Greenville 27 Troy 14

Let's start with the positives, shall we?

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Oh, wait! I've got one! I took a different route to the game from Columbus, and it was much better, despite the fact that it was almost entirely country roads instead of interstate. There was a little bit of inexplicable stop-and-go, but not nearly as much as on Route 315 and Insterstates 670 and 70. Now, I still need to look for an alternate route out of town for any games south of Troy, but for home games, I think I'm golden.

There's no way to sugarcoat this: the Trojans were bad tonight. No disrespect intended toward Greenville, who has a pretty decent team, but this one should have at least been interesting, but the Trojans just couldn't make it so. As bad as they were, they still managed a slim 14-13 lead at halftime; even competent play could have kept them in it or given them a win. Alas, it was not to be.

The one bright spot on the night was defensive back Bailey Williams (no relation), who was responsible for both Trojan touchdowns. The first he scooped and scored after a blocked field goal that I was stunned Greenville actually tried to kick. The second was an interception that he more or less returned for a touchdown. (He returned the interception to the endzone, but it was called back due to a penalty; still, the good field position led to Troy's lone offensive TD.)

There were some flashes of good things that made it seem like the Trojans could pull this out if they wanted to. The blocked field goal. A blocked extra point. A goal-line stand. But for the most part, I'm flummoxed by how bad the defense was--partially because defense was Troy's redeeming aspect under Coach Brewer and it's amazing the difference from last year to this, and partially because I really though Coach (Charlie) Burgbacher would have them whipped into an acceptable shape by this point of the season. Not so much, at least not tonight. Greenville receivers were often open behind the entire Trojan defense; bad angles were taken; tackling was bad.

Another thing I just want to mention: as long as Coach (Matt) Burgbacher is in charge of this program, Trojan fans need to learn that they can't expect any favors from the officials. He's not shy about getting in their ear pretty vociferously, so it can't come as any surprise later in the game when, say, a receiver gets bumped a little early and no flag comes out. Hypothetically speaking, of course.

So after two straight home games, the Trojans go on the road again next week to take on the Trotwood-Madison Rams. I'll be pulling for the good guys from afar, I'm afraid; Trotwood is a little further than I can expect to make it in time for kickoff from Columbus (or maybe Toledo--my work schedule may have me up north on Friday). I'm going to stay close to home, for once--weather permitting, I think I'm going to stroll just a couple of blocks north to check out the Thomas Worthington Cardinals. And if the weather doesn't permit, I may just stay on the couch with a movie and a cocktail.