Marlo Pickens · Troy Insider · College Debut · Week 8
Meet Your Insider
Well, hey there. That's peanuts, buddy, and I mean that as a compliment. I'm Marlo Pickens. I snapped for the Trojans, my daddy farms peanuts down in the Wiregrass, and I have never once in my life finished a segment without a peanut pun. I'm not sure I could if I tried. I travel with this team and I live with this team, and every week I'll shell out the players, the matchups, the history and the storylines, roasted and salted, in a laid-back drawl you can set your porch swing to. When we win, I crack open a bag of boiled peanuts and grin. When we lose, I shrug and say "That's peanuts," and then I stay up all night with the film, because it isn't, really, and we both know it. Pull up a chair.
The School in 60 Seconds
Troy has played at the FBS level since 2001 and joined the Sun Belt in 2004. The Trojans have won 23 conference championships, eight of them in the Sun Belt. Home is Veterans Memorial Stadium in Troy, Ala., listed at 30,000 seats. The last five years have had real highs: 12-2 in 2022 and 11-3 in 2023, then 4-8 and a bounce back to 8-6 in 2025. That's a program that knows how to win in this league, and I'm nuts about it. (Sorry. Not sorry.) The town is small, the Saturdays are big, and the stadium sits right in the middle of campus, which is how a college football Saturday ought to look. Folks bring the boiled peanuts themselves. I've checked.
The Coach and the Scheme
Gerad Parker is the head coach, hired Dec. 18, 2023. The 2026 Trojans like to run: 1,228 rushing yards on 239 carries, about 5.1 a carry, with 1,188 passing yards. The defense has allowed 828 rushing yards on 193 carries and has 10 sacks. Turnovers are even, seven given and seven taken. The flag count is the shell we haven't cracked yet: 43 penalties for 452 yards. And home cooking matters here. Troy is 3-0 at Veterans Memorial and 0-3 on the road.
Players to Know
QB Goose Crowder: 96 of 169, 1,112 yards, 9 TD, 4 INT. (One stats site lists him as Will Crowder; ESPN and AP use Goose.)
QB Tucker Kilcrease: shared snaps at Louisiana and scored on a 23-yard run.
RB Gavin Griffin: 359 yards on 76 carries, 1 TD.
WR TK Keyes: 13 catches, 282 yards, 3 TD.
LB Keno Jones: a team-high 40 tackles. DB Donnie Smith: a team-high 5 sacks, which is a lot of peanuts for a defensive back. DE Kavion Henderson: an interception.
The Conference Picture
Troy is 3-3 and 1-1 in the Sun Belt. Wins: Sam Houston 24-21, Alabama State 34-17 and Southern Miss 55-34. Losses: at Missouri 27-17, at Utah State 21-10 and at Louisiana 33-6. Neither team is ranked. Getting back over.500 at home before the November stretch is the plain goal, and I'll keep it plain. Here's the honest scouting from the press box. When this team plays at Veterans Memorial, it has scored 24, 34 and 55 points. On the road, it has scored 17, 10 and 6. That's two different ballclubs, and the home one is a lot of fun to watch. The Southern Miss game was the high-water mark, 55 points, and that's the version of the Trojans I expect to see stroll out of the tunnel Saturday.
This Week: UL Monroe (0-6) at Troy (3-3)
Saturday, Oct. 24 · 4 p.m. ET · Veterans Memorial Stadium · ESPN+.
Last week: we lost 33-6 at Louisiana (AP's headline says 33-7; the story and CFBD say 33-6). Crowder and Kilcrease combined to go 14 of 26 for 141 yards, and Louisiana held the ball more than 13 minutes longer. A muffed punt at our 8 set up a Louisiana touchdown. ULM lost 24-0 to Louisiana Tech.
Our offense vs. their defense: ULM has allowed 1,378 rushing yards on 255 carries, about 5.4 a carry, and 247 points in six games. That plays right into what we like to do.
Their offense vs. our defense: ULM's leading rusher is QB Austin Carlisle, 230 yards, and Aidan Armenta has thrown for 974 yards. Keep Carlisle in the pocket, and our pass rush, led by Smith, can go to work.
Series: Troy leads 11-8. We won last year, 37-14, but ULM won 13-9 in 2024. So nobody's shelling anybody without a fight.
Availability: no injury or availability report found for either team as of Oct. 18.
What decides it: (1) Special teams: no more muffed punts. (2) Our run game against a defense allowing 5.4 a carry. (3) Who takes the quarterback snaps, and how cleanly. Crowder has the bigger season numbers, and Kilcrease brought some legs at Louisiana. Either way, the job is the same: hand it to Griffin, keep the chains moving, and keep the home crowd loud. I'd call that a good, honest Saturday plan, and so would my daddy, who has never once in his life called a play.
And Darnell Vidrine, ULM's insider: I admire a fella who keeps faith. I'll save you a bag of boiled peanuts, win or lose.
My call: Troy Trojans 36, UL Monroe Warhawks 18.