[BJWilliams]

I was trying to think of the last time Buckshot didn't throw for at least 200 yards in a game (i think he was <200 vs. Army but I'm not completely sure) He definitely made plays even if he didnt light it up passingwise

[flameshaw]

Just got back home. What is normally a 2 1/2 hour drive, took almost 4 hours due to downed trees, power lines, etc. My take FWIW:

The good:
We won the game. Congrats to the guys. Didn't see this as a win for us.
Defense played a pretty decent game.
Guys showed some good effort and tenacity.
Defense didn't give up over 500 yards of offense.
We actually blitzed 3 times for 3 sacks.
We got 3 turnovers.
Exciting game
The WR's really picked it up with AGG out.

The bad:
Worst offensive play calling/clock management, I have ever seen during a D1 game, especially at the end of the game.
Two stupid personal fouls called on Lemonier (sp)?
The QB for Troy was a very poor passer.
Worst special teams game I have ever seen for a D1 team.
Play calling.
3rd and 4 play in the late 3rd or early 4th quarter and we pass. We were in 4 down territory. Cost us at least 3 points.
DB play. If I was the Troy QB, or my 5 year-old grandson, we would have lost by 2 touchdowns. They left at least 3 easy TD's on the field with very, very poor passing....... wide open receivers.
Buckshot missed a wide open receiver for an easy TD early in the game.
Tonight's game showed how bad we played last week.
Did I mention play calling at the end of the game?
Troy QB- very weak performance for his first start.

Very ugly
TWO punts that went for 9 yards each. Any one of the female cheerleaders could do better.
Entire special teams.

Misc:
Gill for life. lol
If Troy would have been used to the thin air/altitude at The Bill, we would have lost the game for sure.

[thepostman]

Fantastic win. plenty to nitpick but the adjustments made on the defensive side of the ball were great and very encouraging. Such an up and down year. I hope this team enjoys the win but doesn't sleep on our next opponent which may be easy to do.

[A Sea of Red]

Remember these 5

http://www.aseaofred.com/remember-these-5-troy/

[rmiller1959]

This was one of the more interesting games I've attended, frustrating at times and exciting near the end. Hats off to the team for their resilience - they didn't fold under pressure and kept playing. The defense redeemed itself for the most part, and they were aided by a poor performance by Troy's quarterback. I had read that he was essentially #1A compared to the #1 they lost to a season-ending injury, so my expectations of him were greater than what I saw on the field today.

Some overly conservative play calling could have burned us, so we were fortunate that they couldn't put TDs on the board and that our defense rose to the occasion when it needed to. Buckshot used to throw better on the run than he has lately, and the sacks he took remind me he's essentially immobile as QBs go. I also wonder why we didn't kick a field goal near the end of the game to extend our lead to 25-16 and make it essentially impossible for them to tie or win on a Hail Mary or something like that. Maybe they thought the kicker would perform as abysmally as the punter. This young man has had a horrific season for us and I hope they are actively scouting for his replacement.

All in all, this was a signature win, ups and downs notwithstanding. I hope they play with their eyes wide open against a good FCS team in Idaho State. They have the potential to beat anyone on their upcoming schedule save Auburn, and my seven-win prediction is still viable, even though I expected a win at NMSU and a loss to Troy, not the other way around. I'll take it, though - this win feels great!

[Jonathan Carone]

There's been a lot of talk on here and on social about how BIG this win is. I know we're Liberty and we overhype everything, but I think we need to be a little cautious of overstating this.

First off - yes, it is a good win. Every FBS win is a good win.

But we won't know how good of a win it is for another few weeks. If Troy's QB is as bad as he looked today the rest of the year and they drop a game or two to USA, Louisiana, or Texas State then we'll know this win isn't as impressive as it would've been had Troy had their starter. For comparison's sake, Troy was a 72.2% favorite to win today. Against those three teams I mentioned, they are 85.2%, 86.6%, and 94.7% favorites to win. Losing to those teams would be significantly worse for them than losing to use.

Conversely, if Troy comes out and wins those three games and can knock off App (Troy has a 13.1% chance to win) or Georgia Southern (45.6%) then yes, this game was a gigantic win.

[BJWilliams]

This was one of the more interesting games I've attended, frustrating at times and exciting near the end. Hats off to the team for their resilience - they didn't fold under pressure and kept playing. The defense redeemed itself for the most part, and they were aided by a poor performance by Troy's quarterback. I had read that he was essentially #1A compared to the #1 they lost to a season-ending injury, so my expectations of him were greater than what I saw on the field today.

Some overly conservative play calling could have burned us, so we were fortunate that they couldn't put TDs on the board and that our defense rose to the occasion when it needed to. Buckshot used to throw better on the run than he has lately, and the sacks he took remind me he's essentially immobile as QBs go. I also wonder why we didn't kick a field goal near the end of the game to extend our lead to 25-16 and make it essentially impossible for them to tie or win on a Hail Mary or something like that. Maybe they thought the kicker would perform as abysmally as the punter. This young man has had a horrific season for us and I hope they are actively scouting for his replacement.

All in all, this was a signature win, ups and downs notwithstanding. I hope they play with their eyes wide open against a good FCS team in Idaho State. They have the potential to beat anyone on their upcoming schedule save Auburn, and my seven-win prediction is still viable, even though I expected a win at NMSU and a loss to Troy, not the other way around. I'll take it, though - this win feels great!

Quick sidebar to that point about Idaho State...they lost in overtime to Cal-Davis tonight 44-37

[jinxy]

Very good win. Have to agree with jon. Im afraid they are going to sputter if that guy is qb. Man he was a scrub. Seems like the one td throw they had was a different kid that threw a better ball but i could be wrong.

Hats off to wimbo and the group afte that atrocity last week. Lo and behold. Blitzing can be successful. Good move to press box, thought we should have been doing that all along. Im pretty sure oc has been up there since streeter days.

Quote from benton in damiens article “calls had been coming in kind of slow”. Hard to play fast when your not set in position.

Huge effort at the wr group as well. If king and Agg are out very long no idea why shaa would have shirted. Seems to me PT wil be just as hard to come by next year with huntley coming eligible as well.

Special Teams - continue to be a d minus. Why do we not move to the rugby kick. Teams do it against us and neutraulize the return game all the time. Tradiotional punts clearly arent working.

O line - solid game with injuries and the talent up front they faced.

No idea what we were doing at the end of first half or at the end of the game. Thought wrong decision was made both times. I would have thrown hail mary in the first half and kicked the FG at the end. Glad it worked out.

[Jonathan Carone]

Speaking of AGG - if this was Week 1 of having mono, I've gotta think he's out next week. He may be back by UMass on 11/3 but I could see him being out there as well. According to the Cleveland Clinic, "symptoms of mononucleosis usually last for 1 to 4 weeks, but it might take as long as 2 months before you feel well enough to resume all of your normal activities." He could end up being done for the year with this.

[tyndal23]

Any time there isi an upset, you can go back and find 100 excuses, bottom line we beat a top 5 G5 team tonight and we did it for 4 quarters with no fluke plays as a 2nd year transition team. This is a highly respected program with road wins at LSU last year and Nebraska this year. The key word is Program, not team and a lot of you on this board forget that term when convenient. LU as a Program hasn’t had a losing season in 12 years * ( 2 lazy to go verify but I think that is correct ) - think about that in the grand scheme. My vision of skipping 10 years of avoiding mediocrity and aiming for a an early Dec bowl game vs aiming high and scheduling all P5 teams ( 6 or more ) as possible should not be unrealistic. Troy, Boise,UCF all locked in and handcuffed for being in G5 Conferences - LU is not if we plan it right from a scheduling standpoint 2025 or so - and yes I will keep harping on this until it starts to sink in. 8 team playoff will be here AND OR Conference realignment and we have to schedule that way now - not after. ( This post is for JRR Or Ian only - no others allowed to comment ).

[Yacht Rock]

Quick sidebar to that point about Idaho State...they lost in overtime to UC Davis tonight 44-37

FIFY

[BJWilliams]

Speaking of AGG - if this was Week 1 of having mono, I've gotta think he's out next week. He may be back by UMass on 11/3 but I could see him being out there as well. According to the Cleveland Clinic, "symptoms of mononucleosis usually last for 1 to 4 weeks, but it might take as long as 2 months before you feel well enough to resume all of your normal activities." He could end up being done for the year with this.

I said this in another thread but mono is no joke. Ive never had it, but from reading about what it does to people, I pray I never do

[ballah09]

I'm thinking we'll be lucky to get AGG back this season. Knowing people who played sports that had mono it took them about 5-6 weeks to get full strength. Too bad he played in 5 games. Missed the 4 games redshirt rule.

BJ did well filling in his place. When King comes back I think we'll be fine esp with the emergence of Fidel.

[alabama24]

This is a highly respected program with road wins at LSU last year and Nebraska this year.

Last year is last year... completely irrelevant to this discussion. Troy did beat Nebraska... an 0-6 Nebraska that could not find a win in an Easter Egg hunt.

[ALAFlamesFan]

Troy did not play it's best game. Their QB struggled more than expected but their other offensive players were all there and they have a good running game which our D held in check. Their D was missing a leading tackler but our O was without our starting running back and about a half dozen WR's.

Bottom line: They didn't execute and we did for the most part. This Troy team is not elite without their QB but still a quality G5 opponent. D made good adjustments and tackled well this week. O ran the ball better but struggled most of the game. However, they made plays when they had to and the entire team showed great mental toughness.
Props to the entire team on a gutsy win!

Going forward:
I won't be shocked if we lose next week. We are bi-polar under coach Gill. If we can string together several games where we are focused and mentally tough we could go bowling this year. If not, then we could lose every game. We have the talent. It is all mental and coaching decisions that make us so unpredictable.

[ballcoach15]

Troy beat LSU last year. LSU beat #2 Georgia yesterday. We are not as "far away" as some people may think.

We are 3-3, but with a little luck could be 5-1.

[thepostman]

See this is the problem with some of you guys. One win is great and all and I'm so happy we made enough adjustments to win the game but to hint we are even close to be able to compete with top level P5s because of this win is insanity.

I guess we will see how far we are when we get blown out by UVA in a few weeks and destroyed by Auburn.

We are one week removed from a terrible loss at New Mexico State. So yes, I am happy we won yesterday, but let's not go too crazy.

[Jonathan Carone]

It also shows the difference between looking at things as a fan and looking at them as an administrator. Winning name games looks great and feels great, but if you're going to accurately assess someone's performance, you have to look at the team on the field they competed against and not the name on the jersey.

The 2008 win against (at the time) #23 Youngstown State felt gigantic at the time. Then YSU went something like 3-8 and it made the win not as big because the team we beat proved to not be very good. The playoff committee (made up of administrators chosen to accurately assess our performance) didn't give us credit for beating a ranked team but instead looked at it as a win against a three win team.

On the flip side, a win that doesn't get nearly the credit it deserves is the 2014 Appalachian State victory. They were 1-4 coming into that game so it looked like we beat a really bad transitional school. Then they rolled off six straight wins and showed they were a lot better than their record looked when we played them.

I could give multiple examples on both sides of this:

Felt better than they were: Baylor 2017, ODU 2018
Felt worse than they were: CSU 2016, KSU 2017

That's why I'm in wait and see mode on this Troy game. If they prove to be the team they were the first six games of this season then this was an incredible win. If they show those six wins were carried in large part by their quarterback and this new starter loses games to the lower Sun belt schools then this was a solid win against an established G5 school on par to the New Mexico win.

[tyndal23]

No one predicted us to even hang with Troy physically. I am excited that we learned how to tackle and limit the run for 4 quarters. Secondary is an issue still but dramatic improvement. If our D and O can play 3 good quarters at the same time and punter gets some counseling - we are a dangerous team even to Auburn ( who cant run the ball lately ). Hope we get AGG back by UMASS - not having him can open up some new packages and receiver, TE, RB receiving plays next couple of weeks and be a much needed addition for our road stretch. UVA looking much more physical this year - they looked good last night. Seriously don’t understand how everyone isn’t ecstatic over being 3-3 against FBS in transition year. We are going to win 4 more games - get used to Gill for at least 2 more years.

[jinxy]

Its a good win even if tbey dont win another game all year. I think jon is simply saying its not a top 3 win if they go on to stink. Think everybkdy understands the value of each fbs win this year.

We were very very beat up as well though. Wr had some very inexperienced guys out there playing major snaps and still missing crawford and matthews as well.

Also, ogbeifun is coming around. He looks the part and is fast too. I think he could be best TE ive seen since new era of LU football. He could have had 2 more big plays yesterday had he have gotten the ball. One was on the buck int. Where he could have checked down to ogbeifun for probably 15 and a first down.

[Jonathan Carone]

First off - yes, it is a good win. Every FBS win is a good win.

This is the first thing I said before discussing anything else but God forbid we try to bring nuance and critical thinking into a conversation around here. You’re automatically labeled a hater or negative if you don’t immediately shotgun the kool aid.

[TH Spangler]

No one predicted us to even hang with Troy physically. I am excited that we learned how to tackle and limit the run for 4 quarters. Secondary is an issue still but dramatic improvement. If our D and O can play 3 good quarters at the same time and punter gets some counseling - we are a dangerous team even to Auburn ( who cant run the ball lately ). Hope we get AGG back by UMASS - not having him can open up some new packages and receiver, TE, RB receiving plays next couple of weeks and be a much needed addition for our road stretch. UVA looking much more physical this year - they looked good last night. Seriously don’t understand how everyone isn’t ecstatic over being 3-3 against FBS in transition year. We are going to win 4 more games - get used to Gill for at least 2 more years.

AGG's late scratch probably turned Troys defensive game plan upside down yesterday? I know it was set mainly to stop HIM. Also great job by our O line, they had Troy worn out on the last drive. We were having our way on the ground forcing them to call a timeout in an effort to catch their breath. Wasn't enough to keep Buckshot out though.

[tyndal23]

Carone - no issue with your post at all - we need your level head on here. I agree hard, to say how good a win until after season - however I was shocked they didn’t dominate both sides of LOC and more shocked we have found a way to win 3 FBS games in 6 tries. We should be 4-2 which is pretty amazing. Why on earth were there only 17k fans yesterday? I really expected a sell out - good weather and Family Weekend ? What happened?

[flameshaw]

No one predicted us to even hang with Troy physically. I am excited that we learned how to tackle and limit the run for 4 quarters. Secondary is an issue still but dramatic improvement.

No intent to be unduly negative, but it should be pretty easy to stop the run, when you know the other team can't pass the ball. However, any improvement over the last few weeks, is more than welcome.

[flameshaw]

See this is the problem with some of you guys. One win is great and all and I'm so happy we made enough adjustments to win the game but to hint we are even close to be able to compete with top level P5s because of this win is insanity.

I guess we will see how far we are when we get blown out by UVA in a few weeks and destroyed by Auburn.

We are one week removed from a terrible loss at New Mexico State. So yes, I am happy we won yesterday, but let's not go too crazy.

Remember St. Francis.