Troy Travels to South Alabama for 13th Installment of "Battle for the Belt"

TROY, Ala. – Get the rivalry cliches ready because they are true when it comes to the annual "Battle for the Belt" matchup between Troy and South Alabama, which celebrates its 13^th installment Tuesday night at Hancock Whitney Stadium in Mobile, Ala. ESPN2 will broadcast the game, which kicks off at 6:30 p.m.

Troy (1-5, 0-2 SBC) has won six straight games in the series and four straight games played in Mobile. The road team has won seven of the 12 meetings, and South Alabama's (2-4, 1-1) last victory came 11 days after the Trojans went into Death Valley and defeated LSU.

The Trojans have had to battle demons all season long, as Troy has started three different quarterbacks and three different centers; 24 players have made their first career start at the FBS level, and the Trojans have used four different offensive line combinations to open their six games.

Tucker Kilcrease stepped in for starter Goose Crowder for the last seven quarters and the sophomore has handled his business; Crowder has played in just nine quarters this season. Kilcrease completed 17-of-28 passes for 249 yards and a pair of touchdowns against Texas State the last time out.

Troy will look to continue to try and exploit explosive plays after racking up six against the Bobcats and seven two weeks prior in its win over Florida A&M. Devonte Ross has a team-leading nine plays of 20-plus yards this year, while Damien Taylor has six and Landon Parker has four.

Defensively, Troy is expected to welcome back several key starters who have missed time the past few weeks, including cornerbacks Damaje Yancey and Dorian Jackson and Spear Devin Lafayette.

Pressure and containment will be a key for the Troy defense, as the Trojans have forced four takeaways the last two games.

The Jaguars' stats are slightly skewed because of an 87-10 victory over Northwestern State on Sept. 12. Remove that game from the numbers; South Alabama is averaging 26.4 points per game, while allowing 30.6 points and 481.8 yards per contest.

South Alabama has one of the nation's most dynamic playmakers on the outside in Jamaal Pritchett, who is averaging 88.5 receiving yards per game and has caught six touchdown passes and he's returned a kickoff for a touchdown.

Notable
• Troy's seven-game road Sun Belt winning streak is the second longest active road conference winning streak in the country (Tulane, 9)

• Troy has forced 195 turnovers since the start of the 2016 season, which is the second most in the country ... the Trojans forced three turnovers against Texas State, the 33rd time since 2016 with three or more turnovers in a game, the most in the country

• Troy's games in 2024 have averaged just 120.0 combined plays, the eighth fewest in the country (Kentucky, 112.6)

• Paddy McAteer, who didn't kick an American football until April, ranks as the No. 23 KOS in the country by PFF and 10th, averaging 70.5 yards per attempt

• Troy's defense has started drives on its side of the field seven times this season (11 percent of possessions); of those drives, Troy's defense is allowing just an average of 3.0 points per drive

• Eli Russ and Boaz Stanley have both played at three different positions on the offensive line this season

• Damien Taylor ranks 18th nationally among running backs per PFF with an 83.6 rush grade (min. 60 rushes) and is eighth, averaging 4.82 yards after contact

• Big plays have been key to Troy's success offensively; the Trojans have scored on just 6.3 percent of its drives (2-of-32) without a big play (any pass of 15+ yards or a rush of 12+ yards); however, Troy has scored on 65.5 percent of drives with a big play (19-of-29)

• Devonte Ross became the first Troy player with multiple touchdown receptions in consecutive games since Eric Thomas had two against North Texas and Florida Atlantic in 2011. Ross had two touchdown receptions at Iowa and had three against Florida A&M

Troy Travels to South Alabama for 13th Installment of "Battle for the Belt"

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Players Mentioned

Goose Crowder

Tucker Kilcrease

Devin Lafayette

Paddy McAteer

Landon Parker

Devonte Ross

Eli Russ

Boaz Stanley

Damien Taylor

Damaje Yancey

Troy University Athletics