2009 Previews: Troy

By Tim Cottrell
Sports Writer/Designer
Published: June 17, 2009

We begin our series of previews with my 48% alma mater, Troy. Previews of all 65 BCS conference schools, plus Notre Dame and state schools, in no particular order, will run daily through Aug. 22.

Of the nearly 40 schools that have made the jump from the artist formerly known as Division i-AA to the big boys of the FBS over the last decade and a half, Troy has been one of the few success stories.

Now, of course, the Trojans aren’t competing for national titles, and won’t be any time soon, but they’ve managed to be competitive, unlike schools such as Idaho, Louisiana-Monroe and, until last year, Buffalo.

This year the Trojans bring back a fairly stacked team, and figure once again to put up big numbers in the Tony Franklin System, Neal Brown variation.

Quarterback Levi Brown returns after taking over at midseason for an injured Jamie Hampton (who is also back). Both were solid in 2008, so Troy should be in good shape regardless of what happens there.

The running back and receiving corps also returns mostly intact. Dujuan Harris was only the fifth player in school history to rush for 1,000 yards last season, and do-everything athlete Jerrel Jernigan is a matchup nightmare.

The offensive line, however, is a bit of a problem.

Two starters and three reserves with a lot of playing time are gone, but since installing the spread Troy’s production has actually been sort of weird. In years with fewer returning starters, their rush yards per game have actually gone up, while last year’s line, full of experience, actually saw the numbers go down.

Defensively, there are also a few question marks.

The linebacking corps is in good hands with Boris Lee and Bear Woods, but the secondary must replace three starters, including NFL draft choice Sherrod Martin.

Basically, if you look at it this team is going to be playing a lot of high scoring shootouts. They should be fun to watch if you can catch them on your TV.

Really, their biggest worries (outside of the offensive line and secondary) are what they usually are: Hoping they don’t get too banged up during their non-conference slate (which, this year, isn’t as tough as normal) and not getting snuck up on by a Sun Belt opponent.

Here’s the schedule:

Sept. 3: at Bowling Green
Definitely an interesting matchup of non-BCS schools to open the season. The Falcons had a lousy year last year (despite upsetting Pittsburgh in the opening week), but they’ve been a solid MAC school for a long time. Definitely a tough opener.

Sept. 12: at Florida
Bloodbath

Sept. 19: UAB
Troy head coach Larry Blakeney and UAB head man Neil Callaway worked together for quite a while at Auburn under Pat Dye. I’m sure Blakeney will enjoy beating up on his old coworker.

Sept. 26: at Arkansas State
Jonesboro, Ark., (and ASU in general) has been a house of horrors for Troy since joining the Sun Belt. But they should win this one (and all other conference games) on talent alone.

Oct. 6: Middle Tennessee
Tony Franklin comes back to town. Definitely dangerous.

Oct. 17: at Florida International
The Golden Panthers definitely aren’t as dreadful as they used to be.

Oct. 24: North Texas
But the Mean Green are still very, very terrible.

Oct. 31: Louisiana-Monroe
The Warhawks nearly ruined Troy’s season last year. They should roll here in a revenge kind of way.

Nov. 7: at Western Kentucky
Nothing to fear here, yet at least.

Nov. 14: at Arkansas
The Hogs should be rolling around this time. I’ve got a feeling they’ll be sneaky good this season (more on that when we get to them)

Nov. 21: Florida Atlantic
The one team, at least on paper, that can match up with Troy right now. But the Trojans have them at home in a week when Auburn isn’t playing and Alabama is playing an FCS school, so the student body should be there and be excited.

Nov. 28: at Louisiana-Lafayette
Another dangerous road trip, but one they should win.

When you look at things, if Troy can run the table in the Sun Belt (a big if, they always drop one), and beat Bowling Green and UAB they could actually go 10-2 this year. They shouldn’t do any worse than 8-4.