Troy 42, ULM 21

October 31, 2009

By Drew Champlin

Jerrel Jernigan set a career high with 13 catches for 203 yards as Troy went into first place all by itself with a 42-21 win over UL-Monroe. Levi Brown threw for 378 yards and a career-high four touchdowns.

Here’s Micah Grimes after the game. (be patient if it hasn’t processed yet) More later

Troy-ULM game thread

By Drew Champlin

At the Troy-ULM game. It’s early, so I might add some to this. One of the Troy video crew guys came to the game dressed up as Bear Woods, so I’ll let you rate his costume (photo credit A. Stacy Long)

***Steve Adams was walking without a limp, but we’ll find out in another hour or so who is/isn’t playing.

GAMEDAY: ULM at Troy

By Drew Champlin

HERE is my game preview, focusing on kickoff coverage.

Three things Troy needs to do to give itself a chance to win the game

1. Block ULM’s defensive ends. Aaron Morgan leads the conference in sacks with 7, and Troy Evans is fourth with 3.5 (Cameron Sheffield is third). The onus will be on Troy’s tackles to keep these guys away from Levi Brown. Troy has faced teams with one good defensive end, but other than Florida, this will be the first time they face a team with two pretty good ones.
2. Keep it going through the air. ULM’s defense has been stout against the run (2nd in the league), but not so much through the air (6th in the league). Another good passing day from Levi Brown and the receivers will probably be needed.
3. Stop ULM on third down. The Warhawks lead the league in 3rd down conversions at 46 percent. If anyone saw the game last year, it seemed like every time ULM had 3rd and 9, the Warhawks got 10.

What I think will happen: ULM has always been talented, but have now started the league schedule out on a good note - something that hasn’t been done since 2005. This will be a tough one for Troy, but it’s hard for me to pick against the Trojans at home. Levi puts up some more good yards, but throws a pick, and Michael Taylor hits three field goals. Troy 23-14

Other Sun Belt predictions

• ULL at FIU: FIU takes care of business at home. It could be a long second half of the season for ULL. FIU 34-31
• Western Kentucky at North Texas: Should be an easy win, even for the Mean Green. UNT 45-28
• Arkansas State at Louisville: Louisville is garbage and at this point has nothing left to play for. ASU wins and Steve Kragthorpe gets fired Monday. ASU 24-21
• Middle Tennessee at Florida Atlantic: Our good friends Adam and Ted like FAU in this one, but I disagree. However, a good FAU streak would make the game in November much more interesting. MTSU 41-31

FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER: Add me on twitter @dothaneagletroy. I’ll send out a lot of messages/updates throughout the game and you can feel free to ask questions on there.

Friday notes/links: Special teams edition

October 30, 2009

By Drew Champlin

Lots of scoring equals lots of kickoffs. Currently, Troy isn’t doing very well in covering kicks. The Trojans are 8th in the league at giving up 24.45 yards per return, barely ahead of Middle Tennessee’s 25 yards per return.

“Covering kickoffs, you kinda have to have a knack for it,“ special teams coach Shayne Wasden said. “Finding the right guys and getting them out there is something I’ve got to do a good job with it.“

Troy missed Kanorris Davis last week as he was held out because of a concussion. He should play Saturday. Wasden mentioned that David McDowell is another player with exceptional kick coverage skills. It’s up to the coaches to find a few more guys who can do it. I’ll have more on this in my Saturday story.

One positive note is that Michael Taylor leads the league with five touchbacks.

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FLAGS ARE FLYIN: The great site for stats cfbstats.com took a look at penalty flags per conference game. Want to find something where the Sun Belt is the nation’s leader? It’s in this category, as 16.91 flags per game are coming out from referees’ pockets. That’s highest in the last five years. Check out THIS BREAKDOWN from cfbstats.com, as the Sun Belt has had quite a few flags flyin’.

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THREE-HEADED MONSTER: Troy has really established some quality depth at running back this year. Check out THIS STORY I wrote about it.

From over in Monroe, there’s THIS STORY on special teams. Sounds like we’ll all need to be watching the special teams units Saturday.

Troy missed 3 field goals last year, but one was a 56-yarder at the end of the game. “We were six inches away from winning that game,“ Wasden said.

ESPN.com WROTE THIS on the game.

Friday lunchtime links - Former Trojan Sherrod Martin could get his first start at safety for the Carolina Panthers this weekend.

From the other side: ULM

October 29, 2009

By Drew Champlin

A big thanks to Tabby Soignier of The News-Star in Monroe for her help.

1. What’s your feel on the QB situation for this weekend?

I think that back up Cody Wells will start and will play until he gets in trouble but that’s an if and when situation. Trey should be limited just because his throwing hand is still very sore so I don’t expect to see much of him unless ULM digs a hole very early on.

2. How are Trey Revell and Cody Wells different from last year’s starter Kinsmon Lancaster?

Trey is a more well rounded quarterback. Kinsmon could run very well and throw somewhat OK. Trey can do both. He was an option QB in high school and so he can tuck it and run when needed, but also has the arm strength to throw very long passes and has the receivers to do it. Wells cannot run very well and usually stretches the field when he’s in the game because his arm, like Revell’s, is also very legit.

3. Many thought ULM would be at the bottom of the league this year, but that’s obviously not the case. Why?

Seniors and leadership. ULM has 19 seniors on this team and 20 returning starters. They always talk about the pain of losing those close games and there were 5 of them last season. They now know what it takes to win the close ones and the talent level does not hurt. The new hires in the offseason have also been a tremendous boost. Defensive coordinator Troy Reffett really has sold his new defensive scheme to some guys that have been starting for 3 or 4 years. The offensive line coach Vance Vice has also turned a big question mark in the offseason to a pretty dependable unit.

4. What have been the strengths and weaknesses of the ULM defense so far?

The strengths have been the playmakers at every position. On the line, you’ve got defensive end Aaron Morgan, who is leading the conference in sacks. Then at linebacker is two longtime starters in Josh Thomas and Cardia Jackson, a preseason all conference selection. The secondary is led by James Truxillo, who is in a Hawk position. Though he missed all but two games last season with a torn ACL, he seems to be making up for lost time. He also missed last week against Kentucky with an injury he sustained against Arkansas State, so he’ll be even more antsy to go come Saturday.

This new formation really helps stop running offenses. The pass oriented teams can sometimes use the 3-3-5 to their advantage to get off a big play. The pass protection must be perfected to go against Troy, a team that some of the defensive players have compared to Texas.

5. How do you see the game going?

I think Troy will jump ahead early and ULM will have to play catch up in the second half to make it a very close ball game that can go either way.