Sep 5, 2007, 16:14 GMT
Gainesville, FL - Every team wants a chance to knock off the champion, and the Troy Trojans will have that opportunity in Gainesville this weekend against the fourth-ranked Florida Gators.
Florida represents the second straight SEC opponent for Troy to open this new season, as the lidlifter for the Trojans came against Arkansas last Saturday. The result of that contest was a disappointing 46-26 setback, and things won't get any easier this week. Considering that Oklahoma State is the next opponent on the Troy schedule, the program deserves credit for playing a tough non-conference slate, as other schools simply look for easy wins at this time of year.
The defending national champs crushed Western Kentucky in the opener by a 49-3 final, and they looked the part of a team hungry to repeat. The Gators have won their last eight games dating back to the 2006 campaign, and they are riding a 16-game home winning streak as well. Overall, 42 players who saw action in the win over Western Kentucky were freshmen or sophomores, proof that this club is both mighty young and mighty talented.
This game marks the first-ever meeting between Troy and Florida on the gridiron.
Troy scored 17 points in the second quarter against Arkansas. At halftime, the Trojans only trailed the Razorbacks by six points. Unfortunately, the offense was not as productive in the second half, as the only touchdown for Troy after intermission came on the final play of the game, long after the outcome had been decided. The Trojans racked up 20 first downs and 376 total yards, not bad considering the quality of competition. Omar Haugabook is a talented signal caller who threw for 204 yards and a touchdown, but his 15-of-43 passing performance left much to be desired. As for the ground attack, Jamie Hampton showed some explosiveness by compiling 72 rushing yards on only three carries, including a 56-yard scamper. The Trojans scored 18 more touchdowns last season than they did the previous year, and the hope is that trend will continue under the guidance of Hougabook, the reigning Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year.
There are eight starters back defensively for Troy, and while the continuity was expected to result in improvement, game one was obviously a struggle. Now, it is important to keep in mind that Arkansas possesses the nation's best offensive player in Darren McFadden, and his backup, Felix Jones, is one of the best backs in all of college football as well. Still, Troy can't be happy about surrendering 507 total yards, including 350 rushing yards on 50 attempts. The Trojans were victimized by three long touchdowns in the clash and were simply outclassed. Troy did a nice job of getting off the field on third downs, but the overall effort was disappointing. Boris Lee led the Trojans with 11 total tackles, while Tavares Williams posted 10 stops.
Coming into the game against Western Kentucky, the eyes of Gator fans were on Tim Tebow, who takes over as the full-time starting quarterback. Tebow made a major impact last season as a freshman, but with Chris Leak gone, he is ready to make his mark on the program. All he did against Western Kentucky was throw for three touchdowns and run for one more. The numbers were outstanding, as the big signal caller connected on 13-of-17 throws for 300 yards while also running for 38 yards. There is no shortage of weapons on the outside, as Riley Cooper had four grabs for 122 yards and two scores while Andre Caldwell finished with 103 yards on three catches. The most electrifying of the bunch may be Percy Harvin, who reached the end zone once and posted 53 yards on his three catches. The ground attack was spearheaded by Kestahn Moore, as he gained 91 rushing yards and scored a pair of touchdowns on 16 totes.
The Florida defense played well against Western Kentucky, a good sign considering that almost every key contributor on that side of the ball from the championship team has moved on. The revamped defense surrendered just 12 first downs and 204 total yards, appearing to be in mid-season form. A pessimist would be eager to point out that the level of competition was not particularly high and that SEC offenses will present a much stiffer challenge for the defense. While that may be true, it is also unfair to discount the play of the defensive unit. No turnovers were generated, but the Gators enabled the Hilltoppers to make good on a mere 2-of-13 third-down conversion attempts. Junior defensive end Derrick Harvey has big-time ability, as he registered 11 sacks last season despite not starting. He had two sacks against Western Kentucky and is on every NFL scout's radar.
© 2007 The Sports Network
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