Getty Quarterback Gunnar Watson and the Troy Trojans take on South Alabama this weekend.
The annual “Battle for the Belt” matchup is here, as the Troy Trojans (4-4, 2-2 Sun Belt Conference) host the South Alabama Jaguars (5-3, 2-3 Sun Belt) on Saturday, November 6 at Veterans Memorial Stadium.
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The game (3:30 p.m. ET start time) isn’t on TV anywhere, but anyone in the US can watch South Alabama vs Troy live on ESPN+:
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South Alabama vs Troy Preview
South Alabama is coming off a 31-13 win over Arkansas State last week. Quarterback Jake Bentley went 29-39 for 251 yards, four touchdowns and an interception in the win. It was a solid overall performance on offense for the Jaguars, with running back Terrion Avery gashing the defense for 113 yards on 22 carries and wide receiver Jalen Tolbert hauling in eight passes for 94 yards two touchdowns.
The defense also came to play, intercepting Arkansas State QB Layne Hatcher three times while forcing an additional fumble. Now, they’ll face a Troy squad that will be ready to compete.
“It’s ‘Belt’ week,” USA head coach Kane Wommack said about the matchup. “I think you have to embrace rivalries, I’ve been a part of a lot of them at a lot of different places and this one is fun. When you have an in-state rivalry it’s always important, especially when you have bragging rights and there’s recruiting on the line and the opportunity to build momentum for your program and also push some momentum off of another program that you have to compete against. I think it is an exciting deal, it’s fun for me because I’ve been a part of this rivalry before; we had a tremendous win in 2017 the last time I was a part of this rivalry in taking the ‘Belt’ and bringing it back home to Mobile.”
On the other side, Troy is coming off a tough 35-28 loss to a strong Coastal Carolina squad last weekend. The Trojans fought hard, but ultimately, it was the 510 total yards they allowed on defense that made the difference.
“The explosive plays were the difference,” Troy coach Chip Lindsey said. “They did a great job of making some plays when they had opportunities down the field. College football these days is about explosive plays. You’ve got to give them credit for that. But even with all that, we had plenty of opportunities. We didn’t finish some drives, especially in the first half, and that cost us.”
Troy can take plenty of encouragement from an impressive offensive performance of its own. Trojans QB Gunnar Watson completed 17 of 30 passes for 225 yards and three touchdowns in a solid game, and running back Kimani Vidal added 142 yards and a score on 22 carries.
The Trojans are averaging 25.6 points a game on offense and are surrendering 21.5 points a game on defense, while the Jaguars are putting up 29.1 points a game while allowing 21 points a game on defense, so this should be a fairly balanced matchup.