Taking Southern Comfort on the Road, A Troy Football History Lesson

Editor’s Note: This article was written by Ben Whitehead.

 

College football has always been a uniquely regional sport. It built a history of tradition between schools in the same region based mostly due to travel expenses at the time. For this reason, it’s understandable that most teams will have only played teams in their own area.

The genesis of this article comes from a tweet sent out by Scott Watkins that stated Troy’s win over Nebraska was the first for the Trojans in the Midwest. This got me thinking about how the Trojans have fared historically over the years outside of the South.

To find the best way to determine what states fall into each geographical area of the US, I used the US Census Bureau Regions and Divisions as my basis. This allows for a clear cut basis on which to gauge Troy’s success in different regions.

Before diving straight into the numbers, I will say that I was surprised to see how very few games Troy has played outside of the South, relative to the amount of games Troy has played all-time.

We’ll start on the West Coast and work our way back east. The West is split into two divisions: Mountain and Pacific. In the Pacific division, Troy has played three teams from the area (Cal State-Northridge, Portland State & Cal Poly). Both games against California teams were played in Troy, while the Portland State game was the 1987 Division II National Championship game played in Florence, AL.

The only game Troy has actually played in the region was a loss in the 2004 Silicon Valley Football Classic versus Northern Illinois in San Jose, California.

Games have been more plentiful for the Trojans in the Mountain division out west. In games played in the area, the Trojans are 5-4. The number is much higher here due to former Sun Belt foes, Utah State, Idaho, and New Mexico State hailing from this part of the country.

The Trojans have a win over Utah State, are 2-1 against New Mexico State, and two wins over the Vandals of Idaho. The Men of Troy also racked up three losses over the years to Montana, UNLV, and most recently, the Boise State Broncos.

Moving east, we reach the midwest, which is split into two divisions: the East North Central and the West North Central. Outside of the south, this is the region in which the Trojans have spent quite a lot of time over the years.

Due to most of these coming after the Trojans jump to FBS, it means most of these are money games from Power 5 conference teams. Sadly, it also means that their record in this region is very lopsided in the loss column.

Troy has played several teams from this region, but some of the games were in Troy (Southern Illinois and Central State) or in bowl games (Central Michigan, Ohio, and the previously mentioned Northern Illinois). The Trojans are 1-4 in this division with losses to Wisconsin, Ohio State, Bowling Green, and Cincinnati and the lone win coming over Northern Michigan.

The Men of Troy will return to the area in 2019 for a bout with the Zips of Akron.

Moving to the West North Central division, the Trojans enter Big 12 Country. This is also one of the worst areas of note for the Trojans. In 12 trips to the area, Troy has posted a 1-11 record. This includes losses to Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Southeast Missouri State, South Dakota, two losses to Missouri, and four to the Cornhuskers of Nebraska.

The lone win came less than a week from the time of writing over those same Nebraska Cornhuskers in a much publicized contest. The Trojans also tallied a win over the North Dakota State Bison, but it was in McAllen, TX during the 1984 Division II National Championship game.

The least travelled region for the Trojans is the Northeast. The Men of Troy have only played one game in the region, a 31-21 win over UConn in 1994. They are, however, travelling back in 2020 to take on the UMass Minutemen.

There are four states (Oklahoma, Delaware, Maryland, and West Virginia) which are not by most considered “the South” so I chose to include them here. The Trojans are 0-2 in Oklahoma versus Oklahoma State. In Maryland, the Men of Troy faced off against Maryland and Navy, suffering losses in both trips. Troy has played no games in the state of Delaware, and played three in West Virginia against Marshall, losing all three.

Based on the Trojans’ travels in each region, the Men of Troy amassed an 8-27 record in games played outside of the South. Needless to say, things are much better at home.