Early Season Road Swing Continues at Troy this Saturday

Saturday, September 14

Troy, AL

5 p.m.

Southern Miss

Troy

Photo by: Joe Harper

Early Season Road Swing Continues at Troy this Saturday

9/13/2019 11:13:00 AM | Football

Football Press Box

HATTIESBURG, Miss. – The Southern Miss football team takes to the road to visit a new locale this weekend when they travel to Troy, Alabama, to face the Troy Trojans in a non-conference meeting.

This will be the second of three-straight road games for the Golden Eagles, who play at 5 p.m., at Veterans Memorial Stadium, Saturday, on the Troy Campus. The game can be seen via ESPN+ as well as heard on one of the affiliates of the Southern Miss Sports Network from Learfield IMG College.

The Golden Eagles are in the midst of their first three-game, regular-season road swing since the 2013 campaign when the Golden Eagles traveled to Nebraska, Arkansas and Boise State, early in that season.

This game marks the 10th meeting between the Golden Eagles and Trojans with Southern Miss holding a 7-2 advantage in the series. The game marks just the third time the schools have played in the state of Alabama, with the other two came in Dothan (10/1/38) in a 19-0 Golden Eagle victory, and at Montgomery (9/3/77) in a 42-19 Southern Miss win.

Southern Miss plays at Troy for the first time since the series was established in 1935.

In the last meeting during the 2016 season in Hattiesburg, the Trojans snapped a seven-game losing streak to Southern Miss with a 37-31 victory at M.M. Roberts Stadium.

That 2016 meeting was the first for the schools since they played in the 2008 New Orleans Bowl. Michael McGee blocked a 28-yard field goal in overtime to end the contest, after Britt Barefoot gave Southern Miss the lead in the extra session by belting a 39-yarder that banged off the left upright and went through in giving Southern Miss the 30-27 victory.

Southern Miss rallied late in that contest by scoring 10 points in final quarter to tie the game and send it to overtime, which included a 35-yard pass from Austin Davis to Jonathan Massey on 4th-and-2 play.

Heading into this game, Southern has averaged 366.5 yards per contest, including 263.5 in the air. The Golden Eagles hope to improve on their offensive production while also keeping Troy's offense under the 527 yards of total offense that they produced in their only game this year - a 43-14 victory over Campbell in the season opener.

Junior quarterback Jack Abraham has thrown for 527 yards for the Golden Eagles over the first two games, as senior Jordan Mitchell has led the way in receiving with 13 catches for 227 yards. Junior running back Kevin Perkins leads the way on the ground for the Golden Eagles with 60 yards on the ground.

On defense, the Golden Eagles have already posted 14 tackles for loss, including eight sacks. Seniors Ty Williams and Terry Whittington lead the way in that category with two sacks apiece.

Defensive backs DQ Thomas and Ky'el Hemby each lead the way with 15 tackles for the Golden Eagle defense.

Following the Troy contest, Southern Miss finished their three-game road swing next weekend at Alabama. Game time is set for 11 a.m., and can be seen on either ESPN or ESPN2.