Troy Travels to Buffalo for Final Non-Conference Game

TROY, Ala. – Troy head coach Gerad Parker told his team in the locker room following last Saturday's game that the upcoming week was a pivotal one in terms of preparation for the Trojans' final non-conference game of the season, a matchup with Buffalo on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. (CT). The game will broadcast on ESPN+.

Troy (1-2) lost starting quarterback Goose Crowder on its fourth offensive snap of the game, an injury that will cost the redshirt-junior several weeks; Crowder played in just 11 quarters last season before an injury ended his year.

The Trojans struggled offensively in Crowder's absence, accounting for just 112 yards in the 28-7 loss to the Tigers. Junior quarterbacks Tucker Kilcrease and Ui Ale are both expected to see time under center this weekend against the Bulls.

Kilcrease started a pair of games a season ago and took the bulk of the snaps against Memphis, while Ale (whose first name is Uiolevanuseaulaoleolo) spent the last two seasons at Houston, where he completed 14-of-21 passes for 181 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

A point of emphasis for the Trojans throughout the offseason was forcing turnovers, after they managed just nine last year. The tally is already at four through the first three games and each has resulted in points, including a pair of defensive scores the past two weeks. Troy enters the weekend tied for third with 16 defensive touchdowns since 2020.

Troy's defensive unit held serve as much as it could last week, holding the Tigers to points on just four of 12 possessions, despite being on the field for nearly 37 minutes.

Buffalo (2-1, 1-0) has stepped up its offensive output in its two victories over St. Francis and Kent State, following a season-opening loss at Minnesota. The Bulls have averaged 485.0 yards in the two wins, with Ta'Quan Roberson's 318 yards through the air last week against the Golden Flash, the most by a Buffalo quarterback in six years.

The Bulls have been opportunistic in special teams, blocking a punt in each of their wins, while the Buffalo defense is allowing just 19 points and 328.3 yards per game.

Notable
• This is the 10th all-time meeting between Troy and a MAC school, but just the fifth in a regular season game ... Troy has played a MAC opponent in five bowl games

• Troy has 16 defensive touchdowns since 2020, tied for Notre Dame for the third most behind Ohio State and Pitt

• Thirteen plays (out of 179) or 7.3 percent of opponent plays have accounted for 44.4 percent of the yards allowed by the Trojans this season

• Troy has scored 24 points off its opponents' four turnovers

• Troy has scored a defensive touchdown in back-to-back games for the first time since 2023 ... the last time Troy did so in three straight games was 2020

• 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

• T.J. Thompson's interception return for a touchdown at Clemson was Troy's first defensive score against a P4 team since 2011 at Arkansas

• Troy is 25-0 since 2015 when rushing for 200-plus yards in a game ... the Trojans are 53-2 since joining the Sun Belt in 2004

• Evan Crenshaw's 48.2-yard per punt average against Memphis was the 23rd-highest by a player with at least 10 punts since at least 1995

• Troy quarterback Goose Crowder has played just 20 quarters of football the last two seasons due to injury

• 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 Travels to Buffalo for Final Non-Conference Game

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Players Mentioned

Ui Ale

Evan Crenshaw

Goose Crowder

Tucker Kilcrease

Troy University Athletics