Miscues plague the Trojans in loss to Louisiana

Troy tackles Louisiana to keep a touchdown from happening during Louisiana game at the Cajun Field. Troy Athletics photo

The Trojans faltered on all sides of the ball in a 33-6 loss to the Louisiana Ragin Cajuns on Saturday at Cajun Field.

Troy fumbled the ball twice within its own 28-yard line, dropped two interceptions on Louisiana drives that would lead to scores, muffed a punt, which later led to a Ragin Cajuns touchdown pass and missed a field goal plus an extra point.

“The truth is, for the first time in our tenure here, we physically got beat up,” said head coach Gerad Parker. “The rushing battle was a complete disaster.

“We knew we had to win the rushing battle and stop the run, and we did not do that.

We lost the turnover margin; we played very poorly on special teams in every phase of special teams. We did not answer the bell.”

The Trojan defense allowed over 240 yards on the ground and three rushing touchdowns. Parker said the blame for the loss falls on him.

“I did not have this football team ready to play on an extra few days off,” Parker said. “I believe it's one of our worst performances in my tenure here, and I take full responsibility for it.

“We're going to see what kind of football team operation we are moving forward.”

In the opening drive of the third quarter, backup quarterback Tucker Kilcrease came in after starter Goose Crowder went out with an injury. Kilcrease ran the ball in for a 23-yard touchdown on that drive, giving Troy its only points in the game.

“Not an excuse at all, but an injury to your starting quarterback because we can't protect, and we get beat in protection, so our quarterback gets hit and hurt,” Parker said. “They physically got after it; it was a physical football game.”

Crowder remains day-to-day with a shoulder injury, with his status unknown for Troy’s next game against the ULM Warhawks.

“We're going to fly home, wounded on the scoreboard and certainly on our roster,” Parker said. “We'll patch ourselves back together, see who wants to go and can go and find a way to muster up some energy at home to play Louisiana Monroe, who will be very excited to come play us.”

After the loss, Troy falls to 3-3 in the season and 1-1 in the Sun Belt.

The Men of Troy hope to get back in the win column this Saturday at the Vet against the Warhawks at 3 p.m. The game will stream live on ESPN+ for the fans not at the game.