Football loses Crowder in loss to Memphis

Troy’s offense was stifled early as the team lost to Memphis 28-7 on Saturday at The Vet. 

Early on, starting quarterback Goose Crowder fired a 73-yard touchdown pass to Mojo Dortch that was called back on an illegal formation penalty. On the following play, Crowder went down with a shoulder injury and did not return from the game.  

With backup Tucker Kilcrease being thrown into the fire, Troy was unable to cross midfield until its final possession, which ended in an interception. Kilcrease finished the game 10-for-29, throwing for just 65 yards.  

The lone touchdown of the game for Troy came off a scoop-and-score when Donnie Smith forced a strip-sack recovered by Taleeq Robbins and returned 15-yards for the score. It marks the first fumble recovery of Robbins’ career and is the second consecutive week of a Trojans defensive touchdown. 

“I’m very proud of our defensive effort and the resiliency they showed in the second half, but we were abysmal on offense,” head coach Gerad Parker said. “There’s a lot to be learned from this, and we have to go back to the drawing board.” 

Troy struggled to limit the damage of the Memphis running game. Junior running back Sutton Smith was just two yards short of his career high, with 113 yards on the day. He also had two touchdowns, including one on a 50-yard run. 

Since the hot start to the Clemson game with an opening drive touchdown, Troy has gone seven quarters, 12 minutes and three seconds of game time without scoring. Troy’s defense put up 14 points in that time. 

The silver lining for the Trojans was punter Evan Crenshaw. Though no fanbase wants to see their punter on the field 11 times, the most in a single game by any punter in the nation this season, he made the most of them. Crenshaw booted a school record 530 yards, with five punts pinning the Tigers inside the 20-yard line. 

“Evan was a warrior today,” Coach Parker said. “He was a key piece in flipping the field and giving our defense a chance and was a ray of light when we needed one.” 

Though the pass game struggled tremendously, Troy did not have much luck running the ball either. Jordan Lovett did manage 50 yards on eight carries, but in total the Trojans finished with 40 yards from the ground.  

Sacks were a major factor in this, as Kilcrease was brought down in the backfield four times. 

Roman Mothershed did impress with a career-high eight receptions and 58 yards. The sophomore accounted for 75% of Troy’s receptions. 

In total, the offense accounted for just 112 yards. It’s the lowest yardage for the team in its Division I history.  

Jordan Stringer helped keep Memphis within striking distance for most of the game with 12 tackles, tying his career high. Troy also managed to sack Memphis quarterback Brendon Lewis three times. The team has had three or more sacks in both home games this year. 

With Goose Crowder expecting to miss significant time following shoulder surgery, Troy will have to look at its options in the quarterback room. Along with Tucker Kilcrease, Uie Ale and Jack James make up the remainder of the room. 

The Trojans hit the road to close out non-conference play. They’ll take on Buffalo this Saturday at 2:30 p.m. The game will be streamed on ESPN+.