Tuesday Takeaways: Liberty

A new series in which we take a deep look at the stats of the previous game; study the notes others made; and bring you the pros, cons and main takeaways; except like Chick-fil-A, we took the Lord’s Day off. Monday too, for good measure.

Pros

• Will Choloh is a monster. Anyone watching the game Saturday saw that Troy’s defense is one of the best in the country. Will’s performance deserves its own line in the pros section, though, with 2.5 sacks and four tackles for loss. The man got into the backfield whenever he wanted.
• Troy’s defense is one of the best in the country. Liberty’s offense is primed to score 30 or 40 points per game, and Troy held it to 21. Malik Willis almost became the first quarterback to pass and rush for 100 yards against Troy, something that Dak Prescott and Tim Tebow never did. The Trojans held strong for the entire game.
• TJ Harris, Dell Pettus and Carlton Martial are also monsters. If Will Choloh deserves his own line, then so do these guys. The four of them combined for 35 tackles in one game. That’s the reason Liberty only scored three touchdowns. They got Malik Willis & Co. off the field.
• Taylor Powell is still a fantastic quarterback. I feel more confident in the offense this year than last year, and the last drive of the game sealed that. The one-minute drill looked just like a Brandon Silvers drive or a Kaleb Barker drive, in the best way.
• Luke Whittimore, Tez Johnson and Reggie Todd are certified targets. These three were thrown 11 passes. They dropped the ball exactly three times, and that’s a credit to Liberty’s secondary. Troy should use them in more situations, and trust them to make tougher catches.

Cons

• This team looks just like last year’s squad. The game played out just like every single one of Troy’s one-possession games last year (which, if you’re counting, is Troy’s fifth-straight loss, making Chip Lindsey 0-8 against FBS teams). Troy took an early lead. The opponent eventually took the lead, almost pulling away. Late in the game, Troy completes a two-minute drill to get within a touchdown of the other team, and the clock runs out before Troy can tie the game.
  You’re left wondering, where did that late drive come from? Why didn’t we do any of that earlier in the game? Why didn’t we run the ball as much? Isn’t this the same offense that put up 30 points per game two years ago? All good questions going without answers.
• Troy’s rushing offense was nonexistent. Take away the -33 yards from where Taylor Powell was sacked every drive (that’s not a joke, he literally recorded -33 yards rushing and 5 sacks) and the random -1 yard from an unnamed back. Kimani Vidal and BJ Smith only picked up 55 yards on the ground.
  They touched the ball 16 times, when the Trojans ran 49 plays. That’s fewer than 1/3 of all plays, which means there were possessions Troy did not run the ball at all. That’s not a talent question, that’s a playcalling question.
• Troy’s offensive line fell apart often. Troy gave up five sacks, the most since Boise State in 2018, also a home loss to a major G5 opponent. The comparison between that team and Liberty is valid, too, from an outside perspective, but deeper analysis is less kind to the Trojans.
  Powell’s one interception came on a play where the pocket collapsed and he dumped it off in traffic. It’s fair to call that a miscommunication or a mistake by Powell, but this entire situation stems from the fact that the pocket collapsed in the first place.
  That was the ONLY turnover in the entire game.
  Now let’s go back to the ground game. Powell actually picked up one eight-yard run on a busted play (which is worth its own analysis), meaning he actually lost 41 yards on the ground. Instead of recording those 63 positive yards, which is still abysmal, we have to include that -41 yard statistic. Troy only rushed for 21 yards. That’s the fewest rushing yards in one game since BYU last year, another blowout.
  It felt like a blowout because while the defense was pitching a shutout, the offense was giving up a perfect game.

Conclusion

I feel like I’m echoing a lot from Scott’s article on Saturday, but it’s clear where Troy’s weaknesses lie. Thankfully, Troy gets a Southern Miss who’s in full rebuild mode, so the Trojans should pick up another big win. They’re a 10-point favorite, but that number will likely go up by Saturday. Looking across the conference, the shifting powers ultimately look favorable for Troy at the moment. Georgia Southern is completely exposed after another FCS scare and a clobbering courtesy of FAU. Georgia State fared even worse, with two crushing blows from better teams. Appalachian State and Coastal Carolina haven’t changed, but Troy is clearly the third best team in the East right now. South Alabama and Texas State look like better programs, but time will tell if they’ve actually grown, or if they benefit from the schedule. Thankfully, Troy looks is getting a little of both. This was a really good team in Liberty—the win put the Flames in the top 25. Now, Troy needs to take advantage of USM’s rebuild and figure out the most effective plan of attack. It’s not a tune-up game if you don’t actually make changes.