Troy heads to Memphis, wanting the second “chapter” of the season to be better than the first

Gerard Parker’s debut as head coach of the Troy football team was not memorable in any sense of the word, as the Trojans lost 28-26 to Nevada on their home field.

Like many of Troy’s losses in recent years, it was a close game. The Trojans scored a touchdown with 21 seconds left but missed a two-point conversion that could have tied the score.

It left the Trojans with a bitter taste in their mouths. But two days later, Parker is ready to look at the bigger picture.

“Losing is not acceptable here in Troy,” Parker said. “Our players, our staff and our fans do not accept it. And I understand that, and it is my responsibility to make sure that our football team is put in a position where we don’t have to deal with that too often.

“…A season is a long chapter, it’s a long book, it’s all of the above. And the only answer there is to having the season you want to have wherever you are is to get better every week, and that’s easier said than done.”

That’s true, considering the Trojans’ next opponent. Memphis (1-0) is considered one of the top Group of 5 programs in the country and is about a three-time underdog when it welcomes Troy (0-1) to Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium on Saturday.

Despite the loss, Parker said he saw some good things from his team Saturday, most notably the Trojans — Sun Belt Conference champions the past two seasons under Jon Sumrall — kept fighting until the final whistle.

“I think our fan base, our staff, our players, they all need to see, ‘Is Troy still Troy?’” Parker said. “And you saw that last segment, our defense made a huge stop, our offense ran the field, fought to get in a position where we could have a two-point game to tie it. We didn’t give up. We played hard, we played tough and we answered the bell.”

“… Now we have to take those steps faster, but I was pleased with the effort of our guys and I was pleased with how we played until the last play. And that’s something to stand on and move forward.”

Troy hasn’t started a season 0-2 since 2014, the final year of Larry Blakeney’s 24-year tenure as Trojans head coach. The last home opener loss came in 2018 to Boise State.

Still, slow starts to the season are nothing new for the Trojans. They lost two straight games to Kansas State and James Madison after winning the first game last year, then won 10 straight games before losing to Duke in the Birmingham Bowl.

“We were 1-2 the last two years and then we won a championship,” cornerback Damaje Yancey said. “So when you’re in an environment like that, you just know you can’t go back, going through everything. That’s where we are right now. We’re just pushing, fighting. It’s nothing. We’re just moving forward.”

Memphis has one of the best quarterbacks in the Group of 5 in senior Seth Henigan, a fourth-year starter who has passed for 11,072 yards and 81 touchdowns in his collegiate career. The Texas native passed for 308 yards and two scores in a 40-0 victory over North Alabama in the Tigers’ season opener last week.

Troy quarterback Goose Crowder made his first career start last week. The Gardendale native passed for 201 yards and a touchdown against Nevada but fumbled the ball on a two-point play in the final seconds.

“There’s no such thing as being a player,” Parker said. “You have to be a practice player to become a really good player, and that’s what Goose did. His preparation was great. There were two or three decisions he didn’t make that were up to his standard, but other than that he played a clean game.

“I thought he was very good in the box, he got out of trouble with his legs, he was incredibly accurate and he made the two or three special shots that you need to be a great player in that position.”

Troy will be without running back Damien Taylor in the first half on Saturday as part of an automatic suspension for targeting. Taylor, who ran for 103 yards and a touchdown against Nevada, was ejected for targeting an onside attempt after the Trojans’ final touchdown.

The Troy at Memphis game is scheduled to begin Saturday at 11:00 a.m. and will be broadcast on ESPNU.