The Troy offense slumped in the 19-8 loss to rival South Alabama on Wednesday. South Alabama came into the game hungry for a win and they got it. The Jaguars were 1-4 coming in, and hadn’t yet proven to be a quality team. But on Wednesday night, they gave it their all. For Troy, the offense was damaged by the inability to finish drives. Quarterback Brandon Silvers couldn’t execute his offense when needed.
Troy Offense Slumps
The Trojans needed this game to stay in the conference race. The Trojans fall to 1-1 in Sun Belt play. Their rushing game had no room to execute. The team finished with a total of 30 rushing yards for the game. Jordan Chunn suffered an undisclosed injury and never returned. The Jaguars controlled the entire game. The main problem for Troy was completing drives. They had multiple chances to reach the end zone but only did so once. Wide receiver Emanuel Thompson dropped a sure touchdown early on. This loss was “extremely disappointing”, according to Coach Neal Brown. He said his team didn’t play well, and it showed. Troy looked as if they were lost. There is much room for improvement with this team for sure.
South Alabama Came To Play
South Alabama controlled the time of possession from the start. The Trojans’ defense was on the field for way too long during the game. That made the offense not have a ton of time to get anything going. South scored a touchdown in the first quarter, then got a safety to make it 9-0 at halftime. Brown told his players to “be hungry” in the second half. It was already too late.
Both quarterbacks threw an interception a piece during the game. The key for South was their ability to stop the Trojans when it counted the most. USA held their own and took back the belt. The “Battle for the Belt” heads back to Mobile for at least the next year. This loss puts Troy at 1-1 against South at home. The big rivalry game was a needed win, but the executions weren’t there.
Troy Miscues Cost Them A Win
Troy was plagued by penalties and turnovers. They had four fumbles and lost every single one. That was one of the main reasons the Trojans lost the game. The miscues given handed South the win. Had Troy not fumbled four times, this score might have been different.
Thompson said after the game that Troy “didn’t make plays”, and that they need to “prepare better”. The team knew that South would bring a fight but they weren’t prepared for it. He agreed with Brown that this loss is very disappointing. All three phases for Troy have to improve. Brown did say that changes will be made soon.
Silvers stated that the offense “didn’t execute”. Reiterating that statement is something Troy needed to do all night. South made this a long game for Troy.
The offensive slump has to end at some point though. The Trojans can bounce back next week against Georgia State. Silvers and the offense will have their chance to showcase their improvement as they have 10 days before their next game.
With Troy getting the historic win at LSU on September 30, all eyes were on the team this week. Coach Brown has gained national recognition since. They were wanting a win, but fell short. Troy had a chance with 2:00 to go to get a score and get the ball back. Silvers threw an incompletion that sealed the deal. South handed Troy their best challenge on Wednesday.
Credit to the Jaguars as they came into Troy and got a needed win to boost their confidence.
