Troy Football Wraps Road Swing at South Carolina

TROY, Ala. – Two days following the fourth anniversary of one of the most stunning upsets in Troy and college football history, Troy returns to SEC country looking to add another chapter in its "Giant Killing" story when the Trojans take on South Carolina. Kickoff is slated for 2:30 p.m. (CT) from Williams-Brice Stadium, and the game will be televised on the SEC Network.

Troy (2-2) has won two of its last three games against Power 5 opponents with victories over LSU (2017) and Nebraska (2018) – the Trojans did not play a P5 foe last year.

Both teams enter Saturday's non-conference matchup looking to right the ship. Troy dropped its Sun Belt opener at ULM, while South Carolina (2-2) is on a two-game skid with losses to Georgia and Kentucky.

Two of the top defenses in the country will be on display in Saturday's contest. Troy enters the weekend first among Group of Five schools and fourth nationally, allowing 243.5 yards per game, and the Trojan defense has allowed just an average of 11.8 points per game. South Carolina allows just 18.3 points per game and holds opponents to 159.8 yards through the air each week.

Know Your Foe
South Carolina won the turnover battle, 3-0, but was held to just 12 first downs and 216 yards of offense in last weekend's 16-10 loss to Kentucky. The Gamecocks have surrendered 17 or fewer points in three of their four games, including a shutout of Eastern Illinois in the season opener. Overall, the Gamecocks rank 34th in the nation, allowing 18.2 points per game in 2021. Last season, South Carolina gave up an average of 36.0 points per game and held just two of their 10 opponents to 17 points or less. They ranked 105th in the country in scoring defense a year ago.

Notable
• Kimani Vidal ranks fifth in the Group of Five and 14th nationally, averaging 3.59 yards after contact this season (min 55 carries); he was second nationally among freshmen last year with a 3.83 average.

• Troy's defense has held eight of its last 10 opponents to 21 points or fewer dating back to last season; in those games, the Trojan defense has allowed an average of just 12.1 points.

• Javon Solomon is the only FBS player to have at least five sacks and nine tackles for loss this season; he has 5.5 sacks and 9.5 tackles for loss. He leads the country in TFLs and ranks fourth in sacks.

• Troy is the ONLY team in the country to hold four opponents to less than 190 passing yards this season.

• Carlton Martial is the nation's active leader averaging 8.90 tackles per game in his career.

• Troy ranks fourth nationally since the start of the 2017 season with 381 tackles for loss – only Clemson, Miami and Ohio State have more.

• Troy has allowed just 974 yards of total offense this season; it is the fewest allowed through four games in Sun Belt history and the fewest by a Troy team since at least 2000.

• Troy's defense has held eight of its last 10 opponents to 21 points or fewer, dating back to last season; in those games, the Trojan defense has allowed an average of just 12.1 points.

Troy Football Wraps Road Swing at South Carolina

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Players Mentioned

Carlton Martial

Javon Solomon

Kimani Vidal

Troy University Athletics