TROY, Ala. – After nearly a month on the road, Troy Football returns home Saturday to host Coastal Carolina in Homecoming at The Vet. Kickoff between the Trojans and Chanticleers is scheduled for 3 p.m., and the game will be broadcast on ESPN+.
This is the first game between Troy and Coastal Carolina since the Trojans defeated the Chants, 45-26, in the 2022 Sun Belt Championship game. It is also Troy’s first home game since a Thursday night game against Texas State on Oct. 5.
Troy (1-7, 0-4 SBC) put together a furious second-half rally last weekend at Arkansas State, outscoring the Red Wolves by a 28-11 margin after halftime. However, a touchdown with 33 seconds left and an interception in the end zone with 2 seconds left thwarted Troy’s comeback attempt.
Matthew Caldwell completed 23 of 33 passes and threw a pair of touchdown catches in his second start of the year after Goose Crowder was announced to miss the rest of the season. Caldwell’s second start means three of Troy’s starting quarterbacks this season have started multiple games this season.
Troy’s skill players rose to the occasion as well, as Devonte Ross caught 11 passes for 126 yards, Gerald Green rushed for 113 yards and a touchdown, while Peyton Higgins scored his first touchdown in two seasons and Brody Dalton recorded his first career score. Troy’s offensive line — its sixth different starting unit in eight games — held the Red Wolves without a sack all evening.
The Trojans enter this week as one of only three teams in the country to have converted all of their red zone opportunities this season (20-for-20), and Troy is one of the most efficient third-place teams, ranking 18th nationally. Turnover at a clip of 47 percent.
Senior linebacker Brendan Jackson has emerged as the Trojans’ defensive leader, with 6.5 tackles for loss in the last two games, which moves him to 13th nationally.
Coastal Carolina (4-3, 2-1) enters the game with a new offensive coordinator after coach Tim Beck made a change before the bye week despite the Chants ranking among the top 50 teams nationally in rushing offense (181.7) and scoring offense (31.9). However, Coastal has struggled defensively this season, ranking in the triple digits in all but one category, including allowing 31.6 points and 416.3 yards per game.
The Chats opened the season with three straight wins, but since then, they have lost three of their last four games to Virginia, James Madison and Louisiana.
Note
• Troy has committed 197 turnovers since the start of the 2016 season, second-most in the country
• Troy has started six different offensive line units in eight games this season, tied for third in the country (FSU, Middle Tennessee – 7)
• Troy in 2024 averaged just 121.3 combined plays, 11th-fewest in the country (Kentucky, 116.5)… Troy and Arkansas State combined for a combined 153-play run last week, which Most in a Troy game this year. The previous high was 133 against Texas State
• Troy scored more than 28 points in all 6 meetings against Coastal Carolina and more than 35 points in 5 of 6 meetings.
• Buddy McAteer, who didn’t play NFL football until April, is ranked No. 24 in the country by PFF and No. 14, averaging 69.7 yards per attempt.
• Troy’s defense has started plays on its side of the field 11 times this season. Among those drives, Troy’s defense allows an average of just 3.6 points per drive
• Big plays were the key to Troy’s offensive success. The Trojans recorded just 6.8 percent of their drives (3 of 48) without a big play (i.e. a pass of more than 15 yards or a rush of more than 12 yards). Troy has hit 65.8 percent of its drives with big plays (25 of 38)
• QB Goose Crowder will miss the rest of the 2024 season due to injury; He played in just 11 quarters over four games
• Devonte Ross is responsible for 39.4 percent (13 of 33) of Troy’s plays of more than 20 yards this season.
• Troy is one of three teams in the country to score on every opportunity in the red zone (20 of 20), joining Kansas and Ohio State
