It will be the first time that Ole Miss and Troy meet on the gridiron Saturday, but as the Rebels prepare to face their final nonconference opponent of the year, they will have a bit of familiarity with the Trojans.
Ole Miss head coach Hugh Freeze has coached against the Trojans in a Sun Belt matchup while he was at Arkansas State. In his time with the Red Wolves, Freeze faced Troy once and was able to get a 45-14 victory. It’s been a couple of years since that game, but Freeze says that systematically, Troy does the same things.
“Very little,” Freeze said of Troy changing since he faced them. “It’s a new defensive coordinator, but it’s very similar, maybe a little more man. I went back and watched my two years against them, and it’s still similar.”
Troy brings in one of the best offenses in the Sun Belt this season, which ranks second in scoring offense (34.6 points per game), first in total offense (478.5 yards per game) and first in pass offense (324.4 yards per game). The Trojans (5-5, 3-3 Sun Belt) enter Saturday’s matchup on a two-game losing streak, but put up 37 and 36 points in those games, respectively.
“They always have offensive weapons that are scary,” Freeze said. “They’ve been able to put up points against everybody they’ve played this year with the exception of one team. They’re a scary team offensively because they are going to spread you out and they are athletic.”
The Trojan offense is led by quarterback Corey Robinson, who is one of the nation’s top passers already racking up 2,828 yards through the air with 19 touchdowns. Robinson currently leads the Sun Belt in passing yards per game and is third in passing efficiency.
“I think he’s got a quick release,” defensive coordinator Dave Wommack said. “He’s thrown for a lot of yards in his career. He’s had his ups and downs at times, he’s been banged around, he’s been inconsistent at times, but he is dangerous from the standpoint of having a great arm and a quick release.”
Wommack said he isn’t much of a run threat, Robinson only has one rushing touchdown on the year, but that if he has to, he can carry the ball.
“He will run it, but he doesn’t want to run it,” Wommack said. “That’s what he’s shown. I know we said the same thing two years ago when we got ready to play him at Arkansas State, and I think two of the first six snaps they ran the quarterback read and he kept it, but that was about the extent of it.”
Robinson’s go-to guy will be Eric Thomas who leads the team with 53 catches for 835 yards and 11 touchdowns. He ranks second in the Sun Belt in receiving yards per game.
“He’s a good receiver,” Wommack said. “I don’t think he’s a burner, but he is a good receiver that is going to go get the ball and finds ways to get open. I think he is effective.”
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-Matt Sigler
mcsigler@go.olemiss.edu
