Week seven of the college football season begins when the Troy Trojans host the South Alabama Jaguars this Wednesday in Veteran Memorial Stadium, Alabama. The game is scheduled to begin on Wednesday, October 11th at 8:00 p.m. EST. The Sun Belt Conference match-up can be seen on the ESPN2 Network. As of now, the Trojans are -17 point favorites and the contests over/under sits at 48.
The South Alabama Jaguars come into this game having won just one of their first five contests overall. They also began their Conference USA schedule with a 29-23 overtime loss against the Idaho Vandals. Last time they took the field, the Jaguars were outscored 17-0 in the final frame of a 34-16 loss on the road at Louisiana Tech.
The Troy Trojans are still celebrating after their school was paid almost a million dollars to go into Death Valley and hand the LSU Tigers a 24-21 home loss. Now, the Trojans are 4-1 and are in the driver’s seat to reach a respectable bowl if not one against a Power Five program. As of now, the only loss on Troy’s record was their opening season defeat at Boise State 24-13.
The last time these two schools got it on was in October of 2016 in South Alabama. In that game, the Troy Trojans escaped with a 28-21 victory over the Jaguars by scoring 15 unanswered points in the fourth quarter.
South Alabama (1-4)
Last week, the Jaguars found themselves only down 17-13 at halftime despite the Bulldogs doing whatever they pleased against their defense. Fortunately, South Alabama was able to hold LA Tech to only 2 for 11 on third down conversions. That, in turn, helped stop some of the bleedings in the red zone. In fact, they cut the Bulldogs lead to only one point to open the half but faltered horribly in the fourth quarter. In the quarter, the Bulldogs were able to rack up 17 points to put South Alabama away.
On offense, the Jaguars rushed for just under 100 yards on 22 carries. They also passed for 235 yards. Unfortunately, quarterback Cole Garvin couldn’t find a way to complete plenty of makable passes. Overall, he was just 21 of 45 with one touchdown and one pick.struggled with accuracy, completing just 21 of 45 passes with a TD and two interceptions.
Cole Garvin, a Marshall transfer, has completed only 53.2 percent of his passe for 447 yards with two scores and two picks. Starting quarterback Dallas Davis who had accumulated 487 yards with three touchdowns. He also two interceptions has been plagued by a shoulder injury he suffered against the Vandals. He is officially listed as questionable for this contest against the Trojans.
Tailback Xavier Johnson led all runners in this game with 89 yards on 12 carries. Johnson has been the Jaguars best performer, rushing for 345 yards on 57 carries and four scores. His 6.1 yards per rush average is about all you can ask for out of the backfield.
Wide receivers Jamarius Way and Sam Harris are South Alabama’s go-to receivers. Together, they have 32 catches for just under 500 yards and also two touchdowns. Way has the lion’s share of the receiving yardage with 295 yards and also has both of the unit’s touchdowns.
South Alabama has really struggled to stop the opposing offenses they have faced in 2017. On defense, they are allowing 421.2 yards per game (92nd), and 292.2 passing yards per game (119th). The Jaguar front seven has fared better. Currently, they rank 40th in the nation, holding teams to 129 yards per game.
Troy Trojans (4-1)
There is little doubt that the Troy Trojans came to play two weeks ago against LSU on the road. The men from Troy were not intimidated, taking a 17-0 lead and then holding on for the 24-21 victory. Apparently, the Tigers didn’t get the memo about Troy’s 30-24 loss at the defending national champions house last year. In their most recent upset, the Trojans forced four turnovers and kept the chains moving on offense for all four quarters.
Quarterback Brandon Silvers didn’t need to put up gaudy numbers for his team to come out with the win. On the day, Silvers only threw for 157 with no touchdowns and no picks. Overall, he has tossed the ball for 1,241 yards with two scoring strikes and two interceptions.
Running back Jordan Chunn was by far the Trojans most valuable player against LSU. The multi-talented back did it all, running for 191 yards on 30 carries and a trip to the back of the end zone. In 2017, Chunn has recorded almost 500 yards on 91 carries. He also has 17 receptions for 137 yards and six total touchdowns.
Four different wideouts pitch in when called upon to move the ball via the air attack. Together, the foursome has reeled in 71 balls with all four catching over 15 passes. The squad has totaled almost 800 yards of yardage and has two touchdowns to their credit. Deondre Douglas leads this group with 22 catches for 279 yards and a score.
The Trojans have performed pretty well on the defensive side of the ball in 2017. As of this article, the front seven ranks 24th against the run allowing only 113 yards per contest. The secondary has struggled a bit, giving way to 231 yards through the air a game (77th). More importantly, Troy is only allowing teams to put up 18 points per game against them.
Prediction
Las Vegas has this game’s total at 48. That is pretty low considering that the Jaguars’ defense is ranked so low. Troy is balanced and should find their way onto the scoreboard enough to score some points in every quarter. With that being said, South Alabama has played Oklahoma State this season and will not be overwhelmed by the Trojans offense. Also, all of the nine out of the 10 games these two clubs have played have gone to the under. That is enough for me to stay away from this total because I have no faith that the Jaguars can score up to their end of the bargain.
Line setters also have the Troy Trojans as -17 point favorites. Clearly, they are the better team that sports the better offense and defense. Still, almost everytime these two schools hook-up it is close. Also, Troy seems to play up to or down to the level of competition they have faced this year. So for that reason, I’m going to suggest to my readers that the best bet on the board is to take South Alabama to cover the 17 points. If this seems a little risky to you, I understand why. If that’s the case, buy this up to 17.5 and get the hook to relieve some betting pressure. #moneytreesgrow @EriktheHun
Trends
The Jaguars are 1-6 ATS in their last 7 road games.
The Jaguars are 7-19 ATS in their last 26 conference games.
The Under is 4-0 in the Jaguars last 4 games overall.
The Trojans are 1-6 ATS in their last 7 games overall.
The Trojans are 0-4 ATS in their last 4 home games.
The Under is 10-1-1 in the Trojans last 12 conference games.
