The Sun Belt West division has officially been put on notice. Projected to finish runner-up by NDL preseason media, Troy was left out of early consideration to win the West title in favor of Texas State. The Trojans (4-1, 1-0) opened confrence play with a gargantuan win on the road against the heavily favored Bobcats, 38-21 at UFCU Stadium in San Marcos, Texas. The win propels their season as they need just two more victories to become Bowl eligible. With seven games remaining and having two games scheduled against teams without a coach, they have their sights on larger goals. "I would be disappointed with anything less than 10-2 after our performance these last two games," Coach Carr said. “The price of success and the price of winning confrence games like that is you have a target on your back, what 1-0 means is we’re really going to have put our backs together to get to 2-0”
The Trojans will have plenty of time to prepare for their second confrence game as they have a bye next week followed by a visit from South Alabama, who currently does not have a head coach. Coach Carr says he will be holding scrimmages to keep his team in shape with a lengthy layover expected. "We've contacted a few programs... it's paramount in the current landscape of football to keep your team active and I'm glad we have resources to assist in keeping our fundamentals sharp. We have plans to visit Gainesville, I have a ton of respect for their head coach. And I'm sure teams like Iowa and Maryland are always looking for a scrimmage."
PLAY OF THE GAME
Free safety Cecil Powell scored his first career touchdown in the second quarter against Texas State. The 6'0, 215lb defensive captain has 40 tackles, 6 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks and an interception this season to go along with his 78-yard touchdown in the second quarter of Wednesday nights game. “We all had a chip on our shoulder," Powell said. "We didn't think they respected us coming into the game even though we beat a BigTen team last week. So getting that spark in the second quarter and getting the team going, there was no going back from that at all."
TEXAS STATE MISCUES
Texas State (0-4, 0-1) engineered a few clean drives but mistakes on special teams squandered any hope of fending off the much lower rated Trojans. Kicker Mason Shipley missed a 54-yard field goal attempt, keeping the game scoreless late in the first quarter. Powell's 78-yard return put Troy ahead in the second quarter and the Trojans never looked back. With the Bobcats trailing 31-21, Senior wide receiver Langston Anderson fumbled a kickoff return late in the third quarter, resulting in a turnover and another special teams blunder.
FOURTH QUARTER SHUTOUT
In 5 games this season the Trojans have allowed only 7 points in the final quarter. They have 4 fourth-quarter shutouts, including a come from behind win over a BigTen team, Rutgers. This team could be destined for greatness if they can continue their late game dominance.
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