Troy Travels to Iowa Saturday

TROY, Ala. – Troy wraps its two-game road swing with a trip to Iowa and Kinnick Stadium on Saturday. Kickoff is set for 3 p.m., and the game will be televised on FS1.

Both teams enter Saturday's contest coming off tough losses, with Iowa (1-1) dropping a 20-19 decision to rival Iowa State on a 54-yard field goal with nine seconds remaining, while Troy (0-2) lost at No. 25 Memphis after starting quarterback Goose Crowder was forced out of the game early in the second quarter.

The matchup is the first between the two schools and Troy's first against a Big Ten opponent since a 24-19 victory at Nebraska in 2018.

Troy's ground attack has churned up 100-yard games twice to open the season behind the legs of Gerald Green and Damien Taylor, with the latter leading the Trojans in both games. Additionally, Taylor ranks 14^th in the country, averaging 5.44 yards after contact this season and leads the country in 20-plus yard runs on third down.

The Trojans have rolled out one of the nation's youngest and most inexperienced teams through the first two weeks, with 16 players having made their first career starts at the FBS level, the second most in the country. Troy's 12 seniors are the fewest in the country, and the Trojans' 46 scholarship newcomers are the third-most nationally.

Defensively, Troy held one of the nation's top quarterbacks to one of the most unproductive games of his career. Memphis' Seth Henigan threw for just 161 yards and one touchdown; it was Henigan's fewest passing yards since a 159-yard effort at UAB on Oct. 21, 2023, and the fourth-fewest in his career.

The Trojans limited the Tigers to 372 yards of total offense, the second-fewest in their last 17 games.

Iowa is led by its running game behind Kaleb Johnson's 153 per-game average this season, as he is coming off a 187-yard performance against Iowa State last weekend. Turnovers have been key for the Hawkeye defense, with four through the first two weeks of the season; Troy has turned the ball over just once.

The game features two of the nation's top defenses over the past three years as Troy ranks third nationally, holding 19 of its 30 opponents since 2022 to 19 or fewer points; Iowa ranks second at 22 opponents. Additionally, Troy ranks second since 2016 with 191 turnovers forced, eight more than Iowa, which ranks fourth. Finally, the Hawkeyes lead the country with 125 interceptions since 2016 and Troy checks in sixth with 115.

Notable

• All of Troy's defensive coaches have served as a defensive coordinator at the collegiate level - Chris Boone, Nathan Burton, Justin Manning, Travis Pearson

• Despite Troy not having officially played a ranked team in 2024, after this week, the Trojans will have played a team now ranked (Memphis) and one that was ranked the week prior to the game (Iowa)

• Troy has forced 191 turnovers since the start of the 2016 season, which is the second most in the country

• Troy has won 23 games the last three seasons, tied for the eighth most in the country

• Troy is 22-5 since losing on a Hail Mary at App State in 2022

• Troy won 11 games in consecutive seasons (2022, 2023) for just the second time in program history (1995, 1996)

• Troy's eight conference titles since 2006 are tied with Clemson for the fifth most over that period

• Troy and Michigan are the only two programs to win conference titles in 2022 and 2023

• Due to injuries at QB (Crowder) and center (Russ), Troy was playing a walk-on at quarterback (Matthew Caldwell) and center (Tyler Cappi) at Memphis

• Chris Lewis will miss the 2024 season as a result of his 10-week chemotherapy treatment at Children's of Alabama in Birmingham and surgery this past spring to remove the tumor. He finished the 2023 season ranked 16th in the country with 10 touchdown catches and led the country, averaging 22.97 yards per catch

• The Memphis game marked the first time since Nov. 5, 2016, against UMass that two different Troy quarterbacks rushed for a touchdown in the same game; Brandon Silvers scored on a 3-yard run in the first quarter and Sawyer Smith scored a 7-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter

• Troy held Memphis to 372 yards of total offense, the Tigers' second-fewest in their last 17 games

• Troy has won 20 of its last 23 games when rushing for 100-plus yards

• Three Troy quarterbacks finished with positive rushing yards against Memphis

• Troy has won the coin toss just eight times in the last 30 games; the Trojans were 3-11 last season and are 0-2 this season

• Troy has seen 12 freshmen get playing time this season, including three who are starting games

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Matthew Caldwell

Tyler Cappi

Goose Crowder

Gerald Green

Chris Lewis

Damien Taylor

Troy University Athletics