Troy University Athletics
Saturday, August 30
Troy, Ala.
6 p.m.
Troy University
vs
Nicholls
Troy Football Opens 2025 Slate Saturday Hosting Nicholls
8/28/2025 9:55:00 AM | Football
TROY, Ala. – Troy opens its 2025 football season Saturday when the Trojans host Nicholls at The Vet in non-conference action. Kickoff between the former conference rivals is slated for 6 p.m. and ESPN+ will carry the broadcast.
It's the 28th all-time meeting between Troy and Nicholls after the schools met every year from 1973 to 2001, except for the 1988 and 1989 seasons. Troy has won four straight and nine of the last 10 against Nicholls, with five of the last six meetings coming as Southland Conference foes.
Troy (0-0) enters 2025 looking to quickly erase the bad taste in its mouth from last season, and the Trojans feel like they have the roster to do just that. A roster that features 27 seniors, compared to just 12 last year, with six of those players having been here their entire collegiate career – that number was zero in 2024.
Leading the way are five captains – voted on by their teammates – quarterback Goose Crowder, offensive lineman Eli Russ, defensive tackle Luis Medina, linebacker Jordan Stringer and spear Devin Lafayette.
Troy needs to keep Crowder on the field after last year's opening day starter was limited to just 11 quarters played over the course of the season. The Trojans have plenty to build on offensively as they averaged 9.8 points and 118.3 points per quarter over the final 4.5 games last season, more than doubling their point production and a 40-yard increase on their first 30 quarters of the season.
Defensively, the Trojans are loaded with veterans as 21 of the 25 players listed on the depth chart are upperclassmen, with seniors holding down nine of the 11 starting positions. Eyes will be on the secondary early as Troy rebuilt the back four with new starters out of the transfer portal at both cornerback positions (Jaquez White and Kaleno Levine) and at strong safety (David Daniel-Sisavanh).
Like the offense, the defense played its best football down the stretch, holding its final three opponents to less than 100 yards rushing and four of its final six opponents to 325 yards of total offense or less.
Nicholls (1-0) shocked the FCS world during Week 0, handing No. 4 Incarnate Word a 20-6 loss in a dominating performance in head coach Tommy Rybacki's debut. The Colonels held UIW to just 204 yards of total offense, including 16 yards on the ground, thanks in part to five UIW turnovers. The Colonels struggled on offense, netting just 287 yards (66 on the ground) with their lone offensive touchdown a 55-yard home run strike in the fourth quarter.
Notable
• Troy is celebrating its 25th season as an FBS member in 2025 ... during its run at the highest level of college football, Troy has won eight conference titles and six bowl games.
• Troy has had a 1,000-yard rusher in three straight seasons; the Trojans are the only Sun Belt school with a current multi-year 1,000-yard rusher streak
• The Trojans are 12-12 in season openers since moving to the FBS in 2001 ... Troy is 55-43-6 all-time in season openers and 20-12 as an NCAA Division I (FCS & FBS) member (1993-present).
• Troy's 2024 spring practice saw its No. 3s take just 95 snaps due to depth issues; that number rose to 327 snaps for the No. 3s in Spring 2025.
• Troy is 13-25 on the coin toss since 2022, including a 3-11 mark in 2023 and a 5-7 mark last season.
• Troy is 24-0 since 2015 when rushing for 200-plus yards in a game ... the Trojans are 52-2 since joining the Sun Belt in 2004.
• Troy averaged 9.8 points per quarter and 39.1 points per game over the final 18 quarters of 2024; the Trojans were at 4.5 per quarter and 18.1 per game the first 30 quarters of the season.
• Paul Bowling will become the first true freshman to start at center in a season opener at Troy since at least 1982 (records prior are incomplete) ... At the FBS level, only five true freshmen played more than 100 snaps at center last season, and only three had more than 300 snaps.
• Troy is one of just four teams in the country to hold multiple opponents to fewer than 250 yards in each of the last six seasons -- Troy, Alabama, Air Force, Georgia.
• Troy allowed four or fewer rushing first downs in each of its final three games in 2024 and six or fewer in five of the final six games of the season. Troy's four games with four or fewer rushing first downs allowed was tied for the 12th most in the country.
• Troy is one of just four schools in the Sun Belt to return its head coach (Gerad Parker), offensive coordinator (Sean Reagan), defensive coordinator (Dontae Wright) and strength coach (Darl Bauer) from last season.
• Troy's ranked second nationally in the red zone last season; the Trojans converted on 35-of-37 chances in the red zone.
• Troy ranked third nationally in 3rd downs offensively last season ... the Trojans converted 50.31 percent of their 3rd down attempts (81-of-161).
• Troy ranked 19th nationally in total offense in the month of November last season; the Trojans averaged 449.8 yards per game ... Troy ranked 112th in October (323.0) and 104th in August/September (332.4).
• Senior receiver Tray Taylor topped out at 23.6 Miles-per-hour ... he is one of three Trojans who topped the 30 MPH mark (Mojo Dortch, Jaquez White).
• Troy has 27 players in their final year of eligibility on Troy's roster in 2025 (9th most in the country); the Trojans led the country with just 12 in 2024. Of those 27, six began their career at Troy compared to none last season.
• Troy's 73 victories since the start of the 2016 season are the 21st most in the country and sixth most among G5 schools.
• Troy's 200 turnovers forced since 2016 are the fifth most in the country.
• Troy hammered 1,622 hammered into the Truth Board this summer compared to 1,127 last summer ... Troy carries the nails with them to every game as a symbol of THE WORK. Player received nails for hitting various goals in the weight room in the summer ... Visit TroyTrojans.com/Truth1 & TroyTrojans.com/Truth2 for more info on the board.
It's the 28th all-time meeting between Troy and Nicholls after the schools met every year from 1973 to 2001, except for the 1988 and 1989 seasons. Troy has won four straight and nine of the last 10 against Nicholls, with five of the last six meetings coming as Southland Conference foes.
Troy (0-0) enters 2025 looking to quickly erase the bad taste in its mouth from last season, and the Trojans feel like they have the roster to do just that. A roster that features 27 seniors, compared to just 12 last year, with six of those players having been here their entire collegiate career – that number was zero in 2024.
Leading the way are five captains – voted on by their teammates – quarterback Goose Crowder, offensive lineman Eli Russ, defensive tackle Luis Medina, linebacker Jordan Stringer and spear Devin Lafayette.
Troy needs to keep Crowder on the field after last year's opening day starter was limited to just 11 quarters played over the course of the season. The Trojans have plenty to build on offensively as they averaged 9.8 points and 118.3 points per quarter over the final 4.5 games last season, more than doubling their point production and a 40-yard increase on their first 30 quarters of the season.
Defensively, the Trojans are loaded with veterans as 21 of the 25 players listed on the depth chart are upperclassmen, with seniors holding down nine of the 11 starting positions. Eyes will be on the secondary early as Troy rebuilt the back four with new starters out of the transfer portal at both cornerback positions (Jaquez White and Kaleno Levine) and at strong safety (David Daniel-Sisavanh).
Like the offense, the defense played its best football down the stretch, holding its final three opponents to less than 100 yards rushing and four of its final six opponents to 325 yards of total offense or less.
Nicholls (1-0) shocked the FCS world during Week 0, handing No. 4 Incarnate Word a 20-6 loss in a dominating performance in head coach Tommy Rybacki's debut. The Colonels held UIW to just 204 yards of total offense, including 16 yards on the ground, thanks in part to five UIW turnovers. The Colonels struggled on offense, netting just 287 yards (66 on the ground) with their lone offensive touchdown a 55-yard home run strike in the fourth quarter.
Notable
• Troy is celebrating its 25th season as an FBS member in 2025 ... during its run at the highest level of college football, Troy has won eight conference titles and six bowl games.
• Troy has had a 1,000-yard rusher in three straight seasons; the Trojans are the only Sun Belt school with a current multi-year 1,000-yard rusher streak
• The Trojans are 12-12 in season openers since moving to the FBS in 2001 ... Troy is 55-43-6 all-time in season openers and 20-12 as an NCAA Division I (FCS & FBS) member (1993-present).
• Troy's 2024 spring practice saw its No. 3s take just 95 snaps due to depth issues; that number rose to 327 snaps for the No. 3s in Spring 2025.
• Troy is 13-25 on the coin toss since 2022, including a 3-11 mark in 2023 and a 5-7 mark last season.
• Troy is 24-0 since 2015 when rushing for 200-plus yards in a game ... the Trojans are 52-2 since joining the Sun Belt in 2004.
• Troy averaged 9.8 points per quarter and 39.1 points per game over the final 18 quarters of 2024; the Trojans were at 4.5 per quarter and 18.1 per game the first 30 quarters of the season.
• Paul Bowling will become the first true freshman to start at center in a season opener at Troy since at least 1982 (records prior are incomplete) ... At the FBS level, only five true freshmen played more than 100 snaps at center last season, and only three had more than 300 snaps.
• Troy is one of just four teams in the country to hold multiple opponents to fewer than 250 yards in each of the last six seasons -- Troy, Alabama, Air Force, Georgia.
• Troy allowed four or fewer rushing first downs in each of its final three games in 2024 and six or fewer in five of the final six games of the season. Troy's four games with four or fewer rushing first downs allowed was tied for the 12th most in the country.
• Troy is one of just four schools in the Sun Belt to return its head coach (Gerad Parker), offensive coordinator (Sean Reagan), defensive coordinator (Dontae Wright) and strength coach (Darl Bauer) from last season.
• Troy's ranked second nationally in the red zone last season; the Trojans converted on 35-of-37 chances in the red zone.
• Troy ranked third nationally in 3rd downs offensively last season ... the Trojans converted 50.31 percent of their 3rd down attempts (81-of-161).
• Troy ranked 19th nationally in total offense in the month of November last season; the Trojans averaged 449.8 yards per game ... Troy ranked 112th in October (323.0) and 104th in August/September (332.4).
• Senior receiver Tray Taylor topped out at 23.6 Miles-per-hour ... he is one of three Trojans who topped the 30 MPH mark (Mojo Dortch, Jaquez White).
• Troy has 27 players in their final year of eligibility on Troy's roster in 2025 (9th most in the country); the Trojans led the country with just 12 in 2024. Of those 27, six began their career at Troy compared to none last season.
• Troy's 73 victories since the start of the 2016 season are the 21st most in the country and sixth most among G5 schools.
• Troy's 200 turnovers forced since 2016 are the fifth most in the country.
• Troy hammered 1,622 hammered into the Truth Board this summer compared to 1,127 last summer ... Troy carries the nails with them to every game as a symbol of THE WORK. Player received nails for hitting various goals in the weight room in the summer ... Visit TroyTrojans.com/Truth1 & TroyTrojans.com/Truth2 for more info on the board.
Players Mentioned
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