Troy University Athletics
Back in The Vet; Troy Hosts Southern Miss on Saturday
10/6/2022 3:58:00 PM | Football
TROY, Ala. – Winners of two straight games, Troy returns to The Vet on Saturday when it welcomes Southern Miss to the Sun Belt Conference; kickoff is set for 6 p.m., and the game will be broadcast on ESPN+.
Troy (3-2, 1-1 SBC) went on the road and knocked off Western Kentucky last weekend after defeating Marshall two weeks ago in the Thundering Herd's first-ever Sun Belt Conference game. In an odd twist of fate, Troy will also usher Southern Miss (2-2, 0-0) into its SBC infancy, as the game is the Golden Eagles' first as a member of the league.
Jarret Doege came off the bench and threw a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns in the win at Western Kentucky just two-and-a-half months after he left WKU and joined the Trojan roster. Head coach Jon Sumrall has been mum on who will start behind center for the Trojans this weekend between Doege and Gunnar Watson.
Whichever direction the Trojans go, they will have an experienced signal caller in the game. Doege enters the weekend first among active players at the FBS level with 965 career completions and second with 10,689 passing yards and with 82 career touchdown passes. Watson ranks 15th among active players completing 65.7 percent of his passes and is in the top 50 in passing yards per game and completions.
Troy reversed one ugly trend last week, winning for just the third time in its last 11 road games, and will attempt to squash another trend this weekend. A victory over Southern Miss, which would be just Troy's fourth in 12 meetings, would give the Trojans a third straight victory for the first time since 2018.
There is plenty to discuss about Troy's offense outside the quarterback situation. Tez Johnson has bounced back from his early injury to top the 100-yard receiving mark in consecutive games, and DK Billingsley is a man on a mission in the backfield, rushing for 122 yards and a touchdown last weekend. He has now rushed for 284 yards this season – no negative carries – after combining for 126 yards the last two seasons.
Defensively, the Trojans are coming off what might be their most impressive performance of the season, where they held Western Kentucky's high-powered offense to just 27 points, snapping the nation's longest streak of 30-point games at 18 straight.
Carlton Martial earned his second straight Sun Belt Defensive Player of the Week honor, while the Trojans racked up five sacks, led by Richard Jibunor's sack-fumble to end the game. Troy has combined for 12 sacks the last two games, paced by 2.5 each from Jibunor and T.J. Jackson.
The Golden Eagles have won two straight with victories over Northwestern State and Tulane after opening the season with close losses to Liberty and Miami. Troy will have to contend with Southern Miss' stout pass rush that's led to the nation's eighth-most sacks and seventh-most tackles for loss.
Frank Gore, Jr. ranks in the top 50 nationally, averaging 78.5 yards per game after spending most of 2021 as the Golden Eagles' starting quarterback despite being a running back.
Notable
• Troy has passed for 1,653 yards through the first five games of the season, which is the most by a Troy team at the Division I level in the first five games of a season.
• Troy has held three of its last four opponents to less than 100 yards rushing and the one it didn't, App State, the Trojans held them 31 yards below its current average. After allowing 266 rushing yards in the opener at Ole Miss (the nation's No. 5 rushing team), Troy has held opponents to 94.8 yards per game and 2.6 yards per carry, which would rank 17th and sixth nationally, respectively
• Troy has done a decent job answering opponent scores ... the Trojans have scored on 43.8 percent (7-of-16) on drives following an opponent score; the national average is 31.5 percent
• Troy is ranked 27th nationally according to Pro Football Focus; the Trojans are third in the country in coverage defense and 10th in passing offense.
• Carlton Martial enters the weekend ranked 10th all-time in NCAA history with 487 career tackles, and he is just 59 shy of becoming the all-time leader at the FBS level.
• Tez Johnson became just the sixth player in Troy's DI history (2001) to throw a touchdown pass and catch a touchdown pass in the same game and the first since John Johnson did so against UMass in 2016 when he did so against WKU. Troy WR coach Gary Banks also did so against North Texas in 2007.
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