Troy Hosts Florida A&M at The Vet; 40th Anniversary of 1984 National Championship

TROY, Ala. – Troy returns to The Vet on Saturday to play host to Florida A&M in the Trojans' final non-conference game of the season. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m., and the game will be broadcast on ESPN+.

More than 60 special guests will be in attendance as Troy celebrates the 40^th anniversary of the 1984 NCAA Division II National Championship team. Led by hall-of-fame head coach Chan Gailey, the Trojans went 12-1 and defeated North Dakota State in the national title game thanks to Ted Clem's 50-yard field goal as time expired.

The 2024 Trojans (0-3) are looking to crack the win column for the first time this season after a demanding schedule that included back-to-back road games at No. 23 Memphis and Iowa the last two weeks.

Troy gave Iowa all it could handle and more last weekend at Kinnick Stadium, thanks in large part to Devonte Ross and a defense that held the oversized Hawkeyes in check for 45 minutes.

Ross scored three times, all from 62 yards or longer, with a pair of long touchdown receptions and a 77-yard punt return for a touchdown, which gave Troy the lead at the half. Defensively, the Trojans held Iowa to just 17 points through the opening three quarters of play before a pair of long touchdown runs in the fourth quarter pushed Iowa's advantage to 17 points.

Florida A&M (2-1) is coming off a bye week following a 56-9 loss at Miami (Fla.) on Sept. 7. The loss to the Hurricanes snapped a 13-game winning streak by the Rattlers, dating back to a week two loss at South Florida in 2023. Florida A&M has won 23 straight games against non-FBS opponents.

The Rattlers enter the weekend ranked No. 20 in the AFCA FCS Coaches Poll and are the defending HBCU National Champions after defeating Howard, 30-26, in the 2023 Celebration Bowl. The Rattlers are led by quarterback Daniel Richardson, who started at Florida Atlantic (2023) and Central Michigan (2020-22) before landing at FAMU.

Notable
• Devonte Ross became the first player in Troy's DI history to record a pair of 60-plus yard catches in the same game

• The Iowa game marked the first time Troy had two 60-yard catches in the same game since 2009 vs. UAB

• Devonte Ross' 77-yard punt for a touchdown to close out the first half at Iowa; it was the first punt return allowed by the Hawkeyes since a Christan McCaffrey 63-yard return in the 2016 Rose Bowl

• Troy has found success scoring points on sustained drives this season; the Trojans have scored on all seven of its drives this season when picking up three first downs. The numbers are pretty good at two first downs too, where Troy has a 90.1 percent score rate

• Negative plays have been the key to Troy's success on defense ... the Trojans have not allowed points on any drive this season in which they record a sack (0-for-2) or if the first play went for a loss (0-for-3)

• Twenty Trojans (offense/defense) have made their first career FBS start this season, the second most in the country. The number swells to 24 when counting special teams and 27 when counting first-time starters at Troy

• Troy became just the sixth time since 2022 to pass for 229 yards or more against Iowa

• 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, the Trojans 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

• Due to injuries at QB (Crowder) and center (Russ), Troy played a walk-on at quarterback (Matthew Caldwell) and center (Tyler Cappi) at Memphis; the duo started the game at Iowa

• Troy has allowed points on just one drive this season in which it allowed a big play (12-plus yard run, 15-plus yard pass) that has resulted in points; conversely, Troy has allowed points on 14-of-17 drives when allowing a big play

• Troy has won the coin toss just eight times in the last 31 games (2022-pr.) ... the Trojans are 0-3 this season

• Troy has 20 wins in the last 23 games when it has rushed for 100-plus yards

Troy Hosts Florida A&M at The Vet; 40th Anniversary of 1984 National Championship

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Matthew Caldwell

Tyler Cappi

Devonte Ross

Troy University Athletics