Troy University Athletics
NOTEBOOK -- Inside the Homecoming Match Up with Louisiana
11/14/2021 1:04:00 PM | Football
Neither Troy nor Louisiana had any hesitation about making it a four-down game on Saturday.
The Ragin' Cajuns are one of the top-ranked teams in the country on fourth down. They were 14-for-20 in those situations coming into the game and were 3-for-5 on fourth down Saturday.
Troy was even better; converting all five times they went for it on fourth down. The Trojans are now 13-for-18 for the season.
"This whole analytics thing is the vogue now, I guess," Troy head coach Chip Lindsey said. "You try to research each and every week. The analytics is done each week based on you and your opponent. Now, there are times I've gone against it before, but we're committed to doing the best job we can. It's your numbers and their numbers.
"We were just following the deal there, and he (Louisiana head coach Billy Napier) did the same thing."
Troy quarterback Gunnar Watson said the Trojans prepared for those situations all week.
"We knew what they were going to do on defense, and I think we executed when it was fourth down," Watson said. "I think it was big. Everybody was dialed in, and we executed on those plays."
Troy kept alive its opening drive when Watson hit Tez Johnson for 27 yards on fourth-and-6 at the Louisiana 37.
The quarterback said the intensity of fourth down gets the team fired up.
"You either turn it over, or you get the first down," he noted. "We did it on the first drive, and it was fourth-and-medium, and we got it. That was big."
Lindsey said using the analytics is about trying to find "every edge we can to win football games."
"It looks good when it works," the coach said. "When it doesn't sometimes, you wish you hadn't done it, but it's part of what we're going to do."
Bouncing back: Watson started for the fifth straight game after he was knocked out of last week's South Alabama game with a head injury.
"Other than losing, I feel fine," the quarterback said after the game.
In addition to throwing for a career-high 350 yards, he also scored the first rushing touchdown of his career. His 10-yard TD run capped off the game's opening drive with a touchdown.
The quarterback also moved into 11th place on the Troy career list with 3,492 passing yards. He also is eighth on the list with 504 career passing attempts and ranks 13th with 23 touchdown passes.
First-time starters: Receiver Demontrez Brown and defensive lineman Buddah Jones both made their first career starts on Saturday. Brown was subbing for the injured Luke Whittemore. Jones was a fourth defensive lineman to open the game.
Fast start: Troy scored for the 14th time in its last 23 opportunities when receiving the opening kickoff. The Trojans also scored on their first drives of the game for the third time this season (Southern, Texas State).
Outscored, not outgained: Troy lost for the just fourth time under Chip Lindsey when it has outgained its opponent (14-4). The Trojans had 391 total offensive yards to 370 for Louisiana.
Governor attends: Gov. Kay Ivey attended Troy's Homecoming game on Saturday. The governor crowned Deizah Holland of Troy the Homecoming queen at halftime. Braxton Daniels of Greenville was named Homecoming king and was presented a sword. Announced attendance at the game was 24,738.
Rapid fire: A week after running just 54 plays against South Alabama, Troy ran a season-high 80 offensive plays against Louisiana.
Receivers: Tez Johnson, who caught his team-leading fourth TD pass in the game, finished with six receptions for 83 yards. Deshon Stoudemire caught a season-high five passes for 53 yards.
More on Martial: Linebacker Carlton Martial, who had his fourth consecutive game with 10 tackles or more, moved into sole possession of third place on Troy's career list with 417 career tackles. He is now 43 tackles away from setting the Sun Belt Conference career record. It was the 17th game time in his Troy career he's had double-digit tackles in a game.
Sacked by Solomon: Javon Solomon picked up a team-leading 11th sack of the season. He moved into ninth place on Troy's single-season tackles for loss list with 17 on the season. He had two on Saturday, his fifth game of the season with multiple TFLs.
Bootin' Buce: Kicker Brooks Buce made two first-half field goals of 30 and 47 yards. He is 7-for-7 on field goal attempts this season; all seven have come in Sun Belt games.
The series: Louisiana leads the overall series 13-9, including a 5-4 record in Troy.
What's next: Troy stays at home to face Sun Belt East leader Appalachian State. The game will be a 2:30 p.m. kickoff. It will be Senior Day for the Trojans and the final home game of the season. Troy wraps up the regular season the following week in Atlanta against Georgia State.
The Ragin' Cajuns are one of the top-ranked teams in the country on fourth down. They were 14-for-20 in those situations coming into the game and were 3-for-5 on fourth down Saturday.
Troy was even better; converting all five times they went for it on fourth down. The Trojans are now 13-for-18 for the season.
"This whole analytics thing is the vogue now, I guess," Troy head coach Chip Lindsey said. "You try to research each and every week. The analytics is done each week based on you and your opponent. Now, there are times I've gone against it before, but we're committed to doing the best job we can. It's your numbers and their numbers.
"We were just following the deal there, and he (Louisiana head coach Billy Napier) did the same thing."
Troy quarterback Gunnar Watson said the Trojans prepared for those situations all week.
"We knew what they were going to do on defense, and I think we executed when it was fourth down," Watson said. "I think it was big. Everybody was dialed in, and we executed on those plays."
Troy kept alive its opening drive when Watson hit Tez Johnson for 27 yards on fourth-and-6 at the Louisiana 37.
The quarterback said the intensity of fourth down gets the team fired up.
"You either turn it over, or you get the first down," he noted. "We did it on the first drive, and it was fourth-and-medium, and we got it. That was big."
Lindsey said using the analytics is about trying to find "every edge we can to win football games."
"It looks good when it works," the coach said. "When it doesn't sometimes, you wish you hadn't done it, but it's part of what we're going to do."
Bouncing back: Watson started for the fifth straight game after he was knocked out of last week's South Alabama game with a head injury.
"Other than losing, I feel fine," the quarterback said after the game.
In addition to throwing for a career-high 350 yards, he also scored the first rushing touchdown of his career. His 10-yard TD run capped off the game's opening drive with a touchdown.
The quarterback also moved into 11th place on the Troy career list with 3,492 passing yards. He also is eighth on the list with 504 career passing attempts and ranks 13th with 23 touchdown passes.
First-time starters: Receiver Demontrez Brown and defensive lineman Buddah Jones both made their first career starts on Saturday. Brown was subbing for the injured Luke Whittemore. Jones was a fourth defensive lineman to open the game.
Fast start: Troy scored for the 14th time in its last 23 opportunities when receiving the opening kickoff. The Trojans also scored on their first drives of the game for the third time this season (Southern, Texas State).
Outscored, not outgained: Troy lost for the just fourth time under Chip Lindsey when it has outgained its opponent (14-4). The Trojans had 391 total offensive yards to 370 for Louisiana.
Governor attends: Gov. Kay Ivey attended Troy's Homecoming game on Saturday. The governor crowned Deizah Holland of Troy the Homecoming queen at halftime. Braxton Daniels of Greenville was named Homecoming king and was presented a sword. Announced attendance at the game was 24,738.
Rapid fire: A week after running just 54 plays against South Alabama, Troy ran a season-high 80 offensive plays against Louisiana.
Receivers: Tez Johnson, who caught his team-leading fourth TD pass in the game, finished with six receptions for 83 yards. Deshon Stoudemire caught a season-high five passes for 53 yards.
More on Martial: Linebacker Carlton Martial, who had his fourth consecutive game with 10 tackles or more, moved into sole possession of third place on Troy's career list with 417 career tackles. He is now 43 tackles away from setting the Sun Belt Conference career record. It was the 17th game time in his Troy career he's had double-digit tackles in a game.
Sacked by Solomon: Javon Solomon picked up a team-leading 11th sack of the season. He moved into ninth place on Troy's single-season tackles for loss list with 17 on the season. He had two on Saturday, his fifth game of the season with multiple TFLs.
Bootin' Buce: Kicker Brooks Buce made two first-half field goals of 30 and 47 yards. He is 7-for-7 on field goal attempts this season; all seven have come in Sun Belt games.
The series: Louisiana leads the overall series 13-9, including a 5-4 record in Troy.
What's next: Troy stays at home to face Sun Belt East leader Appalachian State. The game will be a 2:30 p.m. kickoff. It will be Senior Day for the Trojans and the final home game of the season. Troy wraps up the regular season the following week in Atlanta against Georgia State.
Players Mentioned
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/ Football𝗕𝗘𝗛𝗜𝗡𝗗 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗪𝗔𝗟𝗟 - 𝗦𝟭𝟬, 𝗘𝟲
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