Southern University Jaguars (0-0) vs. Troy Trojans (0-0)
September 4, 2021 7:00 pm EDT
The Line: Troy Trojans -26.5
(Get latest betting odds)
The Troy Trojans face the Southern Jaguars aSaturday in week 1 2021 college football action from Troy University Veterans Memorial Stadium. This will be the first game of the 2021 season for both teams. Southern is coming off a 5-1 spring record, putting the team in second place in their division rankings. As for the Trojans, they played 11 games last fall, posting a 5-6 record overall. Check back all season long for free college football picks at Sports Chat Place.
Southern was able to get in a six-game season in the spring, and things turned out fairly well from a record standpoint. The Jaguars’ one blemish was a tough loss 33-30 to AR-Pine Bluff on March 6, but otherwise Southern finished at 5-1 overall and 4-1 in SWAC play.
Southern’s record left them in second place out in the West Division, just behind AR-Pine Bluff. Otherwise the Jaguars were able to take out Alabama State, Texas Southern, Alcorn State, Jackson State and Grambling State in their spring campaign.
Over on the Trojans’ side, their season didn’t go as well last fall. Troy would end up finishing at 5-6 overall, and 3-4 in Sun Belt play. That left the Trojans in last place in the East Division of the Conference.
Troy started out reasonably well last fall, going 4-2 over their first six games with losses to BYU (48-7) and Georgia State (36-34). The Trojans then fell off the rails with losses to Georgia Southern, Middle Tennessee, Appalachian State and Coastal Carolina in their final five games.
The Jaguars are 4-1 ATS in their last five overall and 4-1 ATS in their last five on the road. The over is 4-0 in Southern’s last four overall and 4-0 in their last four in September.
Meanwhile, Troy is 1-4 ATS in their last five non-conference games and the under is 5-0-1 in their last six non-conference games. The under is 9-3-1 in the Trojans’ last 13 overall and 5-2-1 in their last eight on turf.
PICK: I’m likely going to take a stab on the Trojans here, but probably staying away from the team until we can see them in action on the field. Last year’s Troy offense was wildly inconsistent and didn’t have much of a downfield passing game. The good news is that the Trojans will retain a good group of solids mixed with incoming transfers. Top targets Kaylon Geiger, Reggie Todd and Tray Eafford are all back as well. The undersized offensive line is going to have to step up and provide some better protection, but I like Troy to take a nice step forward in 2021.
