Phil Paramore: Troy eager to play in-state opponents

  Samford has done it. So has UAB. Jacksonville State will do it soon. Fledgling Georgia State will get a chance to do it next year.
 
What is it? Play a football game against Alabama and/or Auburn. One wonders if Troy will ever get the opportunity. For certain, one party is willing. What is it they say, anytime, anywhere?

  I had a chance to talk with Troy athletics director Steve Dennis Thursday on my radio show about the prospects of the Crimson Tide or the Tigers ever giving the Trojans a big-money payday game.

  “Let’s put it this way,“ he said. “They know what our position is, where we left things on the table.“

  Dennis and former Trojan athletics director Johnny Williams have scheduled nothing less than a murderer’s row out-of-conference slate for Larry Blakeney’s team to face over the last few seasons. The squad has been to Nebraska, Missouri, Miami, Oklahoma State, Florida State, Georgia Tech and Iowa State. In the SEC alone, Troy has recently played Georgia, Florida, Arkansas and LSU. IN 2007, the first three games of the year were at Arkansas, at Florida and a home date with Oklahoma State. This season, trips to Gainesville and Fayetteville await.

  As is well known, the Trojans have also pulled off homefield upsets over Missouri (2004) and the Cowboys (2007), which makes it nigh impossible to get a big-name squad to play a home-and-home series. And it’s getting tougher to get them to host the Trojans too.

  “It has made it harder,“ Dennis said. “These games with Florida and Arkansas were scheduled 6-8 years ago, back when Tim Tebow was still in high school. It just so happens we play Florida both times they’re the defending national champions.

  “But we try and paint a good picture, to make the other teams understand our people will travel, we will give you a good game and it can be good for both sides.“

  He also understands the risk of fallout the athletics directors and coaches at Alabama and Auburn might face if the unthinkable upset actually transpired.

  “I know Mal (Moore) and Jay (Jacobs) well,“ said Dennis. “You don’t know what it’s like to walk in another a.d.‘s shoes though, and I’m thankful to both Alabama and Auburn that they play us in all the other sports.

  “But I think it would be great for our fans and theirs if something happened down the road one day. As I’ve told them, they know our position on it.“

  Will it happen? Ever? Well, ever is a long time, but the chances of it going down anytime soon are extremely slim,  just as Troy’s chances at an upset of either team on any given year would likely be. Still, sometimes you can be too good for your own good.

  Phil Paramore’s column appears Tuesday and Friday in The Dothan Eagle. He can be heard weekday mornings from 7-9 on AM 560 WOOF or at http://www.woofradio.com. He can be reached at the same website.