Troy football defeats Southern Miss, starts conference run 1-0
Troy football got back on track Tuesday night with a record-breaking effort against Southern Miss in Veterans Memorial Stadium, 55-34.
The Trojans had 662 offensive yards, the most since Troy had 706 against Austin Peay in 2016. Out of those yards, 437 would come on the ground, the most for Troy since 2002. With the fourth 200 plus yard passing game to add to the running game, head coach Gerad Parker said while the night may make a statement, he wants Troy to repeat the success and continue to score efficiently.
“I think it does send a statement, but more importantly I’m worried about us and what we can do to repeat it,” Parker said. “I do think with us being able to have some balance, it’s time for us to score points around here.
“It’s what we believe we can do. We want to match that with great defense and special teams, but a huge step made by our offense tonight.”
Quarterback Goose Crowder led the team in both rushing and passing with 225 through the air and 159 on the ground, being responsible for four of Troy’s seven touchdowns. His rushing yards against the Golden Eagles were the most for a Troy quarterback since Mike Turk in 1987.
Even though Crowder is not typically a running quarterback, he said the effort was to help his offense in any way he could.
“It’s not something that I would consider the strongest part of my game, but that’s what tonight called for,” Crowder said. “Just doing whatever the offense requires, what the offense needs to do to accomplish our goal and put up points.”
Along with Crowder, Jordan Lovett, Gavin Griffin and Jaheim Merriweather would rush for over 75 yards and a touchdown each. Lovett would also haul in a passing touchdown, as he led Troy in receiving with 53 yards.
On defense, Troy limited Southern Miss to only 148 yards of offense and seven points in the first half. The Trojans would also force three turnovers in the game, the most this season.
However, the Golden Eagles found their groove in the second half, as they would have 364 yards and 27 points. For fifth year corner Jabari Strait, there’s still room for improvement on the defense despite the good performance.
“We emphasized doing better where had shortcomings in the last game and I feel like it paid off,” Strait said. “We still have places where we can improve.
“We had a lot of small mistakes that turned into big plays. But I feel like for the most part we did pretty good.”
With the win, Troy starts Sun Belt play 1-0 and improves to 3-2 overall. The Trojans head to Lafayette, Louisiana, to face the Raging Cajuns on Saturday, Oct. 17.
Comments