Trojans Look To Rebound at No. 14 Arkansas

MEDIA INFORMATION | GAME INFORMATION | ESPN3 BROADCAST | LIVE STATS

One of the oldest axioms in college football is that a team makes its biggest improvement between the first and second games of the season.

For the Troy Trojans, the gap between the opener at Clemson and this Saturday's visit to Fayetteville to face No. 14 Arkansas included an extra week to work out the kinks and make the needed improvements from that opening 43-19 loss to the Tigers.

The Troy-Arkansas game is scheduled for a 6:30 p.m. start Saturday evening at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium. The game will be televised on both CSS and ESPN3.com.

The Trojans are looking to put together a full four quarters against the high-powered Razorbacks after playing a solid opening half against Clemson, but then getting pushed around by the Tigers in the second half. The keys to putting together a full four-quarter effort will be eliminating the mistakes on defense that resulted in big plays, and improving the consistency on offense in order to keep that defense off the field.

“I told the team after the Clemson game that I was encouraged,” Trojans coach Larry Blakeney said. “There's reason to be encouraged if we can stay well and continue to develop depth. I was encouraged, even though we didn't convert and didn't make the plays when we had to win the game.”

The Trojans will need to put together that full four-quarter effort against and Arkansas team that is ranked among the top 10 in the nation in every major offensive statistic and in the top 20 in every major defensive statistic. That doesn't even factor in that the Razorbacks have returned three kicks (two punts and a kickoff) for touchdowns in the first two games of the year.

Arkansas has scored 103 points in two games while allowing only 10.

“It's sort of like a horror movie if you watch tape on Arkansas and you've got to go against them,” Blakeney said. “They've got a lot of speed across the board. They've got a lot of weapons; the speed element of their whole team is certainly impressive. They have the weaponry to go with the schemes they're deploying against their opponents in special teams.”

For the Trojans, the objective is not to worry about what Arkansas may or may not bring to the field. The objective is to eliminate the mistakes that cost the team in the game against Clemson and to do the things that Troy does well.

“I feel like it's an opportunity for us to get better and see how we match up against an SEC football team,” sophomore quarterback Corey Robinson said. “We're taking it as a challenge going in there to see how we match up.

“We all love going and playing in places like Clemson and Arkansas. We're just going to try and go in there and win. You never go in a game looking to lose.”

On the defensive side of the ball, the Trojans are looking to eliminate the big plays that cost them against the Tigers.

“The Clemson game gave us a lot of things to build on,” senior defensive end John Robles said. “This week we should have a pretty good game. Instead of playing two quarters, we should be able to come out and play four quarters. I believe we can play with anybody in any conference, SEC, ACC, whoever.”

The Trojans will have to buck the tide of history to defeat Arkansas. This will be the fourth time Troy has ventured to Razorback country. The Hogs have won the three previous meetings by a combined 125-46. In fact, Arkansas has never lost in football to any member of the Sun Belt Conference, owning a 27-0 all-time record against the league.

“They're a solid, well rounded SEC Western Division contender,” Blakeney said. “We'll have to get ourselves better and go in there and play as hard as we can play and see what we can do. We've been out there before. It's a typical SEC venue, it'll be loud.”

One thing the Trojans have to look forward to in the game is the return of senior receiver Brett Moncrief from a broken foot. The game has special meaning for the Little Rock native, in large part because his father, Sidney Moncrief, is generally regarded as the greatest basketball player in Razorbacks history.

Moncrief's return will be a boost to a receiving corps that had seven different receivers make their first collegiate reception in the season-opener at Clemson. Moncrief's 16 career receptions for the Trojans are just 10 shy of the combined 26 by the rest of the Troy receivers.

“We had nine receivers make their college debut and two tight ends,” Robinson said of the opener. “They played a fantastic game, blocking wise and all. It's exciting to see a bunch of guys step up and make plays; I'm looking forward to the rest of the season.”

One of those new receivers, junior Justin Albert, had a team-high six receptions against Clemson. He thinks the group will get better and better as the season progresses.

“I think we've got to go out there and play good football,” Albert said. “We've got more confidence going into this game. The first game was sort of jittery, but we've practiced hard and we're more prepared. We've got Clemson behind us, time to move on to this one.”

The Trojans go into the game looking to snap a 10-game losing streak against teams ranked among the nation's top 25. Overall, Troy is 1-16 against nationally-ranked teams since moving to the Football Bowl Subdivision in 2001.

“Unfortunately, there are 'money games' you play,” Blakeney said. “Those are great challenges and, with great challenges come great opportunities. You can cut it any way you want to cut it, but it's a long shot most of the time. There is no such thing as a moral victory because there is nothing morally good about losing.

“We've got to go play hard and play good. It will not be easy, I know that.”

Troy University Athletics

Trojans Look To Rebound at No. 14 Arkansas

Next Event

Related Videos