Troy Football: Blueprint is there for improvement in 2020

How will Troy football fare in 2020?

Troy will have numerous challenges on their schedule that they will have to face. Along with the tough non-conference foes like NC State and Tennessee, the Trojans will also have to adapt to a shortened summer camp due to COVID-19.

Some teams will handle the effect of the Coronavirus on their football programs better than others. However, if the team has the right leadership in coaching along with talent on their roster, they should be able to adjust accordingly.

With all of that being said, here is the schedule breakdown of the 2020 Troy football team:

• Game 1: vs. Arkansas-Pine Bluff (W) – The Trojans should win this game at home comfortably if they come in and take care of business against a mediocre FCS opponent.
• Game 2: at UMass (W) – Despite having to travel a long ways up north and far away from home for their first road test of the year, this is a matchup that the Trojans should win with at ease.
• Game 3: vs. NC State (L) – This is a game that will be the Trojans toughest opponent of the season and will indicate how good of a football team this unit really is. It should a very competitive matchup but the Wolf Pack’s talent should take over and they ultimately should end up pulling away with the victory.
• Game 4: at South Alabama (W) – This will be a fun game to watch in terms of it being an in-state rivalry game. But ultimately this game will be on cruise control for the Trojans as they should come away with a rather large comfortable margin on the scoring card.
• Game 5: vs. Texas State (W) – This is a game the Trojans should come out with a victory if they stay focused on their game plan for the week and don’t look ahead to their next opponent the following week.
• Game 6: vs. ULM (W) – If you like to watch fun high scoring shootouts, then this is one you should watch. This should be a fun, exciting matchup to watch that should come down to the wire. Ultimately with this game being in Troy, it will be to their advantage. The Trojans should come out with a win here.
• Game 7: vs. Georgia State (W) – With the Trojans on a three game winning streak, they should be feeling confident and be in a good rhythm up to this point in the season. Momentum can carry a football team well if they are playing well week to week, and this is no exception here. Expect the Trojans to get another win here and become bowl eligible for the 2020 season.
• Game 8: at Arkansas State (L) – Arkansas State is known to be one of the better teams in the Sun Belt conference and with this game being in their home turf, the Red Wolves should have the advantage in this matchup. Expect a close hard fought game between these two teams but with the Trojans taking the loss in this epic battle.
• Game 9: at Georgia Southern (W) – The triple-option is an offense that is nearly impossible to prepare for any team to match up with. With that being said, the talent level the Trojans impose on the Eagles will be overbearing and will ultimately result with Troy getting the W on their column.
• Game 10: vs. Coastal Carolina (W) – This game will be an emotional one for the Seniors for this Trojans team as they will play their last game on campus. The team will rally their troops for this group of seniors and will play their hearts out and should come out with an easy victory to cap off the Trojans final home game of the year.
• Game 11: at Tennessee (L) – Don’t count on this game being similar to the result of what Georgia State pulled off last season. Even though Troy does have a history of pulling off huge upsets, Tennessee will make sure that this game won’t end up as the same result as last season. The Volunteers should cruise their way to victory with this one.
• Game 12: at Appalachian State (L) – Unfortunately for the Trojans, the Mountaineers are just too talented and should run away with the victory in this game. Expect this game to be ugly from the very start all the way to the very finish.

Prediction: 8-4 (6-2 Sun Belt)

The Trojans should end up with a respectable record of 8-4, which would be a massive improvement on their 5-7 record last year. They should play well offensively with star players BJ Smith and DK Billingsley piling on the yards.

I do expect that at some point in the year we will see Patrick McNeil emerge as the leading quarterback and the offensive will complement him with the superstars of Smith and Billingsley playing very well. Troy’s offensive unit should cover a bunch of fireworks being put on the scoreboard this season which should result in several wins throughout the year.

The defensive unit of the Trojans should play much better than they did in 2019 and should improve their productivity in defending the pass. This unit should still have work to improve on and won’t be perfect to end the year, but give a couple of nice solid recruiting classes and some development on the players and we could see a huge improvement in the following years.

With their win-loss ratio of 8-4, the Trojans should be the runner-ups behind Appalachian State in their division for the Sun Belt. The current team, with its defensive challenges, is not good enough yet to win their division much less their conference. However, making a bowl game is a true reflection of the talent and capability of this team.

For the 2021 season, with more than half of the 2020 roster expected to be back, the Trojans could possibly be on the verge to win as many as ten games next season. Chip Lindsey will be the difference maker in how his team develops and molds together. If done right and all goes well with recruiting, this team has a very bright future ahead of them.