2014 will mark Larry Blakeney's 24th season in charge of the Troy Trojans. During his reign, he has led the Trojans from Division II all the way up to the FBS. Blakeney has also led Troy to 5 bowl games during his time with a 2-3 record in those bowl games. Blakeney led the Trojans to a bowl game each year between 2008 through 2010. With only 11 returning starters in 2011, Troy struggled and posted a 3-9 record. They continued their ascendancy in 2012 to 5-7 with 15 returning starters on the team. Let's take a closer look at 2013 and how the Troy Trojans fared.

2013 Troy Trojans Season

Growing pains were expected in 2013 as only SEVEN starters returned from 2012. The defense did drop off a bit, but the offense picked up some slack by improving their numbers over 2012 when nine starters returned on offense. In 2012, the Trojans put up an average of 30.6 points and 499 yards per game. In 2013, Troy averaged 34.1 points and 463 yards a game. Part of that came from quarterback Corey Robinson, who left Troy as the Sun Belt's All-Time leading passer. They started the season with an overtime win versus UAB and then crushed FCS Savannah State by a score of 66-3. They played well versus Arkansas State in a 41-34 loss, got crushed by Mississippi State 62-7, and the lost by a touchdown to Duke on the road (38-31). Their next three games were all nail-biters decided by seven points or less. They beat South Alabama 34-33 on a last second touchdown, came from 7 points down in the 4th quarter to beat Georgia State, and won by 6 against Western Kentucky on the road. They lost games against both Louisiana teams then got dominated at Ole Miss. They finished the season with a 14 point win over Texas State. 6 wins with only seven returning starters is quite a feat. The entire schedule is below.

Offense

Six starters return from the 2013 season, however Corey Robinson at quarterback is not one of them. Robinson had 3,219 yards (67.7%), 20 touchdowns, and 9 interceptions last year. His production will sorely be missed. There are several options to replace Robinson. Redshirt Brandon Silvers had a great spring and is the frontrunner, but junior college transfers Dontreal Pruitt and Connor Bravard could both figure as well. Regardless, this unit will not come close to the production of Robinson last year (322 yards passing per game in 2013).

The top two rushers from 2013 return for the Trojans. Brandon Burks moved from linebacker to running back prior to the season and ended up starting the final 11 games last year. He finished with 675 yards and two touchdowns. Also contributing was Jordan Chunn with 514 yards and 14 touchdowns. The group averaged only 141 yards rushing per game in 2013, but with Robinson behind center there was not as much emphasis need on the run game. These two should help ease burden on the new quarterback in 2014 and post better stats as well.

Troy returns three of their top five receivers from last season, but not their number one receiver. Gone is Eric Thomas after he caught 66 passes for 993 yards and 12 touchdowns while being named to the Sun Belt 1st Team. Bryan Holmes was second on the team with 40 receptions, 676 yards, and 7 touchdowns after starting the final eight games. Chandler Worthy started the last five games finishing with 24 catches, 398 yards, and 2 touchdowns. KD Edenfield will see some action as well after he caught 19 passes for 251 yards last season. Junior college transfer Jarvis Bentley also figures to get a lot of playing time. There is enough talent here to help out the quarterback, but it will be tough to play as well as they did in 2013 after losing Eric Thomas.

The offensive line will return three starters and add in a former Ole Miss player. Terrence Jones anchors the line at right tackle after starting 32 games in his first three seasons. He was named to the Sun Belt Conference 1st Team in 2013. Dalton Bennett started all twelve games in 2013, albeit at two different positions. He started six games at right guard and the other six at left tackle. Now, he is expected to move to center, which should not be much of an issue. The transfer from Ole Miss is Ethan Hutson. Hutson played only two games in 2012 with the Rebels and then transferred here. He will probably start at left guard. Overall, this unit should be much improved from a season ago.

Defense

Just like the offense, the defense will return 6 starters from 2013. The defense in 2013 gave up an average of 35.9 points and 483 yards, but only had 3 returning starters from the year before. The defensive line will be inexperienced in 2014 with only one returning starter. That player is Tyler Roberts who has started 22 games in his two years at Troy. In 2013, Roberts had 49 tackles (4th best on the team), 5.5 sacks, and 3 tackles-for-loss. He will be the focal point for opposing offensive linemen. Lonnie Gosha is expected to start at defensive tackle. He started his career at Arkansas, which yielded playing time in four games and 7 tackles. In 2013, Gosha finished with 27 tackles including 4.5 for a loss. He could be a big help to Roberts on the line. This group may experience some growing pains early in the year and probably won't match 2013's stats of allowing 170 yards rushing a game.

The strength of the defense lies with the linebackers. All three starters return from a year ago, which will definitely help the front four. Leading the way is middle linebacker Mark Wilson. He started 11 games in 2013, recording 58 tackles, 1 sack, and 4 tackles-for-loss. He will be flanked by Wayland Coleman-Dancer (46 tackles, 2 sacks, and 4 tackles-for-loss) and Jeremy Spikner (33 tackles). This unit should do very well in 2014.

Two starters return for Troy in the secondary and they also add two junior college players. Keion Payne started six games at cornerback in 2013 and split time with Chris Davis. Payne finished with 30 tackles and one pass breakup while Chris Davis finished with 34 tackles and 9 pass breakups. Ethan Davis was at the other corner spot in 2013 and started all 12 games. He finished with 31 tackles and 9 pass breakups. Ethan Davis is expected to be challenged by Jacquez Young for the starting role. The two junior college transfers are the safety positions in Darrin Reddick and Ta'Jarvis Fuller. The pass defense gave up an average of 314 yards a game in 2013, which makes it tough to see them doing worse in 2014.

Special Teams

2013 saw Will Scott double as both kicker and punter. Scott finished 2013 with 11 field goals on 15 attempts with a long of 53 yards. On punting, Scott finished with an average of 44.5 yards and a net of 39.8 He is now gone and will be replaced by Ryan Kay. Kay only has 3 punts to his credit (37.7 average) and one kickoff. Kay will have a hard time matching those stats in his first full year of kicking and punting duties. Bryan Holmes is back at punt returner, but he only had 5 returns in 2013 (103 yards total). Running back Brandon Burks will see time at kick returner again after having 10 returns for 181 yards last year. Overall, this group will not be as good due to the loss of Will Scott.

2014 Season Outlook

It is hard to forecast how this Troy team will perform in 2014. They lose their leader on offense in Corey Robinson, but have most of the pieces to do well on that side of the ball. Defensively, the linebacking group should lead the defense, but the other two units are unsettled and inexperienced. Larry Blakeney will get the most out of his team, which makes them dangerous. In addition, the schedule is quite kind to Troy, especially in the Sun Belt. The entire 2014 schedule is below.

Troy opens with a winnable game at UAB and then Duke comes to town in the second week. They round out the non-conference schedule against FCS transitional team Abilene Christian and the SEC powerhouse Georgia. 2-2 seems like the right record for Troy after four games. The Louisiana-Monroe game is a toss up, but games against New Mexico State and Appalachian State at home are definitely winnable. They travel to South Alabama and Georgia Southern before another soft part of the schedule appears. Georgia State and Idaho are both beatable before they finish at home against Louisiana-Lafayette. UAB, Abilene Christian, New Mexico State, Appalachian State, Georgia State, and Idaho are all winnable games that would get Troy to 6 wins. Toss in a win against Georgia Southern, plus an upset along the line and Troy will have 8 wins. It is hard to see Troy not winning at least six games and reaching bowl eligibility, if not contending for the Sun Belt crown. The hope this year is that they actually get invited.

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About the author
Matthew Dixon
I follow College Football at all levels; FBS, FCS, Division II, and Division III. In addition, I am a horse racing enthusiast.