The Troy Trojans had a remarkable 2016 season. Troy started the year off on a good start, going 8-1 until a conference loss late in the season that affected their chances of winning the conference title. Under head coach Neal Brown, the Trojans revamped the team for 2016 and had a goal in mind. That goal was to “Rebuild The Wall” and retake the conference as they had in years past.
Troy played the Clemson Tigers very close in their second game of the season, and almost left with a win. The entire city of Troy stood behind their beloved Trojans through the entire season, and watched in awe as the Trojans put forth their best season in recent years. For the first time in a while, the Trojans are bowl eligible. This is the first time under Brown that Troy has recorded a winning season.
Rebuild The Wall
Coming into 2016, the Trojan motto of “Rebuild The Wall” was for Troy to finish the season first in the Sun Belt Conference and retake their conference all together. Had they finished 11-1, Troy would have won the Sun Belt and rebuilt the wall between them and the rest of the conference once again. Coach Brown has his Trojans set up for success within the Sun Belt for years to come, and 2016 was only a snippet of what is to come for the next few years.
Game-by-Game Results
- Austin Peay- The Trojans opened the season against an FCS opponent and demolished Austin Peay 57-17 in a glimpse of how their season would turn.
- Clemson- The Trojans traveled to Clemson and nearly took down the Tigers. Deshaun Watson had a not-so-stellar game, but left with a 30-24 win. Troy very easily could have won this game, but bad calls hurt them late.
- Southern Miss- Troy traveled to Hattiesburg and took down the Golden Eagles 37-31. USM had chances to win, but Troy proved to be too much for the Eagles.
- New Mexico State- The Trojans ran over the Aggies 52-6. Trojans quarterback Brandon Silvers and the offense had a wonderful game against their fellow Sun Belt opponent.
- Idaho- The Trojans ran away with this one 34-13. This game marked Troy’s third straight win and put them at 4-1 on the season, and atop the Sun Belt Conference.
- Georgia State- The Trojans pulled away 31-21 in this match-up. The Panthers of Georgia State tend to have a hard time winning games, and Troy wasn’t going to let GSU ruin what they had going for them.
- South Alabama- The annual rivalry game with USA is always interesting. Both teams scored early on, but Troy pulled away 28-21. The Belt came home to Troy, one of the steps to rebuilding the wall.
- UMass- The Minutemen from Patriot Place came to Troy and got demolished. The Trojans won 52-31, but the outcome could have been worse. This was Troy’s sixth straight win. At this time, they were still first in the Sun Belt.
- Appalachian State- A game that was for first place in the Sun Belt. The Trojans fought hard throughout the game and pulled away for the 28-24 victory. This win notched Troy one game closer to their first Sun Belt title since 2010.
- Arkansas State- The Red Wolves traveled to Troy to give the Trojans a taste of their own medicine. Both the offense and defense for Troy played poorly in this game as Arkansas State won 35-3 and handed the Trojans their first conference loss.
- Texas State- The Trojans demolished the Bobcats 40-7 in a rebound win to pull within the Sun Belt race once again.
- Georgia Southern- The final game of the regular season. Troy has a chance to claim a share of the conference title, and gets stopped on 4th-and-goal at the one yard line. The Eagles left with a 28-24 victory.
What’s Next for Troy?
From here, the Trojans are 9-3 with no conference title, but a decent year overall. Moving ahead, the Trojans have their sights on the Dollar General Bowl in Mobile where they will face the Ohio Bobcats. Give the Trojans credit; they came into the season picked to finish near the bottom in conference play, and wound up finishing third, just a win from a share of the title. Maybe 2017 will be a win or two better for the Trojans.
Main Photo
