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Let’s Talk Troy…

One Hit Wonder said:
HC Neal Brown is a very good coach and was formerly the OC at Texas Tech and Kentucky. It won’t be long until he starts to get courted by bigger programs. In his first year they went 4-8 (2015). In 2016 they were trailing Clemson (AT) Clemson 13-10 going into the 4th quarter but lost by 6 and the stats were nearly identical. They finished the year at 10-3. Last year they lost at home to Boise St but went into Death Valley at night and beat LSU and finished 2017 with an 11-2 record.

Offense
Troy runs a no huddle, pro-set spread, mostly from the gun and uses a lot of pre-snap motion but isn’t a team that normally lights up the scoreboard. Their approach is methodical and they will slow it down to give their defense a rest or when they feel they’re taking control or losing control of a game. Troy’s QB (K. Barker) is a first year starter and is serviceable and will sit in the gun or roll out. Troy has many designed QB runs and although Barker isn’t fast, he’s a patient runner. Back-up QB Sawyer Smith appears to have the stronger arm. Note: Troy’s 4-year starter (B. Silvers) graduated last year.

Troy lost their top 2 RBs from last year and typically relies on a mix of 3 RBs (sound familiar?). Two of their RBs are small and very quick (5’ 7” and 5’ 9”) and can get to the edge in a hurry. They like to run motion sweeps and also try to get the ball in the flat or on wheel routes.

WR is a huge part of this offense and Troy returns their top two WRs from last year’s team. They have a lot of depth and will spread the balls to 5 or 6 WRs.

OL returns 4 starters but have some issues against quicker and more agile defenders. They try to block their space and miss assignments – especially in double teams. (Keep that in mind.)

On Defense
Troy runs a 3-4; utilize a lot of speed; disguise their packages well to create mismatches and like to bring the house. Sometimes they don’t disguise their packages at all and will regularly line up 5 to 7 guys on the LOS and will rush them all or drop 3 into coverage and their side-line to side-line speed is solid. Troy likes to lean on its defense and similar to the offense, they lost its best defensive player on defense (LB – S. Lebbie) and a couple of others but return a solid group that includes 3 or 4 JUCO inserts from the last recruiting cycle.

Turnovers…
Turnovers were huge for Troy against Boise St and FAMU and the games played out accordingly. Nebraska lost the turnover battle against Colorado and well… you get the point.

What to watch?

On offense:
-- Nebraska needs to establish the run and in order to do that they will need to pass. Frost & Co need to keep their defense guessing and go faster.

-- Said it before and I will say it again… Bunch is solid and can run this offense effectively and with the right protection, he can do a good enough job to keep Martinez on the sidelines so he can get healthy. Bunch’s 3rd down pass to Spielman was outstanding – threw it in a spot which took away the defender. Too bad Spielman dropped that pass.

-- Nebraska needs to counter Troy’s speed on defense so I expect to see the playbook opened up a little more. Also, expect to see the offense move quicker between snaps.

-- RBs… does Bell have a 5th gear… how about a 4th? Curious to see if Miles Jones gets into the game and although people like to ‘ooh and ahh’ about Washington’s spin moves – I cringe because he could get lit up if he isn’t careful.

-- Troy likes the Cover 2 or 3 – depends on how you want to slice that apple and ultimately will load the box to bring the house. Stoll and Rafdal could have a very good day; the quick hitters to the TEs should be there all day. If Troy corrects its scheme to account for the TEs, the running game should take off. See how that works?

-- Watching Nebraska’s OL… Troy’s front 7 are a salty group and our QB will need the protection.

-- Close your eyes… any Nebraska skill player with the ball vs a couple of Troy’s DBs. They drop their head (like they’re looking at their gut) and flail their arms like an airplane. They will get hurt and it won’t be pretty.

On Defense:
-- Pay attention to Troy’s LG and let’s see what Nebraska’s DL can do. I have a sneaking suspicion it will go in Nebraska’s favor.

-- Troy’s QB: if he gets heavy pressure he doesn’t throw a good ball. Quite frankly, he doesn’t throw a great ball with no pressure. I expect we will see their back-up QB.

-- The DL needs to NOT get sucked in on QB RPO counter. Troy’s QB isn’t fast but he is patient and will find space. Once again, backside contain will be huge. (Keep in mind that Colorado QB was/is much better.)

-- Nebraska’s OLBs and safeties need to be aware of the counter, sweeps and the misdirection that Troy likes to use. Watch for Troy’s jailbreaks and RBs coming out of the back for screens and wheel routes – those guys are fast.

-- Nebraska secondary needs to tighten up its discipline. Last week they got lost and lazy on a few of plays. L. Jackson needs to remember when he has quarter or 1/3 outside coverage; turning inside isn’t his responsibility. Left a couple of WRs wide open on the boundary. Troy’s WRs are talented and fast enough that they will make them pay.

-- If Nebraska’s front 7 does their job, the secondary will (should) get 1 or 2 INTs.

-- Saw some flaws in Nebraska’s tackling… they need to tighten it up. Simple form tackles would have done the job; coming in with the idea they’re simply going to drop a guy by hitting him and not wrapping up isn’t going to work.

Final thoughts...
This isn’t the same Troy team as last year. They lost some big time players on both sides of the ball from last year's team and seem like a team searching for an identity – definitely not the same energy and are lacking some confidence.

Nebraska needs to...
#1) Execute in all phases of the game.
#2) Win the turnover battle.
#3) Take control early and don't let Troy hang around. They’re scrappy and these big environments don’t scare them.
Click to expand...
Great write up. Thanks
 

Great read, OHW. You make it sound as though Troy is more beatable this year than last . Thanks...I can sleep better now!

:thumbsup:

Probably best to let AM heal some more. I am sure Bunch can get the job done.
 
Last edited:
One Hit Wonder said:
HC Neal Brown is a very good coach and was formerly the OC at Texas Tech and Kentucky. It won’t be long until he starts to get courted by bigger programs. In his first year they went 4-8 (2015). In 2016 they were trailing Clemson (AT) Clemson 13-10 going into the 4th quarter but lost by 6 and the stats were nearly identical. They finished the year at 10-3. Last year they lost at home to Boise St but went into Death Valley at night and beat LSU and finished 2017 with an 11-2 record.

Offense
Troy runs a no huddle, pro-set spread, mostly from the gun and uses a lot of pre-snap motion but isn’t a team that normally lights up the scoreboard. Their approach is methodical and they will slow it down to give their defense a rest or when they feel they’re taking control or losing control of a game. Troy’s QB (K. Barker) is a first year starter and is serviceable and will sit in the gun or roll out. Troy has many designed QB runs and although Barker isn’t fast, he’s a patient runner. Back-up QB Sawyer Smith appears to have the stronger arm. Note: Troy’s 4-year starter (B. Silvers) graduated last year.

Troy lost their top 2 RBs from last year and typically relies on a mix of 3 RBs (sound familiar?). Two of their RBs are small and very quick (5’ 7” and 5’ 9”) and can get to the edge in a hurry. They like to run motion sweeps and also try to get the ball in the flat or on wheel routes.

WR is a huge part of this offense and Troy returns their top two WRs from last year’s team. They have a lot of depth and will spread the balls to 5 or 6 WRs.

OL returns 4 starters but have some issues against quicker and more agile defenders. They try to block their space and miss assignments – especially in double teams. (Keep that in mind.)

On Defense
Troy runs a 3-4; utilize a lot of speed; disguise their packages well to create mismatches and like to bring the house. Sometimes they don’t disguise their packages at all and will regularly line up 5 to 7 guys on the LOS and will rush them all or drop 3 into coverage and their side-line to side-line speed is solid. Troy likes to lean on its defense and similar to the offense, they lost its best defensive player on defense (LB – S. Lebbie) and a couple of others but return a solid group that includes 3 or 4 JUCO inserts from the last recruiting cycle.

Turnovers…
Turnovers were huge for Troy against Boise St and FAMU and the games played out accordingly. Nebraska lost the turnover battle against Colorado and well… you get the point.

What to watch?

On offense:
-- Nebraska needs to establish the run and in order to do that they will need to pass. Frost & Co need to keep their defense guessing and go faster.

-- Said it before and I will say it again… Bunch is solid and can run this offense effectively and with the right protection, he can do a good enough job to keep Martinez on the sidelines so he can get healthy. Bunch’s 3rd down pass to Spielman was outstanding – threw it in a spot which took away the defender. Too bad Spielman dropped that pass.

-- Nebraska needs to counter Troy’s speed on defense so I expect to see the playbook opened up a little more. Also, expect to see the offense move quicker between snaps.

-- RBs… does Bell have a 5th gear… how about a 4th? Curious to see if Miles Jones gets into the game and although people like to ‘ooh and ahh’ about Washington’s spin moves – I cringe because he could get lit up if he isn’t careful.

-- Troy likes the Cover 2 or 3 – depends on how you want to slice that apple and ultimately will load the box to bring the house. Stoll and Rafdal could have a very good day; the quick hitters to the TEs should be there all day. If Troy corrects its scheme to account for the TEs, the running game should take off. See how that works?

-- Watching Nebraska’s OL… Troy’s front 7 are a salty group and our QB will need the protection.

-- Close your eyes… any Nebraska skill player with the ball vs a couple of Troy’s DBs. They drop their head (like they’re looking at their gut) and flail their arms like an airplane. They will get hurt and it won’t be pretty.

On Defense:
-- Pay attention to Troy’s LG and let’s see what Nebraska’s DL can do. I have a sneaking suspicion it will go in Nebraska’s favor.

-- Troy’s QB: if he gets heavy pressure he doesn’t throw a good ball. Quite frankly, he doesn’t throw a great ball with no pressure. I expect we will see their back-up QB.

-- The DL needs to NOT get sucked in on QB RPO counter. Troy’s QB isn’t fast but he is patient and will find space. Once again, backside contain will be huge. (Keep in mind that Colorado QB was/is much better.)

-- Nebraska’s OLBs and safeties need to be aware of the counter, sweeps and the misdirection that Troy likes to use. Watch for Troy’s jailbreaks and RBs coming out of the back for screens and wheel routes – those guys are fast.

-- Nebraska secondary needs to tighten up its discipline. Last week they got lost and lazy on a few of plays. L. Jackson needs to remember when he has quarter or 1/3 outside coverage; turning inside isn’t his responsibility. Left a couple of WRs wide open on the boundary. Troy’s WRs are talented and fast enough that they will make them pay.

-- If Nebraska’s front 7 does their job, the secondary will (should) get 1 or 2 INTs.

-- Saw some flaws in Nebraska’s tackling… they need to tighten it up. Simple form tackles would have done the job; coming in with the idea they’re simply going to drop a guy by hitting him and not wrapping up isn’t going to work.

Final thoughts...
This isn’t the same Troy team as last year. They lost some big time players on both sides of the ball from last year's team and seem like a team searching for an identity – definitely not the same energy and are lacking some confidence.

Nebraska needs to...
#1) Execute in all phases of the game.
#2) Win the turnover battle.
#3) Take control early and don't let Troy hang around. They’re scrappy and these big environments don’t scare them.
Click to expand...




....about Washington’s spin moves – I cringe because he could get lit up if he isn’t careful. .....ain't that the truth. Hope it doesn't happen.

-- Close your eyes… any Nebraska skill player with the ball vs a couple of Troy’s DBs. They drop their head (like they’re looking at their gut) and flail their arms like an airplane. They will get hurt and it won’t be pretty. Their DB's will get hurt? Can you elaborate?
 
One Hit Wonder said:
HC Neal Brown is a very good coach and was formerly the OC at Texas Tech and Kentucky. It won’t be long until he starts to get courted by bigger programs. In his first year they went 4-8 (2015). In 2016 they were trailing Clemson (AT) Clemson 13-10 going into the 4th quarter but lost by 6 and the stats were nearly identical. They finished the year at 10-3. Last year they lost at home to Boise St but went into Death Valley at night and beat LSU and finished 2017 with an 11-2 record.

Offense
Troy runs a no huddle, pro-set spread, mostly from the gun and uses a lot of pre-snap motion but isn’t a team that normally lights up the scoreboard. Their approach is methodical and they will slow it down to give their defense a rest or when they feel they’re taking control or losing control of a game. Troy’s QB (K. Barker) is a first year starter and is serviceable and will sit in the gun or roll out. Troy has many designed QB runs and although Barker isn’t fast, he’s a patient runner. Back-up QB Sawyer Smith appears to have the stronger arm. Note: Troy’s 4-year starter (B. Silvers) graduated last year.

Troy lost their top 2 RBs from last year and typically relies on a mix of 3 RBs (sound familiar?). Two of their RBs are small and very quick (5’ 7” and 5’ 9”) and can get to the edge in a hurry. They like to run motion sweeps and also try to get the ball in the flat or on wheel routes.

WR is a huge part of this offense and Troy returns their top two WRs from last year’s team. They have a lot of depth and will spread the balls to 5 or 6 WRs.

OL returns 4 starters but have some issues against quicker and more agile defenders. They try to block their space and miss assignments – especially in double teams. (Keep that in mind.)

On Defense
Troy runs a 3-4; utilize a lot of speed; disguise their packages well to create mismatches and like to bring the house. Sometimes they don’t disguise their packages at all and will regularly line up 5 to 7 guys on the LOS and will rush them all or drop 3 into coverage and their side-line to side-line speed is solid. Troy likes to lean on its defense and similar to the offense, they lost its best defensive player on defense (LB – S. Lebbie) and a couple of others but return a solid group that includes 3 or 4 JUCO inserts from the last recruiting cycle.

Turnovers…
Turnovers were huge for Troy against Boise St and FAMU and the games played out accordingly. Nebraska lost the turnover battle against Colorado and well… you get the point.

What to watch?

On offense:
-- Nebraska needs to establish the run and in order to do that they will need to pass. Frost & Co need to keep their defense guessing and go faster.

-- Said it before and I will say it again… Bunch is solid and can run this offense effectively and with the right protection, he can do a good enough job to keep Martinez on the sidelines so he can get healthy. Bunch’s 3rd down pass to Spielman was outstanding – threw it in a spot which took away the defender. Too bad Spielman dropped that pass.

-- Nebraska needs to counter Troy’s speed on defense so I expect to see the playbook opened up a little more. Also, expect to see the offense move quicker between snaps.

-- RBs… does Bell have a 5th gear… how about a 4th? Curious to see if Miles Jones gets into the game and although people like to ‘ooh and ahh’ about Washington’s spin moves – I cringe because he could get lit up if he isn’t careful.

-- Troy likes the Cover 2 or 3 – depends on how you want to slice that apple and ultimately will load the box to bring the house. Stoll and Rafdal could have a very good day; the quick hitters to the TEs should be there all day. If Troy corrects its scheme to account for the TEs, the running game should take off. See how that works?

-- Watching Nebraska’s OL… Troy’s front 7 are a salty group and our QB will need the protection.

-- Close your eyes… any Nebraska skill player with the ball vs a couple of Troy’s DBs. They drop their head (like they’re looking at their gut) and flail their arms like an airplane. They will get hurt and it won’t be pretty.

On Defense:
-- Pay attention to Troy’s LG and let’s see what Nebraska’s DL can do. I have a sneaking suspicion it will go in Nebraska’s favor.

-- Troy’s QB: if he gets heavy pressure he doesn’t throw a good ball. Quite frankly, he doesn’t throw a great ball with no pressure. I expect we will see their back-up QB.

-- The DL needs to NOT get sucked in on QB RPO counter. Troy’s QB isn’t fast but he is patient and will find space. Once again, backside contain will be huge. (Keep in mind that Colorado QB was/is much better.)

-- Nebraska’s OLBs and safeties need to be aware of the counter, sweeps and the misdirection that Troy likes to use. Watch for Troy’s jailbreaks and RBs coming out of the back for screens and wheel routes – those guys are fast.

-- Nebraska secondary needs to tighten up its discipline. Last week they got lost and lazy on a few of plays. L. Jackson needs to remember when he has quarter or 1/3 outside coverage; turning inside isn’t his responsibility. Left a couple of WRs wide open on the boundary. Troy’s WRs are talented and fast enough that they will make them pay.

-- If Nebraska’s front 7 does their job, the secondary will (should) get 1 or 2 INTs.

-- Saw some flaws in Nebraska’s tackling… they need to tighten it up. Simple form tackles would have done the job; coming in with the idea they’re simply going to drop a guy by hitting him and not wrapping up isn’t going to work.

Final thoughts...
This isn’t the same Troy team as last year. They lost some big time players on both sides of the ball from last year's team and seem like a team searching for an identity – definitely not the same energy and are lacking some confidence.

Nebraska needs to...
#1) Execute in all phases of the game.
#2) Win the turnover battle.
#3) Take control early and don't let Troy hang around. They’re scrappy and these big environments don’t scare them.
Click to expand...
 



gardenjam said:
....about Washington’s spin moves – I cringe because he could get lit up if he isn’t careful. .....ain't that the truth. Hope it doesn't happen.

-- Close your eyes… any Nebraska skill player with the ball vs a couple of Troy’s DBs. They drop their head (like they’re looking at their gut) and flail their arms like an airplane. They will get hurt and it won’t be pretty. Their DB's will get hurt? Can you elaborate?
Click to expand...
(F = ma)
Ozigbo @ 235lbs vs. Troy DB @ 175lbs. Exacerbate the 60lb differential with Ozigbo running full speed at the Troy DB, Troy DB dropping his head, flailing his arms and then they meet. Ozigbo may walk or limp off and the Troy DB - not so much.

The first day a kid steps onto the field to play tackle football (e.g. Pop Warner) and declares to play defense, the first thing a coach preaches, "You can't hit what you don't see and don't EVER lower your head when making a tackle."
 
One Hit Wonder said:
(F = ma)
Ozigbo @ 235lbs vs. Troy DB @ 175lbs. Exacerbate the 60lb differential with Ozigbo running full speed at the Troy DB, Troy DB dropping his head, flailing his arms and then they meet. Ozigbo may walk or limp off and the Troy DB - not so much.

The first day a kid steps onto the field to play tackle football (e.g. Pop Warner) and declares to play defense, the first thing a coach preaches, "You can't hit what you don't see and don't EVER lower your head when making a tackle."
Click to expand...


Thanks man. I'll be watching.
 




Lavaman said:
We need to rack up about 500 rushing yards on these guys and keep whoever is playing QB upright.

Jerald Foster seemed especially pissed off at the result of some of our short yardage plays on saturday... The OL needs to blow Troy off the ball from start to finish. Run the DL into the stands. They do not have the depth to match us for 4 quarters in a hurry-u prun game.

Ozigbo should have 200 yards.
Click to expand...
They should be pissed off but it shouldn't be relegated to the short yardage plays. There were some plays Colorado's D blew up because of breakdowns by the OL. It also had to do with some QB recognition. But if they were effective, hit their assignments and followed-through, it could have been devastating to Colorado. It isn't the end of the world because that's football - it happens - you don't win every play.

What the 'casual fan' needs to pay attention to is whether Nebraska's offense is imposing their will through 4-quarters. Does that mean 8 to 10-play drives for a TD on every drive? No, not necessarily. What it means is crushing an opponent's will; crushing their hopes to the point where they dread walking onto the field for the next series.
 
One Hit Wonder said:
They should be pissed off but it shouldn't be relegated to the short yardage plays. There were some plays Colorado's D blew up because of breakdowns by the OL. It also had to do with some QB recognition. But if they were effective, hit their assignments and followed-through, it could have been devastating to Colorado. It isn't the end of the world because that's football - it happens - you don't win every play.

What the 'casual fan' needs to pay attention to is whether Nebraska's offense is imposing their will through 4-quarters. Does that mean 8 to 10-play drives for a TD on every drive? No, not necessarily. What it means is crushing an opponent's will; crushing their hopes to the point where they dread walking onto the field for the next series.
Click to expand...
:nod: So much this.
 
One Hit Wonder said:
(F = ma)
Ozigbo @ 235lbs vs. Troy DB @ 175lbs. Exacerbate the 60lb differential with Ozigbo running full speed at the Troy DB, Troy DB dropping his head, flailing his arms and then they meet. Ozigbo may walk or limp off and the Troy DB - not so much.

The first day a kid steps onto the field to play tackle football (e.g. Pop Warner) and declares to play defense, the first thing a coach preaches, "You can't hit what you don't see and don't EVER lower your head when making a tackle."
Click to expand...
I can attest to this being true. This is THE number one thing that we work on with all of our kids. We tell them "We want you to make the tackle, but we want don't want to be hurt." Then we demonstrate the proper technique and have them do it again.

We rarely have a kid get hurt tackling as a result.
 



If we have a struggle beating Troy we're in for a very long season imo. The only way we can lose this one is if we beat ourselves. Oh wait that's what we did last week......... :mad:
 
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