Troy Battles James Madison for Sun Belt Championship on Friday

Friday, December 5

Harrisonburg, Va,

6 p.m.

Troy University

James Madison

Troy Battles James Madison for Sun Belt Championship on Friday

12/4/2025 1:08:00 PM | Football

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By: Troy Athletics Communications

TROY, Ala. – For a third time in the last four seasons, Troy is playing for a Sun Belt Conference championship as the Trojans take on No. 19 James Madison at Bridgeforth Stadium, Friday at 6 p.m. in the 2025 Credit Union 1 Sun Belt Championship Game presented by Visit Pensacola. The game will be broadcast on ESPN.

Notable
• Since returning as the starting quarterback (last two games), Goose Crowder has completed 51-of-77 passes for 646 yards and seven touchdowns

• Troy's offense has averaged 425.5 yards, 328.5 passing yards and 20.5 first downs the last two games ... the previous two games, Troy averaged 162.5 yards, 139 passing yards and 10 first downs

• Ethan Conner and DJ Epps became the first Troy duo since Bryan Holmes and Eric Thomas against South Alabama on Oct. 5, 2013, to have multiple touchdown receptions in the same game. Conner and Epps had two TD receptions each against Georgia State

• Troy has held opponents to a 47.62 percent touchdown rate in the red zone, the 12th best in the country. Troy has held opponents to a 78.57 success rate in the red zone, the 26th best mark in the country

• Goose Crowder (361 yards vs. Georgia State) and Tucker Kilcrease (415 at Texas State) became the first Troy quarterbacks to throw for more than 350 yards in a game in the same season in program history

• Jaquez White is averaging 1.08 passes defended per game, the third most in the Sun Belt and 19th most in the country. His 11 PBUs are tied for the 12th most in the country

• Troy has won nine of its last 12 SBC games and 11 of its last 16 games overall

• Troy is bowl eligible for the third time in the last four years and for the 13th time in the program's 25-year FBS history; it's the sixth time over the 10 seasons that Troy has become bowl eligible (2016, 17, 18, 22, 23, 25)

• Donnie Smith leads the Sun Belt with nine sacks ... it would be the second time in the last three seasons a Trojan has led the league in sacks (Javon Solomon, 2023, 16)

• Against Georgia State, Troy started its fifth different offensive line configuration of the season after Tyler Cappi started at center, Paul Bowling slid out to left guard and Eli Russ to left tackle

• Peyton Higgins is tied for sixth in the Sun Belt with 10 first down catches on third down ... 10 of his 12 catches on third down have resulted in a first down. Overall, 19 of his 32 receptions have resulted in a first down

• Troy has won three Sun Belt West Division titles in four years since moving to that side of the league in 2022

• Troy ranks second in the Sun Belt with 5.9 penalties per game

• Donnie Smith is tied for the third most in the country with a sack in seven different games; he is tied for seventh nationally with a half TFL in eight different games

• Troy has eight wins in its last nine games, including all five this season, when rushing for 100-plus yards

• Jordan Stringer is one of eight players in the country with at least 100 tackles and 11 tackles for loss

• Troy is 6-0 this season and have won nine of its last 10 when reaching 20 first downs

• Troy is 4-0 this year when hitting the 70-play mark and 7-2 when running 60-plus plays

• Troy's 81 victories since 2016 are the 20th most in the country and fifth most among G5 schools