In his first season at the helm of the Troy Trojans, Jon Sumrall delivered unprecedented success to the program. They tallied their most wins in their short FBS history, won the Sun Belt title, and finished in the AP Poll Top 25 for the first time in program history. The question now is, can they repeat in 2023? Our Troy season predictions holds all the answers to that question.
Troy Season Predictions: Predicting the Game-By-Game Results
Using groupthink, College Football Network analysts have painstakingly gone through every game for every team in the Sun Belt and across the country.
Find Every Sun Belt Season Prediction per team: App State | Arkansas State | Coastal Carolina | Georgia Southern | Georgia State | JMU | Louisiana | UL-Monroe | Marshall | ODU | South Alabama | Southern Miss | Texas State | Troy
Picking these games straight up with a projected score using the rosters as up-to-date as the last spring practice, do the Troy season predictions suggest another Sun Belt title for the Trojans in 2023?
Week 1 – Troy vs. Stephen F. Austin: Win, 41-7
Expecting a Stephen F. Austin side that lost its best playmakers on both sides of the ball to come into Troy on opening weekend and leave with a win is foolish at best. The Trojans get their 2023 college football season off to a winning start in dominant fashion.
Week 2 – Troy at Kansas State: Loss, 17-22
Week 2 sees an early clash of reigning champions as the Trojans travel to Manhattan to take on Big 12 champion Kansas State. The Wildcats utilized the transfer portal well to offset losses to the NFL and return key parts of their offense in quarterback Will Howard and several offensive line starters. While it should be a close game, the Wildcats send Troy back to Alabama with a loss.
Week 3 – Troy vs. James Madison: Win, 20-16
One of the marquee games on the Troy 2023 college football schedule, the Trojans welcome James Madison in what should be a closely fought game. Both teams were defensively strong last fall, ranking near the top of the Sun Belt across a number of defensive metrics. At this early point, the uncertainty at the QB position for the Dukes might give Troy an offensive edge.
Week 4 – Troy vs. Western Kentucky: Loss, 29-19
It’s consecutive tough opponents for the Trojans, with the finest that the CUSA has to offer travelling to Alabama in Week 4. While they emerged from a road matchup with Western Kentucky with a touchdown win last fall, the Hilltoppers returning QB Austin Reed and one of the best wide receivers in the nation in Malachi Corley might be too hot to handle.
MORE: Sun Belt RB Rankings 2023
Week 5 – Troy at Georgia State: Win, 20-10
The two teams avoided each other last fall, ensuring Georgia State bring a three-game winning streak into this Week 5 clash. Despite the threat from mobile quarterback Darren Grainger, Troy’s defense rebounds with a standout performance in a win.
Week 6 – Troy vs. Arkansas State: Win, 22-8
Although Arkansas State holds a 10-8 head-to-head advantage and won the last time they took a trip to Alabama, Troy gave the Red Wolves a shellacking in their last two encounters, and our season predictions suggest another comfortable victory.
Week 7 – Troy at Army: Win, 25-12
Army is always a difficult team to face, and the Black Knights gave Troy a tough go of it last fall in the first-ever encounter between the two teams. Nonetheless, RB Kimani Vidal gives them a productive counterweight in a clock management battle.
Week 9 – Troy at Texas State: Win, 23-15
While we’re expecting an improved Texas State team this season under new head coach G.J. Kinne, it might be a step too far to overcome this ferocious Troy defense and an 11-game losing streak to the Trojans.
Week 10 – Troy vs. South Alabama: Loss, 15-19
This is the game to watch out for in the Sun Belt this fall, as the reigning champions take on a team we’re hotly tipping for success in the 2023 college football season.
While Troy’s defense is arguably the better of the two teams, South Alabama’s array of offensive weaponry could prove a difference-maker in a game that will ultimately decide the West division this fall.
MORE: Sun Belt QB Rankings 2023
Week 11 – Troy at Louisiana Monroe: Win, 25-8
With their most difficult games behind them, Troy enters the home stretch with one of their easiest games of the season. Sumrall’s team won by 18 points last fall, and a similar scale of victory shouldn’t be out of the question.
Week 12 – Troy vs. Louisiana: Win, 24-13
There’s a sense of a changing of the guard in the Sun Belt, with Louisiana struggling to regain their positioning as a perennial title challenger. The Trojans’ defense returns enough talent to prove a thorn in the side of the Ragin’ Cajuns.
Week 13 – Troy at Southern Miss: Win, 24-6
Troy has put up over 20 points in each of their last five encounters with Southern Miss while limiting the Golden Eagles to an average of 9.5 points per game. The Trojans round out the season with a win, taking them to nine for the season but falling short of a repeat as Sun Belt champions.
