The Trojans are fresh off the bye week and ready for another challenge. This week, the team travels to Statesboro, Georgia, to take on the Georgia Southern Eagles.
This is a homecoming for former Eagles running back Gerald Green, who played a pivotal role in beating Troy the last time they visited Statesboro, Georgia, in 2020.
“We are back to work after a great bye week,” said head coach Gerad Parker in a press conference with Troy Athletics. “We are certainly ready to go play a great Georgia Southern team on the road, which our guys and I look forward to.”
Beating the Eagles will not be an easy task. Georgia Southern currently sits in first place in the Sun Belt East standings with a 6-3 record and a 4-1 record in conference play. Two of their three losses are to top-15 programs, Boise State and Ole Miss, while the other loss is a weird one.
Georgia Southern dropped a huge 47-19 game on the road three weeks ago to Old Dominion. In that game, Monarchs freshman quarterback Colton Joseph tore apart the Eagles defense for 304 yards and four touchdowns.
This is not the first time the Eagles have been torn apart on the defensive side of the ball. Georgia Southern’s defense ranks 13th out of 14 Sun Belt Conference teams in total defense, giving up 457.7 yards per game on average, while being dead last in passing defense.
The defense does have some bright spots. Despite giving up yards, the Eagles have forced 12 turnovers on the season, led by junior cornerback Marc Stampley II. Stampley has three interceptions and one forced fumble on the season.
The Eagles’ defense has also locked in when it matters most in many games this year. Even though Georgia Southern has six wins, a lot of them have been come from behind efforts, most notably the Marshall and South Alabama games.
Georgia Southern trailed 23-3 to Marshall in the third quarter before scoring 21 straight points in the fourth to steal a 24-23 victory. Two weeks ago, the Eagles scored 20 unanswered points to defeat South Alabama, 34-30.
One thing is for certain, the Eagles have a very strong offense. The pass heavy offensive attack is led by sophomore JC French. French has 1,988 yards -- sixth in the conference -- and 14 touchdowns while throwing six interceptions this season. Georgia Southern also included senior Dexter Williams II in certain offensive packages before Williams entered the transfer portal two weeks ago.
The offense spreads the ball around well to many different receivers. The two most notable of those pass catchers are junior Dalen Cobb and senior Derwin Burgess Jr. Cobb ranks tenth in the conference with 488 yards on the season with Burgess only two spots below him, tallying 461 yards.
Neither lead the team in touchdowns, however. French’s favorite endzone target has been sophomore Josh Dallas, who has four touchdowns this season. Cobb is also tied with Dallas with four touchdowns himself.
Both teams are coming off a bye week heading into this matchup. Georgia Southern is playing to stay in the lead of the Sun Belt Conference East division while Troy is searching for their second conference win in a row and first on the road.
“The guys felt it -- we remembered that feeling in the second half against Arkansas State,” Parker said. “Now the challenge is we have got to keep it.”
The current spread sits at eight points in favor of the Eagles. ESPN gives the Trojans a 26.3% chance to steal the road victory. The game is set for Nov. 16 at 3 p.m. on ESPN+.
Comments