.
While the Trojans are still no where near the offensive productivity of a Boise State or Texas Tech, the gradual improvements are a good sign. Plus, in three starts, McDowell has thrown just one interception and been charged with just two turnovers. That has helped Troy go from minus two in turnover ratio to plus nine, which is among the best in the country.
While Troy is tops in the Sun Belt in all defensive categories, The Cajuns will enter play this Saturday with the top offensive unit in the league. ULL is averaging almost 400 yards of total offense per game and leads the league in scoring at 24.6 points per game.
For Troy, a victory on Saturday would be one step closer to the ultimate goal -- a bowl trip. A loss would mean the end of the line for bowl hopes for this year.
Winning vs. Losing:
A Troy win on Saturday:
l
Would improve the Trojans' overall record this year to 6-4.l
Would improve the Trojans' record to 30-17 in the month of November under head coach Larry Blakeney.l
Would improve the Trojans' record to 26-28 under Larry Blakeney against teams currently in Division I-A.l
Would improve the Trojans' overall record to 23-22 since moving to Division I-A in 2001.l
Would improve the Trojans' record in the Sun Belt Conference at 4-2 this year.l
Would improve the Trojans' record in televised games under Coach Blakeney to 32-22.A Troy loss on Saturday:
l
Would drop the Trojans to 25-29 under Larry Blakeney against teams currently in Division I-A.l
Would drop the Trojans' overall record to 22-23 since moving up to Division I-A in 2001.l
Would drop the Trojans' record against teams from the Sun Belt Conference to 14-26-1 all-time.l
Would drop the Trojans' all-time record against teams from Louisiana to 53-38-2.
