South Alabama–Troy football rivalry

"Battle for the Belt" redirects here. For the college football rivalry between Murray State and Western Kentucky, see Battle for the Red Belt.
The South Alabama–Troy Rivalry
Battle for the Belt
Sport Football
First meeting September 29, 2012
Troy 31, South Alabama 10
Latest meeting October 20, 2016
Troy 28, South Alabama 21
Next meeting 2017
Statistics
Meetings total 5
All-time series Troy leads 3–2
Largest victory 21; Troy (2012)
Current win streak 1; Troy
University of South Alabama
Troy University
Locations in Alabama

The South Alabama–Troy football rivalry, commonly known as the Battle for the Belt, is an college football rivalry game between two public universities in the U.S. state of Alabama, University of South Alabama Jaguars and the Troy University Trojans. The current winner is Troy, who won, 28–21, on October 20, 2016. Troy leads with the all-time series, 3–2.[1]

History

Background: 1976–2011

The South Alabama Jaguars were co-founding members of the Sun Belt Conference in 1976. Troy joined the conference in 2004 as a football-only member. In 2005, the Trojans transitioned the rest of their sports to the Sun Belt, and South Alabama and Troy began facing each other in sports other than football, since at that time, South Alabama did not have a football team.

On December 6, 2007, South Alabama's Board of Trustees approved the addition of football to the intercollegiate athletics program. The team began play in 2009 with a planned full transition to the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision (Division I-A) by 2013.[2]

In 2012, South Alabama's football team officially joined the school's other sports in the Sun Belt Conference and started to face the conference members in a full conference schedule.

The Games: 2012–present

Game 1 (2012)

The South Alabama – Troy football rivalry officially began on a rain-soaked[3] Saturday, September 29, 2012, at historic Ladd-Peebles Stadium in Mobile, where Troy defeated the Jaguars 31–10.[4]

Game 2 (2013)

The second meeting between the teams was a thriller.[5] In a game where South Alabama dominated the stats, the Jags suffered a one point loss in a battle that featured two lead changes in the final minutes, including a game-winning Troy touchdown with 7 seconds left on the clock.

Game 3 (2014)

The Jaguars claimed their first victory in the series with a convincing 27–13 win,[6] and the rivalry was truly born.

Game 4 (2015)

The 4th game of the series took place in Troy. Troy had a bye week the week before giving them 2 weeks to build the hype. Troy had a huge pep rally with a bonfire on campus the Thursday night before the game. A car spray painted red, white, and blue (South Alabama's colors) was on campus and hammers were used to smash the car. This game was a "Blackout" game. All fans were encouraged to wear black. The first 10,000 fans into the stadium were given a free black t-shirt. A DJ was provided for the game for the students. South Alabama rolled to a 24–18 victory.[7]

Game results

South Alabama victoriesTroy victories
#DateLocationWinnerScore
1 September 29, 2012 Mobile Troy 31–10
2 October 5, 2013 Troy Troy 34–33
3 October 24, 2014 Mobile South Alabama 27–13
4 October 3, 2015 Troy South Alabama 24–18
5 October 20, 2016 Mobile Troy 28–21
Series: Troy leads 3–2

References

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 10/29/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.