Last Edited: 12/8/2010 8:36:03 PM by OUE+Z Grad

If I have understood this correctly in the past, the $325K that each school receives is SOLEY dependent upon the number of tickets each school sales.  Tickets are $40 each, so for each school to get their 'guarenteed cash", they have to sell in excess of 8,000 tickets, THROUGH THE SCHOOLS TICKET OFFICE.  All tickets sold from the "official site" or other ticket venues (TicketMaster, StubHub, etc) are not counted towards the 8K.   Then cut expenses out of that and the conference (Sun Belt rules anyway) gets the remainder to split among the other member schools, whatever that ends of being.  Bottom line is that this will be the third time Troy has been to the New Orleans bowl and it would not surprise me if we have ever made a dime on this game. 

I hope 8 million Ohio fans come to this game, enjoy the Big Easy, and have a terriffic time.  If you have never been to New Orleans, please give it a chance.  If you can't do it New Orleans,  you don't need to be doing it!!!

Troy 35 - Ohio 27—This is a clear case of a matchup of one team with a superior offense (Troy) against another with the superior defense (Ohio).  The level of play in the Sun Belt and MAC is comparable, as indicated by the Trojans and Bobcats owning identical average Opponents’ Power Ratings of 20.5. There was a sharp early move on Troy at the sportsbooks, taking the line from Ohio -2 to the Trojans -1½, probably based on solid ground.

Troy has a key edge at QB with RS frosh Corey Robinson, who threw for 3339 yards and 24 TDs.  When Robinson doesn’t make mistakes (15 ints.), he can be deadly.  Robinson completed 28 of 38 with 3 TDP and no interceptions at Oklahoma State this season, but also made some bad decisions against bad teams, as he did in lackluster 3-interception game vs. La.-Lafayette.  The Trojan QB finished on a high note, throwing for 628 yards with 5 scores and only 1 int. as Troy closed the season with a pair of wins to get a share of the Sun Belt title and earn its third trip to the New Orleans Bowl in 5 years.

The Trojans own the most dangerous offensive player on the field in Jerrel Jernigan, who is 8th in the country in all-purpose yards and has scored by rushing, receiving, punt return, kickoff return, and has thrown a TD pass this season.  Troy has other capable receivers in TeBiarus Gill (48 catches), Jason Bruce (43) & Chip Reeves (26 with 5 for TDs), and a serviceable running game, with 3 RBs combining for 1424 yards and 15 TDs.

The knock on Troy is its defense, which ranked 80th against the run and gave up 4.5 ypc.  However, those stats were skewed a bit by games against explosive Oklahoma State and South Carolina.  The Trojans didn’t fare too well against the pass, either, yielding 248 ypg.  Troy does have playmakers on the defensive side, however, as bookend sr. DEs Jonathan Massaquoi (11 sacks) and Mario Addison (9 sacks, 14 TFLs) are formidable.

Frank Solich’s Bobcats have to run the ball and play keepaway to win this one. His offense ranked 105th in passing this season, as QB Boo Jackson threw for just 1688 yards and tossed more interceptions than TDs.  The Bobcat rushing attack ground out 4.4 ypc by using a host of runners, including Jackson (7 rush TDs) and backup QB Phil Bates (508 YR) to augment the production of leading rusher RB Vince Davidson (513 YR, 6 rush TDS).  Solich’s defense was just average against the pass (61st) and didn’t force turnovers the way Solich might’ve wished.  An additional problem is the questionable eligibility of 5th-year sr. DE Ernie Hodge, whose academic standing is in doubt.

The bottom line is that Ohio is likely going to have to play from behind, and the Bobcats just don’t have explosive offensive threats.  Conversely, Robinson and Jernigan give the Trojans the ability to get ahead and stay ahead, or rally if needed.