The Sun Belt West title will be on the line when Troy Trojans faces Southern Miss
The Sun Belt West title will be on the line when the Troy Trojans (7-4, 5-2) take on the Southern Miss Golden Eagles (7-4, 5-2). The winner will play in the conference championship game at James Madison next weekend.
Troy
The Trojans were on a two-game skid entering last weekend’s game against Georgia State, but snapped the losing streak, with quarterback Goose Crowder playing a big role in the victory with 361 passing yards and four touchdowns.
A key objective for Troy this weekend will be to take care of the ball and get stops defensively. Southern Miss has the most interceptions and takeaways in the Sun Belt, so for Troy, maximizing drives will be important if they want to walk away with the Sun Belt West title.
Troy knows they will need to play better defensively. Even though they won their game against Georgia State, they gave up 516 total yards of offense, which came after giving up 503 yards against Old Dominion the week prior, when they were shut out 33-0.
🗣️: “It’s exciting, but it’s just another game at the end of the day. We’ve got to prepare like we’ve always prepared, take it one week at a time, one day at a time, one practice at a time.”
– Safety David Daniel-Sisavanh#BattleReady | #OneTROY⚔️🏈
— Troy Trojans Football 8x⚔️ (@TroyTrojansFB) November 24, 2025
The Trojans went 4-8 last year under Head Coach Gerad Parker in his first year at the helm. A win this Saturday will mean Parker doubled his win total from last year, which is a remarkable turnaround, especially when considering they spent most of the season without Crowder and multiple starting offensive linemen.
Southern Miss
Southern Miss is coming into this matchup with a two-game losing streak, a Nov. 15 41-14 loss to Texas State, and a 42-35 loss to South Alabama last weekend.
In their performance against South Alabama, Southern Miss’s defense couldn’t get stops on the ground as South Alabama rushed for 263 yards and scored all six touchdowns on the ground. Starting quarterback Braylon Braxton returned after missing the game against Texas State due to a right knee injury. Braxton threw for 400 yards and three touchdowns, but Southern Miss was unable to run the ball with 41 rush yards on 23 carries.
⚫️🟡🟡#WinTheWest | @stdominichealth pic.twitter.com/uKVfvKFCgp
— Southern Miss Football (@SouthernMissFB) November 26, 2025
Despite the recent losses, Southern Miss remains a formidable opponent, and along with their opportunistic defense, they know they have Braxton and running back Jeffery Pittman. Braxton leads the Sun Belt in passing touchdowns with 22 and is third in passing yards with 2,587. Pittman is 13th in rushing yards in the Sun Belt with 589 and tied for 5th in touchdowns with eight. Southern Miss averages 412.7 yards per game, which is 46th overall in all of the FBS.
“They’ve got an explosive offense led by one of the top passers in the country,” Parker said. “They can get you in space and score from far away and run right past you.”
Southern Miss also had a remarkable turnaround. Southern Miss went 1-11 last year and with the additions of Head Coach Charles Huff, along with Braxton, Pittman, and receivers like Elijah Metcalf, Carl Chester, and Micah Davis have all turned the Southern Miss program around, and have put themselves in position to win the West title.
Troy at Southern Miss
Kickoff: Saturday, Nov. 29 at 3:30 p.m. ET (2:30 p.m. CT)
TV: ESPN+
Radio: WUSM-FM 88.5 for Southern Miss and WTBF-FM 94.7 for Troy
For more information on tickets, click here. Southern Miss fans can contact the ticket office over the phone by calling 800-844-8425 or emailing ticket.office@usm.edu
About The Author
