Earlier in the season, Troy battled the Florida State Seminoles late into the fourth quarter before the `Noles pulled away for a 24-17 win. Corn Nation has teamed up for a question and answer session regarding Troy with fellow SBNation blogger Corey from the FSU Blog, Tomahawk Nation.
What did Troy do to stay with Florida State throughout the game - or why was this game so close against them?
Troy worked very hard. They were able to take advantage of a lot of sloppy mistakes from FSU (including four turnovers) and they capitalized where they could. There's no doubt that FSU brought their 'D' game (although their peak appears to be a 'C' game right now), but Troy has a roster with a lot of Florida kids on it and they were playing with a pretty big chip on their shoulders.
What type of offense and run/pass ratio did Troy employ at FSU?
Troy runs a 4-wide spread for most of the time. I think they only attempted 14 rushes and seven of those were by the quarterback. Most budding mid-majors like Troy tend to go with those spread offenses because it's easier to recruit the receivers and scat backs then the offensive linemen needed to run a more traditional pro-set. I expect Troy to pass around 40-50 times.
How did the FSU offensive line do against Troy's defensive line, and was FSU successful in running the ball?
FSU's offensive line did ok for the most part as Troy's defensive line is a little smallish. FSU didn't run well at all because the running backs don't have a clue to run with the zone blocking. Lorenzo Booker was dancing so much behind the line of scrimmage I thought he was being judged. However, Troy can be run on by a team with some good continuity and I expect Nebraska will have success in that area.
Any weaknesses on Troy's defense that you noticed in particular?
Overall it's a defense based on speed over size and the corners are a little short so there are mismatches everywhere. They do get to the ball very well, but they have to. There's also an overall depth problem all mid-majors have so a methodical attack will pay off with big plays in the second half.
How are Troy's special teams, in particular, the punting game?
Not very good. The punter didn't average 30 yards for the game and the placekicker had a field goal blocked (he also made one from 39 yards). The kickoff return and coverage appeared to be solid though. Overall it was nothing spectacular.
Thanks, Corey. Good Luck to FSU and the rest of your season.
I hope to post more about Troy later today, but I have been having some severe computer issues that have slowed me down quite a bit, so please bare with us over the next few days.