The Dollar General Bowl isn’t as striking as the other bowl games but it’s going to be fun to see how the Bobcats’ defense will hold up against Troy’s dangerous offense.
Ohio nearly slayed a giant in the MAC title, stopping just short of upsetting No. 17 Western Michigan in a 29-23 loss on December 2.
Containing Troy’s attack is going to be a challenge for Ohio but the Bobcats appear to have the tools to slow down the Trojans. Among those weapons is defensive end Tarell Basham, who was named as the MAC Defensive Player of the Year. Basham is the leader of Ohio’s defense that ranks seventh against the rush and 26th in points allowed per game (22.2). Basham led the conference with 11.5 sacks this season, putting his career total to 29.5.
Quarterback Greg Windham is not going to the NFL but still poses threat as a dual-threat signal-caller. On the year, Windham has 1,580 passing yards to go with 12 touchdowns against four interceptions. He also has 382 rushing yards to go with three rushing scores.
The Trojans are lucky to be playing in a bowl game after dropping two of their last three contests to end the season. They saw their seven-game win streak end in a humbling 35-3 loss to Arkansas State then bounced back with a 40-7 demolition of Texas State before succumbing to Georgia Southern, 28-24, to close out the season.
Troy is going to Mobile confident that its offense will break through whatever the Bobcats’ defense will throw at it. Troy finished the season tops in the Sun Belt conference in scoring offense (34.2 PPG) and in passing yards per game (262.6). The Trojans are also the conference leaders in total offense with 438.6 total yards per contest.
The Trojans have the better quarterback in Brandon Silver, who has passed for at least 200 yards in all but one game this season. Overall, Silver has 2,945 passing yards and 22 touchdowns against 10 interceptions. The Trojans also have a solid backfield, one that produces 176.0 rushing yards per game. Complementing Silver in the backfield is running back Jordan Chunn, who is second in the conference in rushing yards per game (102.67) and first in rushing touchdowns (13).
Troy is 3-1 ATS in its last four games as an underdog by four points or fewer.
