Trouble With Troy? Not Likely

Originally Published: Sep 9, 2010 8:13 PM CDT

Troy needed a last-second field goal to beat Bowling Green in Troy last Saturday.  So, does that mean the Cowboys have nothing to worry about?  Doesnt matter.  OSUs loss at Troy in 2007 means Mike Gundy and all of those who were with him on that September night means there will be sleepless nights in Stillwater this week.
This, however, is a much different Trojans team than that Omar Haugabook-led team of 2007.  That was an experienced group that had endured blowout losses at top 20 teams in Arkansas and Florida.  They were mad and at home and the game was played on a Friday night and delayed 45 minutes as the remnants of Hurricane Humberto passed through.  And OSU was debuting new starting quarterback Zac Robinson. In short, it was the perfect storm.

This time, the men of Troy are inexperienced and on the road.  The Trojans have fewer returning starters than any team in the Sun Belt...a league theyve won the last two seasons.
The leader of the newbies is quarterback Jamie Hampton.  He takes over for Levi Brown who finished his Troy career as the leading passer in school history.  Hampton is athletic, but inexperienced and could be prone to making mistakes.
As usual, the Trojans are athletic at the skill positions.  Wide receiver Jerrel Jernigan will lineup at several different positions.  He amassed over 13-hundred yards and 5 touchdowns last season and is considered a first or second round NFL draft pick.
The running back tandem of DuJuan Harris and Shawn Southward combined for over 11-hundred yards last season.
And last, but not least, the Trojans return 3 starters on the offensive line.  That could pose trouble for a Cowboys team that will play without injured defensive tackle Shane Jarka and will have limited availibility from defensive tackle Chris Donaldson due to injury as well.

On defense, the Trojans are very young and are replacing two All-Sun Belt linebackers.   Senior defensive end Mario Addison had two sacks in their win over Bowling Green last week. 
Troy has a history of producing NFL defensive linemen like Osi Umenyiora and De Marcus Ware.  This defense isnt loaded with those kinds of players.
While I expect Troy to be able to move the football against the Cowboys, I dont expect them to score more than 21 points.  I think OSU will run and pass all over the inexperienced Trojans defense.  It will be similar to OSUs 2008 win over Troy in Stillwater.
Prediction:  OSU 48  Troy 20