The Other Side of the Wall: Southern Miss
Two years ago this week, Troy was walking into the locker room after losing an absolute shootout to Jay Hopson, Jack Abraham and Alabama native Quez Watkins. Kaleb Barker put up 500 yards by himself, and though the defense felt like a windsock, the offense was an absolute monster.
Two years later, and I can only find three constants: one is that last week’s Trojan squad lost a close football game. Gone is Hopson and his air raid offense, replaced by a ground-focused attack and the son of a CFB and NFL legend. Abraham transferred up the road to Starkville, and Watkins went to Philly in the draft.
As for Troy, Kaleb Barker’s heir’s heir is under center, and the two sides of the ball have traded sides in strength. A monstrous offense is still finding its rhythm, and the windsock has solidified into a brick wall.
The other two constants: The Trojan Wall and To The Top Talk. Like last week, I reached out to the opposition for their perspective. Big thanks to Jamie Arrington for his insight.
Offense
That insight starts on offense. As I mentioned, their star player is the son of a man bound for Canton… as soon as he retires. It is entirely likely that Frank Gore and Frank Gore Jr. will terrorize NFL defenses together in the near future. Right now, it’s the job of Will Choloh and Carlton Martial to contain him. Even for Troy, that won’t necessarily be easy.
Frank Gore, Jr. combines elusiveness and speed with a work ethic and level of maturity that is often rare in athletes of his age. He is definitely a “chip off the old block”. You can certainly see the influence of Sr. in how Jr. approaches the game.
That approach resulted in 243 yards the last two games, even if literally 2/3 of that came against Grambling last week. Either way, he’s the engine of the offense, especially now that the quarterback situation is in doubt.
West Virginia transfer Trey Lowe started last season and this season. He threw for 133 yards against South, but he left after the first half of the Grambling game. The Eagles were up 10-0 at that point. Freshman Ty Keyes took over, and the Eagles won 37-0.
Ty Keyes has tremendous potential but it isn’t fair to ask a true freshman with limited reps to come in and win a game where the Golden Eagles are 10 point underdogs. Keyes is certainly a gamer and gave the offense a jolt in last week’s game.
He and Lowe are both listed as starters, but all the practice notes I’ve seen agree with Jamie. Regardless of who’s under center, that lack of consistency is one of Southern Miss’s biggest weaknesses.
To The Top says the team also has inconsistent wideout play, but the main takeaway is that the passing game doesn’t seem to exist. In fact, the quarterbacks are a major part of the running game, with 76 yards on the ground both games.
Incidentally, one player has earned the backup role by racking up 76 yards exactly against Grambling. Dajon Richard transferred in from Hinds Community College. He’ll be helping Gore battle Troy’s defensive line.
Special Teams
Should the defense hold as well as it did last week, Troy may lose the battle of possession. When Jamie told me punting was a strength, I thought he was joking. Not so. Mason Hunt averages almost exactly 47 yards per punt.
In the kicking game, Briggs Bourgeois is perfect in PATs. He’s also averaging almost exactly 65 yards per kickoff. For reference, kickoff happens at the 35 yard line. He’s literally averaging a touchback per kick.
With so many questions on offense, it’s important to give your defense some sort of chance.
Defense
On that note, Southern Miss’s ground focus transfers over to the defensive side of the ball too. The Eagles held South Alabama to 31 yards rushing… but they gave up 269 yards through the air. They also sacked South’s quarterback three times.
Like Troy, its strength is up front. Santrell Latham is their starting middle linebacker, with eight tackles this year, and he leads a corps that picked up 2.5 of the 3 sacks against South. Nose tackles Josh Carr and Andrew Cole are responsible for the other 2.5 this year—they’re second and third on the depth chart.
As for the defensive backfield, there’s one name to know: Malik Shorts is a playmaking, ballhawk safety. He’s picked up 10 tackles this season and three pass breakups. He’ll likely spend time getting to know Reggie Todd and Tez Johnson this weekend.
It’s fortunate though that Troy has more than one name on the depth chart worth circling. Chip Lindsey will get the opportunity to exact his air raid revenge on an unsuspecting Eagle defense, and it will be better equipped to stop the run regardless. The concern comes when the offensive line breaks down.
Analysis
That pressure will be necessary for Southern Miss to even have a chance. Forcing mistakes out of Taylor Powell is a tall task, but it’s not out of the question. The Eagles offense just needs to put points on the board. For the Golden Eagles to win the game, ball control and avoiding turnovers will be key.
The upside for Troy is that it has nearly all the experience cards. Lindsey is the veteran and Hall is the new guy. Troy’s staff and players have been working with the same playbook for three years. Hall is just getting his feet wet.
I asked Jamie what change Hall has brought to this program.
Right now, I think the biggest change is the climate around the football team. Hall injected a much-needed energy into the program and the players seem to be buying in.
That’s an energy I’m seeing in this Troy team, and both sides have nothing to lose.
There has been a lot of hype and excitement surrounding Will Hall ever since he stepped foot on campus. Some of that was quickly deflated after the Week 1 loss to South Alabama. That being said, I think everyone now has a better understanding of where the team is at this moment.
Most realize that it is going to take time to build the team back to a point to where they can match traditional expectations but the confidence that Will Hall will get the job done is certainly there.
I don’t know about you, but that sounds like the sentiment in the Wiregrass after the 2019 Southern Miss game.
Conclusion
This shouldn’t be a test for the Trojans like last week, so much as a measure, and mostly on offense. The Trojans should flex and show the Eagles how it’s done. Too many mistakes and this game will be too close for comfort. There’s a third option, and I don’t want to think about it right now.
Expect Troy to win.