Troy University Athletics
Trojans Searching for Marquee Win at LSU
11/12/2008 6:00:00 AM | Football
One of the things members of the Troy University Trojans football team routinely talk about is getting a “marquee” victory. The primary goal each season is to win the Sun Belt Conference title, but there is always an underlying desire to take down one of the “big boys” of college football.
The 2008 Trojans will get their third chance to notch one of those marquee wins this Saturday night at one of the most famous venues in all of college athletics, Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, La. Kickoff for the game between the Trojans and LSU is scheduled for 7 p.m.
The game was originally scheduled to be played on September 6, but was postponed to November 15 after Baton Rouge, and the LSU campus, took a direct hit from Hurricane Gustav.
In 2004, the Troy football program scored a major victory over nationally ranked Missouri, but the Trojans came very close to a second such win later in the year. Troy took the defending BCS National Champion Tigers from LSU to the final minutes on Homecoming night in Baton Rouge before falling 24-20.
The situation is eerily similar this year as the two teams prepare to meet for just the second time. Like in 2004, LSU stands as the defending BCS National Champions, but the Tigers have seen their national ranking slip thanks to some close losses, including a 27-21 overtime loss to top-ranked Alabama.
Like in 2004, it is Homecoming in Baton Rouge. For the Trojans, it will be the fourth consecutive homecoming game this season, following games at North Texas, ULM and, last week, at home, that were all designated as homecoming games.
Those similarities gave Troy coach Larry Blakeney pause to reflect back to that 2004 game earlier this week.
"I thought a lot about that game, but this is a different set of teams,” Blakeney said. “It is different coaches for them and a different offensive approach for us, plus they are coming off a loss and should be motivated to play us.”
The last time the teams met, the Trojans had a chance late to take a touchdown lead, but a pair of penalties forced Troy to settle for a go-ahead field goal, leaving the door open for LSU to score a winning touchdown in the final minutes.
“We had a penalty that cost us going up by seven, and I believe it was a formation penalty. We had another penalty after that and we had to take the field goal,” Blakeney said. “To their credit, they had a package to get into the end zone.”
The two teams enter play this weekend with identical 6-3 records. The Trojans still control their own destiny in the Sun Belt Conference, with home games remaining against league-leading Louisiana-Lafayette (11/22) as well as Arkansas State (12/6).
LSU was eliminated from contention for a berth in the SEC title game with the loss to Alabama last week. The Tigers close their regular season with a home game against Ole Miss (11/22) before finishing at Arkansas (11/28).
While there are two huge conference games looming for the Trojans, there is not a single member of the Troy team that doesn't want to go to LSU and get a victory.
“I'm really looking forward to it,” junior quarterback Levi Brown said. “It's going to be a hostile environment, we are all aware of that. Playing at Ohio State, in front of 100 and something thousand, at Florida and Georgia last year, and Arkansas, it's not really new for us. I think we are all really excited about it.”
Brown is also excited about having sophomore Jerrel Jernigan, the Trojans' leading receiver, back. Jernigan suffered a knee injury late in the first half at North Texas and missed the game against ULM. He came back in the second half against Western Kentucky last week and had six catches for 88 yards in limited playing time.
“It feels really good obviously,” Brown said. “He is a big play maker so I was excited to see him out there Saturday. I was surprised, but excited. That will help us for sure, having a big play threat like him in there.”
Jernigan scoffed at the idea of sitting out the game against LSU to rest for the final stretch run in the conference.
“I really don't want to sit out, to tell you the truth,” Jernigan said. “I want to go play in Baton Rouge and tell my kids I played in Baton Rouge. Coach Blakeney wants me to get some reps in and I don't want to sit out.
“I think it's a good opportunity to go out there and show the world our offense, and defense, and how good of a team we are.”
Since taking over as the Trojans' starting QB four games ago, Brown has posted impressive numbers. He is averaging 290.8 yards per game and has completed 69.4 percent of his throws with just two interceptions and nine touchdowns. The Trojans are 3-0 in games when he passes for at least 250 yards.
By comparison, LSU has struggled at quarterback. Redshirt freshman Jarrett Lee has started six games while sophomore Andrew Hatch has started three. Hatch has not played recently with a knee injury and Lee has had trouble with interceptions. Despite having thrown for 1,608 yards, Lee has completed just 53.4 percent of his throws and has been intercepted 14 times, with six going back for defensive scores.
Troy's defense has had eight different players record interceptions this year, and the team has combined to record 16. That group is looking forward to testing themselves against the Tigers.
“We know he has thrown a few picks this season, we are just hoping to get a few chances to get some picks,” senior safety Tavares Williams said. “We really want to get out and get our turnover ratio up on defense, put on some pressure up front and take over in the back.”
While the Tigers have struggled some through the air, the LSU running attack has been strong all season. LSU is averaging 187.9 yards per game on the ground and have not had a running back lose a fumble in 680 consecutive carries.
“What we've got in front of us in LSU is a great opportunity and a great place to play,” Blakeney said. “They have super fans and they are loud. The main thing is they are probably one of the best coached football programs as there is in the country, including USC.
“We are going to try and find some things we can do and things we can get done to give us a chance on offense and defense.”
The game will not be available on the Troy Game Pass, but will be available on the ESPN GamePlan Pay-Per-View package. Troy fans can also watch the game online at ESPN360.com.
The 2008 Trojans will get their third chance to notch one of those marquee wins this Saturday night at one of the most famous venues in all of college athletics, Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, La. Kickoff for the game between the Trojans and LSU is scheduled for 7 p.m.
The game was originally scheduled to be played on September 6, but was postponed to November 15 after Baton Rouge, and the LSU campus, took a direct hit from Hurricane Gustav.
In 2004, the Troy football program scored a major victory over nationally ranked Missouri, but the Trojans came very close to a second such win later in the year. Troy took the defending BCS National Champion Tigers from LSU to the final minutes on Homecoming night in Baton Rouge before falling 24-20.
The situation is eerily similar this year as the two teams prepare to meet for just the second time. Like in 2004, LSU stands as the defending BCS National Champions, but the Tigers have seen their national ranking slip thanks to some close losses, including a 27-21 overtime loss to top-ranked Alabama.
Like in 2004, it is Homecoming in Baton Rouge. For the Trojans, it will be the fourth consecutive homecoming game this season, following games at North Texas, ULM and, last week, at home, that were all designated as homecoming games.
Those similarities gave Troy coach Larry Blakeney pause to reflect back to that 2004 game earlier this week.
"I thought a lot about that game, but this is a different set of teams,” Blakeney said. “It is different coaches for them and a different offensive approach for us, plus they are coming off a loss and should be motivated to play us.”
The last time the teams met, the Trojans had a chance late to take a touchdown lead, but a pair of penalties forced Troy to settle for a go-ahead field goal, leaving the door open for LSU to score a winning touchdown in the final minutes.
“We had a penalty that cost us going up by seven, and I believe it was a formation penalty. We had another penalty after that and we had to take the field goal,” Blakeney said. “To their credit, they had a package to get into the end zone.”
The two teams enter play this weekend with identical 6-3 records. The Trojans still control their own destiny in the Sun Belt Conference, with home games remaining against league-leading Louisiana-Lafayette (11/22) as well as Arkansas State (12/6).
LSU was eliminated from contention for a berth in the SEC title game with the loss to Alabama last week. The Tigers close their regular season with a home game against Ole Miss (11/22) before finishing at Arkansas (11/28).
While there are two huge conference games looming for the Trojans, there is not a single member of the Troy team that doesn't want to go to LSU and get a victory.
“I'm really looking forward to it,” junior quarterback Levi Brown said. “It's going to be a hostile environment, we are all aware of that. Playing at Ohio State, in front of 100 and something thousand, at Florida and Georgia last year, and Arkansas, it's not really new for us. I think we are all really excited about it.”
Brown is also excited about having sophomore Jerrel Jernigan, the Trojans' leading receiver, back. Jernigan suffered a knee injury late in the first half at North Texas and missed the game against ULM. He came back in the second half against Western Kentucky last week and had six catches for 88 yards in limited playing time.
“It feels really good obviously,” Brown said. “He is a big play maker so I was excited to see him out there Saturday. I was surprised, but excited. That will help us for sure, having a big play threat like him in there.”
Jernigan scoffed at the idea of sitting out the game against LSU to rest for the final stretch run in the conference.
“I really don't want to sit out, to tell you the truth,” Jernigan said. “I want to go play in Baton Rouge and tell my kids I played in Baton Rouge. Coach Blakeney wants me to get some reps in and I don't want to sit out.
“I think it's a good opportunity to go out there and show the world our offense, and defense, and how good of a team we are.”
Since taking over as the Trojans' starting QB four games ago, Brown has posted impressive numbers. He is averaging 290.8 yards per game and has completed 69.4 percent of his throws with just two interceptions and nine touchdowns. The Trojans are 3-0 in games when he passes for at least 250 yards.
By comparison, LSU has struggled at quarterback. Redshirt freshman Jarrett Lee has started six games while sophomore Andrew Hatch has started three. Hatch has not played recently with a knee injury and Lee has had trouble with interceptions. Despite having thrown for 1,608 yards, Lee has completed just 53.4 percent of his throws and has been intercepted 14 times, with six going back for defensive scores.
Troy's defense has had eight different players record interceptions this year, and the team has combined to record 16. That group is looking forward to testing themselves against the Tigers.
“We know he has thrown a few picks this season, we are just hoping to get a few chances to get some picks,” senior safety Tavares Williams said. “We really want to get out and get our turnover ratio up on defense, put on some pressure up front and take over in the back.”
While the Tigers have struggled some through the air, the LSU running attack has been strong all season. LSU is averaging 187.9 yards per game on the ground and have not had a running back lose a fumble in 680 consecutive carries.
“What we've got in front of us in LSU is a great opportunity and a great place to play,” Blakeney said. “They have super fans and they are loud. The main thing is they are probably one of the best coached football programs as there is in the country, including USC.
“We are going to try and find some things we can do and things we can get done to give us a chance on offense and defense.”
The game will not be available on the Troy Game Pass, but will be available on the ESPN GamePlan Pay-Per-View package. Troy fans can also watch the game online at ESPN360.com.
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