Troy University Athletics
Troy Travels to Memphis for Road Opener
9/5/2024 12:08:00 PM | Football
TROY, Ala. – Troy hits the road for the first time in 2024 with a trip to Memphis on Saturday for a non-conference showdown at Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium. Kickoff is slated for 11 a.m., and the game will be televised on ESPNU.
Troy (0-1) is coming off a heartbreaking loss to Nevada in the opener, where a late two-point conversion came up just short in the 28-26 loss to the Wolf Pack. There were plenty of positives for the Trojans in the opener, highlighted by the individual performances of Damien Taylor (103 rushing yards and a TD) and Devonte Ross (102 receiving yards and a TD).
In his first start as Troy's quarterback, Goose Crowder found his rhythm after a slow start. After completing 4-of-10 to open the game, Crowder completed 16 of his final 20 attempts, including 11 of his final 13, en route to throwing for 200 yards and the late score to Ross.
Taylor averaged 5.55 yards after contact, the 12th most in the country last weekend, while Crowder and Gerald Green both forced four missed tackles.
The opener was a period of transition for the Trojans, with 11 freshmen seeing playing time plus 19 players (offense, defense, special teams) starting a game in a Troy uniform for the first time.
The matchup with the Tigers breaks a more than 80-year drought between the two schools, with the last game taking place in 1941, a 32-0 Memphis victory. The series has also produced one of the most improbable individual performances in college football history, as Sherrill Busby blacked four punts in Troy's 12-6 win in 1937.
Memphis (1-0), the preseason favorites to win the American Athletic Conference, breezed past North Alabama, 40-0, in its opener last weekend. Memphis held North Alabama to 185 yards in the victory while totaling 367 yards, paced by a 308-yard passing effort from Seth Henigan.
Henigan is coming off a season in which he threw for 3,883 yards and 32 touchdowns for the Tigers, leading them to a Liberty Bowl victory over Iowa State. The Tigers enter the weekend tied with Michigan for the fourth-most home wins (57) in FBS since 2014, trailing only Alabama (66), Clemson (65) and Ohio State (62). The Tigers' .826 winning percentage is No. 11 in the country over that stretch.
Notable
• Troy is 22-4 since losing on a Hail Mary at App State in 2022
• Troy forced 14 missed tackles in the opener, with Damien Taylor leading the way with five, followed by Goose Crowder (4) and Gerald Green (4)
• Damien Taylor averaged 5.55 yards after contact against Nevada, the 12th most nationally (min. 10 carries)
• Troy has forced 191 turnovers since the start of the 2016 season, which is tied with Clemson for the most in the country
• Troy has won 23 games the last three seasons, tied for the sixth most in the country
• 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
• After completing just 4-of-10 to open the game, Goose Crowder completed five of his next six and then completed 11 of his final 13 attempts
• Troy has scored in 123 straight games dating back to a 66-0 loss at Georgia in 2014; the Trojans have scored in 215 straight games against opponents not in a Power Four conference
• Twenty-nine Trojans topped the 20 MPH mark this summer and QB Goose Crowder was close hitting 19.82 MPH
• After every practice in the spring, Troy's assistant coaches, many of whom became emotional while delivering their message, shared their why. Why Troy? Why coach football? Why they are who they are. In fall camp, the messages changed to who their heroes are and a hardship along the way and how they overcame it
• 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
Troy (0-1) is coming off a heartbreaking loss to Nevada in the opener, where a late two-point conversion came up just short in the 28-26 loss to the Wolf Pack. There were plenty of positives for the Trojans in the opener, highlighted by the individual performances of Damien Taylor (103 rushing yards and a TD) and Devonte Ross (102 receiving yards and a TD).
In his first start as Troy's quarterback, Goose Crowder found his rhythm after a slow start. After completing 4-of-10 to open the game, Crowder completed 16 of his final 20 attempts, including 11 of his final 13, en route to throwing for 200 yards and the late score to Ross.
Taylor averaged 5.55 yards after contact, the 12th most in the country last weekend, while Crowder and Gerald Green both forced four missed tackles.
The opener was a period of transition for the Trojans, with 11 freshmen seeing playing time plus 19 players (offense, defense, special teams) starting a game in a Troy uniform for the first time.
The matchup with the Tigers breaks a more than 80-year drought between the two schools, with the last game taking place in 1941, a 32-0 Memphis victory. The series has also produced one of the most improbable individual performances in college football history, as Sherrill Busby blacked four punts in Troy's 12-6 win in 1937.
Memphis (1-0), the preseason favorites to win the American Athletic Conference, breezed past North Alabama, 40-0, in its opener last weekend. Memphis held North Alabama to 185 yards in the victory while totaling 367 yards, paced by a 308-yard passing effort from Seth Henigan.
Henigan is coming off a season in which he threw for 3,883 yards and 32 touchdowns for the Tigers, leading them to a Liberty Bowl victory over Iowa State. The Tigers enter the weekend tied with Michigan for the fourth-most home wins (57) in FBS since 2014, trailing only Alabama (66), Clemson (65) and Ohio State (62). The Tigers' .826 winning percentage is No. 11 in the country over that stretch.
Notable
• Troy is 22-4 since losing on a Hail Mary at App State in 2022
• Troy forced 14 missed tackles in the opener, with Damien Taylor leading the way with five, followed by Goose Crowder (4) and Gerald Green (4)
• Damien Taylor averaged 5.55 yards after contact against Nevada, the 12th most nationally (min. 10 carries)
• Troy has forced 191 turnovers since the start of the 2016 season, which is tied with Clemson for the most in the country
• Troy has won 23 games the last three seasons, tied for the sixth most in the country
• 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
• After completing just 4-of-10 to open the game, Goose Crowder completed five of his next six and then completed 11 of his final 13 attempts
• Troy has scored in 123 straight games dating back to a 66-0 loss at Georgia in 2014; the Trojans have scored in 215 straight games against opponents not in a Power Four conference
• Twenty-nine Trojans topped the 20 MPH mark this summer and QB Goose Crowder was close hitting 19.82 MPH
• After every practice in the spring, Troy's assistant coaches, many of whom became emotional while delivering their message, shared their why. Why Troy? Why coach football? Why they are who they are. In fall camp, the messages changed to who their heroes are and a hardship along the way and how they overcame it
• 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
Players Mentioned
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