Troy University

TROY, Ala. – After nearly a month on the road, Troy football returns home Saturday to host Coastal Carolina at Homecoming at The Vet. Kickoff between the Trojans and Chanticleers is scheduled for 3 p.m. and the game will be broadcast on ESPN+.

This will be the first meeting between Troy and Coastal Carolina since the Trojans defeated the Chants 45-26 in the 2022 Sun Belt Championship Game. It is also Troy's first home game since Thursday night's game against Texas State on Oct. 5.

Troy (1-7, 0-4 SBC) staged a furious second-half rally at Arkansas State last weekend, outscoring the Red Wolves 28-11 after halftime. But a touchdown with 33 seconds left and an interception in the end zone with two seconds left thwarted Troy's comeback attempt.

Matthew Caldwell After that was announced, he completed 23 of 33 passes and threw two touchdown strikes in his second start of the year Goose Crowder would miss the rest of the season. Caldwell's second start meant three Troy quarterbacks have started multiple games this season.

Troy's talented players were also up to the challenge Devonte Ross caught 11 passes for 126 yards, Gerald Green rushed for 113 yards and a touchdown while Peyton Higgins caught his first touchdown in two seasons and Brody Dalton achieved his first career result. Troy's offensive line – the sixth different starting unit in eight games – held the Red Wolves without a sack all night.

The Trojans enter this week as one of only three teams in the country to have capitalized on all of their red zone opportunities this season (20 of 20), and Troy is one of the most efficient third-place teams at 18th^ThNationwide, the conversion rate is 47 percent.

Senior linebacker Brendan Jackson has emerged as the Trojans' leading defensive player, with 6.5 tackles for loss in the last two games, bringing his total to 13^Th national.

Coastal Carolina (4-3, 2-1) enters the game with a new offensive coordinator after head coach Tim Beck made a change at the start of the bye week, although the Chants in rushing offense (181.7) and scoring -Offense ranked in the top 50 nationally (31.9). However, Coastal has struggled defensively this season, ranking in triple figures in all but one category, including 31.6 points and 416.3 yards per game.

The Chats opened the season with three straight wins but have since lost three of their last four games against Virginia, James Madison and Louisiana.

Remarkable

• Troy has forced 197 turnovers since the start of the 2016 season, second-most in the country

• Troy has used six different offensive line units in eight games this season, third most in the country (FSU, Middle Tennessee – 7).

• Troy's games played in 2024 totaled just 121.3 games, the 11th fewest in the country (Kentucky, 116.5)…Troy and Arkansas State combined to run 153 games last week, the most in a Troy game in this year. The previous high was 133 against Texas State

• Troy has scored more than 28 points in all six meetings against Coastal Carolina and has scored more than 35 points in five of six meetings

• Paddy McAteerwho only kicked an American football in April, is the No. 24 KOS player in the country according to PFF and is 14th with an average of 69.7 yards per attempt

• Troy's defense has launched attacks on its own side of the field 11 times this season; Of those drives, Troy's defense is allowing an average of just 3.6 points per drive

• Big plays were key to Troy's success on offense. The Trojans scored on just 6.8 percent of their drives (3 of 48) without a major play (any pass of more than 15 yards or a rush of more than 12 yards). Troy scored on a big play on 65.8 percent of its drives (25 of 38).

• Starting QB Goose Crowder will miss the remainder of the 2024 season due to injury; He played in just 11 quarters in four games

• Devonte Ross is responsible for 39.4 percent (13 of 33) of Troy's plays over 20 yards this season

• Troy is one of three teams in the country, along with Kansas and Ohio State, that score at every opportunity in the red zone (20 of 20).