Troy looks to defend belt against South Alabama
After dropping the Homecoming game to Louisiana Tech last week, Troy looks to rebound as it heads to the Battle for the Belt against South Alabama on Saturday.
The rivalry, which began in 2012 when the Jaguars entered the Sun Belt Conference for football, has seen the Trojans take 10 of the 14 games played so far. The Trojans won last year's contest in the Wiregrass, beating South Alabama 31-24 in overtime.
Head coach Gerad Parker said he understands the gravity of this rivalry and what the game means for Troy historically and in the context of the season.
"It's a big week for our fan bases as we play South in a huge rivalry and a great in-state rivalry for both sides," Parker said. "We got to go to Mobile and look forward to traveling down there to put on a better version of ourselves this week, and no quicker way to do that than to just get to work, which is what we've done and what we'll continue to do."
The Trojans' turnover battle during the last few weeks has been the key point in both games. Against James Madison, Troy only turned the ball over once while forcing five turnovers, ultimately winning the game 24-21 in overtime.
However, against Louisiana Tech, the Trojans had five turnovers, including one fumble returned for a Bulldog touchdown, while Troy only forced two turnovers. Parker said controlling the turnover margin is essential to the Trojans playing winning football.
"Turnover margin is the number one thing that we talk about to our team, and you saw two weeks back-to-back of it," Parker said. "One in our favor where we win turnover margin by a large amount and win a great road game, then come home and we lose turnover margin by plus three.
"You cannot play winning football against good football teams in that regard. So, we've got to control that and find ways to do better, which we're in search of."
One question many fans have had surrounds the quarterback position. After Goose Crowder was injured against Louisiana, Crowder and Tucker Kilcrease split reps against ULM before Kilcrease took over against James Madison.
While Kilcrease has thrown for over 175 yards in both games he started this year, he is yet to have a throwing touchdown. After the performance on Saturday, Parker said it's too early to tell which quarterback will start against South Alabama.
"There's so many things to take into consideration for us to find answers," Parker said. "I think sometimes if you search too hard and try to attack scheme and do too much, you lose your identity or what identity you want.
"We always got to look at what we're doing and then who we're doing it with. After such a huge letdown, I think it's too soon to give you a fair and honest answer."
The Trojans and Jaguars battle for the belt Saturday night at 6 p.m. at Hancock-Whitney Stadium in Mobile. The game will be live on television on ESPN+ and over the airwaves on the Troy Sports Media Network.
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