2011 Troy Trojans Football Preview

The Troy Trojans enter their 11th year of FBS competition with a gleaming resume, but also something to prove. This season, there’s a slightly greater sense of urgency permeating the program in the Southeastern corner of the state of Alabama.

Yes, the Trojans have won at least eight games in each of the previous five seasons. In each of those five seasons, the Trojans were champions of the Sun Belt Conference, but it has to be said that in 2010, the true champion of the Belt came from Miami – the Florida International Golden Panthers marched into Troy and humbled the Trojans last season. FIU and Troy finished with identical conference records, but FIU’s head-to-head win made the Golden Panthers the top team in the Sun Belt. Troy might have technically shared a tie when FIU unexpectedly stumbled in its season finale against Middle Tennessee on December 4, but for all intents and purposes, the Trojans were beaten in the race for Sun Belt supremacy. That’s something which has rarely happened over the past half-decade. Troy ruled the roost when quarterback Levi Brown was at the controls for four glorious seasons. The Trojans won three outright Sun Belt titles during that time and affirmed themselves as the kings of their domain. Last year, though, Brown’s absence was keenly felt, while Troy’s defense surprisingly crashed and burned against Florida International, failing to show up in a 52-35 loss that remains hard to figure out.

In 2011, Troy will try to regain the unquestioned top spot in the Belt. It certainly has the man who is up to the challenge. Head coach Larry Blakeney, who has been at the helm of the program since it took the plunge into major college football, has had just two losing seasons and compiled nearly 70 career wins at Troy. The question around town is whether the Trojans are ready to regain what they feel to be their rightful place in the college football world.

The Trojans return 13 starters from last year’s squad. Five starters return from an offense which scored at least 28 points in all but two games last season. Sophomore quarterback Corey Robinson, who threw for over 3,700 yards as a freshman, was actually quite solid last year, all things considered. However, he flinched in big games – an unavoidable part of freshman life but a still-undeniable reason why Brown’s graduation cost the Trojans in 2010. (That’s the way the sport works: Great quarterbacks aren’t immediately replaced in college football.) The Trojans will need to get more from running back Shawn Southward, who showed promise last season while sharing the carrying responsibilities. If Southward – who has one of the great names ever given to a running  back – can remove pressure from Robinson’s shoulders, Troy will not just acquire a balanced offense; it will keep its quarterback mentally fresh throughout the season. Robinson seemed to wear down in the month of November. A strong running game will enable the sophomore quarterback to navigate this season with much more steadiness and poise.

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The defense will be led defensive lineman Jonathan Massaquoi, a First Team All-Sun Belt Conference selection, and Xavier Lamb, and undersized but relentless middle linebacker. With eight returning starters, the Trojans are looking for this group to step up in ways they did not last year. Despite playing the sixth easiest schedule in Division I, the Trojans gave up over 30 points per game.

Two BCS games at Clemson and Arkansas will test the Trojans off the bat in 2011. A non-conference road game against Navy at the beginning of November will also be difficult. The Trojans do have Middle Tennessee State, Alabama- Birmingham, and Florida Atlantic at home this season. What counts is this team’s performance in the conference. Nothing less than an outright Sun Belt title – ideally forged with no more than one conference loss – should satisfy the Trojans this fall.