Troy University Athletics
Trojans Set To Face Rice In New Orleans Bowl
12/15/2006 12:00:00 AM | Football
Every team sets goals before entering a new season. Some goals are reached while others are not.
Such was the case for the 2006 Troy Trojans. Many goals were set before the season, and the team did not reach all of them. There were two major goals, however, the Trojans did reach.
Troy did win its first Sun Belt Conference football championship and the Trojans did earn their first invitation to the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl.
Now, just one goal remains for 2006, and that is to earn the first bowl victory in school history.
To accomplish that goal, the Trojans will have to defeat a Rice Owls team that did something this season that no Rice squad has done in more than 40 years, earn a bowl berth.
The Trojans will also have to go against history to beat the Owls. In the five years of play in the New Orleans Bowl, the Sun Belt champion has posted a 1-4 record. That run includes three straight losses to a team from Conference USA.
The 2006 matchup features two teams that had remarkably similar seasons. Both teams entered the season with new offensive philosophies, and both spread the field to better utilize their speed. Both teams struggled to start the season, with Troy losing four straight games after winning its opener while Rice dropped four straight to start the year.
Both the Trojans and Owls were able to bounce back from poor starts to win consistently down the stretch. Troy won six of its last seven games while Rice won seven of eight.
Both teams are also similar in that they were outscored by their opponents during the year. Troy scored 21.25 points per game while allowing 22.67. Rice put up better offensive numbers, scoring 27.75 points per game, but also allowed more, giving up 32.58 points per game.
Both teams feature perhaps the marquee offensive player in their respective conferences, with Troy quarterback Omar Haugabook earning Sun Belt Player of the Year honors and Rice receiver Jarett Dillard earning second team Walter Camp All-America accolades.
Although Troy and Rice have never met before, the two squads shared two opponents in 2006. Both teams lost at Florida State -- Troy 24-17 on a late Seminoles TD and Rice 55-7 two weeks later. Both squad also played UAB, with the Trojans dropping a 21-3 decision in Birmingham and the Owls winning 34-33 in Houston.
Both squads played multiple close games during the season, with the Owls going 5-1 in games decided by a touchdown or less, and Troy going 3-2 in such games. Rice also played two more bowl teams than Troy during the regular season. The Owls played Houston, UCLA, Texas, FSU, Tulsa and East Carolina, going 2-4, while Troy played FSU, Georgia Tech, Nebraska and Middle Tennessee, going 1-3.
From an experience standpoint, the Trojans should have the advantage. Troy coach Larry Blakeney is the winningest active head coach in Alabama and has coached or played in 12 bowl games in his career. This will be his second bowl game as head coach at Troy. This will be his 14th post-season game as head coach at Troy -- including Division II, I-AA and I-A -- and he has a 5-8 record in those games.
Rice coach Todd Graham is in his first season as a head coach and Rice will be making its first bowl appearance since 1961.
The Owls do have one other advantage over the Trojans entering the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl, Rice has played in the Superdome this season. The Owls faced Tulane back on Oct. 7, and that game produced the Owls' only loss over the final eight games of the year, a 38-24 setback.
INJURY REPORT
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Senior running back Sean Dawkins (knee) and junior safety Sherrod Martin (shoulders) are out and are both redshirting this year.l
Freshman running back Xavier Walker (knee) is not expected to play this year.l
Senior safety Derick Pendergrass suffered an fractured ankle against Nebraska and is out for the season.l
Senior offensive lineman James Gardner missed two games with a bad knee early in the season, and reinjured the knee in the season finale at FIU. His status for the New Orleans Bowl is questionable.l
Senior receiver Smokey Hampton suffered a shoulder injury early in the season finale at FIU and is questionable for the New Orleans Bowl.CAREER NOTES
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Junior Gary Banks needs just 106 yards receiving to reach 1,000 yards for his Troy career while senior Toris Rutledge is 110 yards shy of 1,000. Banks is also two TD receptions shy of tying the school Division IA season mark.l
Junior running back Kenny Cattouse is one rushing touchdown shy of 10 for his career.l
Junior linebacker Marcus Richardson needs three tackles to reach 100 for his career.TEAM NOTEBOOK
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Troy placed a total of nine players on the Sun Belt's All-Conference teams for 2006. Junior quarterback Omar Haugabook was named Sun Belt Player of the Year, Offensive Player of the Year and Newcomer of the Year in addition to being on the first team All-Sun Belt squad. Other first team picks for the Trojans were receiver Gary Banks, center Zach Yenser and safety Brannon Condren. Second team All-Sun Belt picks were tackle Kirbie Bodiford, nose tackle Franklin Lloyd and kick returner Leodis McKelvin. Running back Kenny Cattouse and linebacker Boris Lee were named honorable mention All-Conference.l
The Trojans also earned their share of academic honors for the 2006 season. Junior recevier Gary Banks was named to the ESPN The Magazine/CoSIDA Academic All-District first team for District IV while sophomore offensive lineman Will Chambliss and sophomore running back Anthony Jones were named second team All-District.l
Several members of the Troy squad were excused from practice for the New Orleans bowl on Friday, December 8, to receive their degrees. Trojans Jason Wright, Brannon Condren, Josh Pruitt, Kirbie Bodiford, Smokey Hampton, Toris Rutledge, Boo Smith and Martin Teal joined teammate Rob Austin, who graduated last spring, as Troy University graduates. Two other former members of the Troy team, Andre Morgan and Chris Stanfield, also graduated in December.l
The Trojans will face Rice in the New Orleans Bowl without one member of the coaching staff. Defensive line coach Mike Pelton resigned to take a similar position at Iowa State. Defensive graduate assistant coach Randy Wilkins will work with the defensive line for the bowl game and head coach Larry Blakeney hopes to have a permanent replacement for Pelton hired before the game with Rice.l
Troy has lost a defensive assistant coach after each of the last three seasons. Following the 2004 season, defensive coordinator Vic Koenning took the same position at Clemson and, after the 2005 campaign, then co-defensive coordinator Ricky Logo left to become defensive line coach at Vanderbilt.l
December is a light month for birthdays on the Troy team and only two members of the Trojans squad will celebrate birdays while the team is in New Orleans for the bowl game. Both freshman Austin Silvoy and sophomore Will Chambliss will celebrate birthdays on Thursday, Dec. 21. Other Trojans with birthdays in December are: A.J. Jones (Dec. 1), Greg Whibbs (Dec. 2), Rod Foster and Jason Wright (Dec. 12), Kenny Cattouse (Dec. 13), Junior Tagovailoa (Dec. 25) and Mykeal Terry and Josh Lashley (Dec. 30).l
The 2007 Troy football schedule features five teams playing in bowls this year. In addition to conference foe Middle Tennessee (Motor City Bowl) the Trojans are scheduled to play Arkansas (Capital One Bowl), Oklahoma State (Independence Bowl), Georgia (Chick-Fil-A Bowl) and Florida (BCS National Championship) next year.l
Several Trojans underwent number changes during the offseason this year. Those changes include: kicker Greg Whibbs (40 to 3), receiver Gary Banks (17 to 8), defensive back Elbert Mack (8 to 13), quarterback Omar Haugabook (16 to 17), safety Terence Moore (31 to 20), fullback Josh Henderson (55 to 40), defensive end Jeremy Hawkins (92 to 54), and offensive lineman Rob Austin (44 back to 79). Austin started the 2005 season in 79 but switched back to 44 with a return to tight end. Mack and Haugabook changed numbers following spring practice.l
The Troy football program welcomed several transfers this summer who started their playing careers at other Division I-A programs. Newcomers to the Troy program include running back Ira Guilford, defensive lineman Chris Bradwell, linebacker Carvel Jones, kicker Adrian Vera, receiver Rod Foster, defensive back Travis Robinson, linebacker Edward Turk, defensive lineman Curtis Dawson, and defensive back Trevor Ford. Guilford (Ohio State), Vera (Texas Southern) and Foster (Tulsa) are immediately eligible to play, as is Turk (Alabama) who sat out last year. Jones (Mississippi State), Robinson (Alabama), Dawson (Alabama) and Ford (Florida State) must sit out this year as Division I-A transfers while Bradwell (Florida State) has been suspended.l
The Trojans have faced a nationally-ranked opponent 11 times since moving to Division I-A in 2001. FSU (#9) was the eighth different opponent to be ranked when playing the Trojans, joining Nebraska (#4 in 2001, #9 in 2002, #12 in 2003, #23 in 2006), Miami (#1 in 2001), Maryland (#15 in 2001), Iowa State (#21 in 2002), Kansas State (#7 in 2003), Missouri (#17 in 2004) and LSU (#17 in 2004). Troy is 1-10 all-time against nationally ranked (Division I) opponents, with the 2004 win over Missouri the only victory. The average score of the 11 games has been 35.3-11.7.
