Trojans Prepare To Face SEC East Champs

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The Troy Trojans football team is stepping out of Sun Belt Conference play this weekend, and stepping up in competition. The Trojans will travel to face the 17th-ranked South Carolina Gamecocks on Saturday, and the challenge boasts one of the best Gamecock teams ever.

Troy vs. South Carolina will be televised by the SEC Network. The game will air regionally throughout the Southeast with a kick-off slated for 11:21 a.m. central time. The game can also be heard on the Troy Sports Network with play-by-play coverage from Barry McKnight, color commentary from Jerry Miller and sideline reports from Chris Blackshear.

The Trojans are on the hunt for some momentum after falling to Florida International last Saturday in a game which saw Troy post dismal numbers on defense. The Trojans allowed 448 yards on the ground against FIU, and with talent like Marcus Lattimore in the backfield for the Gamecocks, the defense has another great challenge.

“It is an exciting place to play and we will certainly find a good football team when we get there,” Trojans head coach Larry Blakeney said. “I have seen the tape on them and they are pretty simple offensively, but they are good. They are going to line up and give you a formation and then call the play from the sideline.

“They will force you to lineup quick and then they will sit there and hold it, much like the guys the other night. Steve (Spurrier) is a great football coach and a great offensive schemer. I can look at the tape of them and see things that he has been doing for years. They are still good.”

Spurrier, a national championship coach and Heisman Trophy winning player at the University of Florida, has brought the championship attitude to South Carolina. In Spurrier's six years at the helm of the Gamecocks, the winning attitude has grown increasingly, and he now his team headed to Atlanta for their first appearance in the SEC Championship game.

But, before the Gamecocks can worry about a rematch with Auburn in Atlanta, they have non-conference games left with both Troy and in-state rival Clemson.

The Gamecocks, however, must focus on getting past a “letdown” game. South Carolina defeated then no. 1 Alabama on October 9th but followed that win with a loss at unranked Kentucky the very next week.

Blakeney thinks that now is the best time to face South Carolina but, in retrospect, it is also a good time for teams to face Troy.

“We are catching them at a great time,” Blakeney said. “You couldn't catch them at a better time, but they are catching us at a good time too. We just lost to FIU and our next game is another conference game that we have got to win.

“Between Florida, which was a big game for them to win the east, and Clemson, and with the championship game looming out there, I could see how they might be distracted a little bit. I hope they are really distracted. Columbia is a great venue. Their fans have shown up there forever without a championship but, now that they have one, they will wrap that place up. It should be exciting to go play there.”

Both teams are focused on chasing a conference title, and a win for Troy on Saturday would garner great momentum to finish the season. Senior receiver Jerrel Jernigan said the Trojans need a good response from last weekend's loss.

“We just have to go try to get some good work in,” Jernigan said. “Coming off a bad loss like that, we will pretty much find out if this team has any character or not. We have to have a great week of practice and get everyone back up for this weeks' game.”

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