Troy Fires Warning Shot to Mizzou's Defense Before SEC Play

COLUMBIA — The Kansas Jayhawks fired a warning shot to Missouri’s defense in Week 2. Troy fired another Saturday, scoring 17 points and moving the ball with ease throughout the first half.

Missouri head coach Eli Drinkwitz knew if his defense didn’t correct mistakes from the Border War, a poor defensive performance was in the cards against the Trojans. He detailed the importance of cleaner play in the secondary Tuesday.

“(The cornerbacks) have the potential and they have the talent, but we're two weeks in, man. It's going to get a lot more challenging, let's just be real,” Drinkwitz said. … “(Troy quarterback Goose Crowder) is going to dial up our seams if we don't get those corrected, and if we don't stay attached to man-to-man, he's going to eat us alive, so we got a lot of work to do there… It's gonna be a little bit more of a difficult challenge."

Crowder did that, completing 18 of his 32 passes for 230 yards, two touchdowns and an interception.

Troy moved the ball in a variety of ways through the air. Crowder first connected with TK Keyes in the intermediate portion of the field, only for Keyes to outrun Santana Banner down the sideline for a 76-yard touchdown. Crowder’s next touchdown was at the end of the second half, hitting Howard Kinchen in stride down the sideline for a 55-yard score to bring Troy within one score with seconds left in the half.

Sep 19, 2026; Columbia, Missouri, USA; Troy Trojans quarterback Goose Crowder (9) throws a pass against the Missouri Tigers during the first half of the game at Faurot Field at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

“I think it comes down to just details and finish,” MU Cornerback Sione Laulea said. …”We were in a great position most of the time, it was just more so knowing that the ball is coming to you and harping on that and being in detail in tune with that.”

Between the scores, he operated primarily in the short portions of the field, taking underneaths. Troy’s slow, methodical offense kept Missouri’s offense off the field, helping the Trojans win the time-of-possession battle 37:23 to 22:37. Much of that came from third-and-short conversions on the ground, too.

“We still haven't stopped it. We haven't stopped it since last year. We haven't stopped it in two years,” Drinkwitz said. “From a coaching staff standpoint, we might want to figure that one out, or we’ll keep seeing it. So it's been on self-scout for two years now, and at some point, we got to fix it.”

Laulea did snag an interception, which although impressive and having set up Missouri’s offense in the red zone, was just one piece of an otherwise difficult game — he gave up the touchdown to Kinchen to close the first half.

Sep 19, 2026; Columbia, Missouri, USA; Missouri Tigers cornerback Sione Laulea (2) runs after intercepting a pass from the Troy Trojans during the first half of the game at Faurot Field at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

"Really glad that (the defense) got the two takeaways — We needed those,” Drinkwitz said. “But overall, just not very good performance."

It’s worth noting that Missouri’s pass rush looked impressive, picking up three sacks and pressuring Crowder consistently through the night, but Troy’s offensive line had struggled against fellow Group-of-Six opponents all season. Daeden Hopkins logged 1.5 sacks while Jason Dowell and Langden Kitchen each had strip-sacks. Missouri’s pass rush did what was expected, but that’s not enough to instill confidence in the defense as a whole moving forward.

“We knew we were going to be able to rush the passer. It's just we got to hold up in the back end in order for that pressure to get home,” Drinkwitz said, “and there was positive times when we did that, but there was too much early that kind of put us behind the chains and let them call plays from the advantage situation. So we got to stop the run to earn the right to rush the passer and not rush the passer at all costs. We got to stop the run first.”

The second half featured a much better performance, similar to what the defense did against Kansas. Troy did not score in the final two frames and gained just 84 yards. Laulea and Jahlil Florence each made a few big tackles, but the message still stands: Troy’s offense was less forgiving than Kansas’, and most SEC offenses will be less forgiving than Troy’s.

Missouri defense — Sep 19, 2026; Columbia, Missouri, USA; Troy Trojans running back Jaheim Merriweather (3) runs the ball against the Missouri Tigers during the second half of the game at Faurot Field at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Next up on the block for Missouri’s defense is Mississippi State quarterback Kamario Taylor, who’s tallied 726 total yards and nine touchdowns through three games this season, emerging as one of the conference’s premiere breakout players. Taylor and the Bulldogs’ explosive offense, which has scored 38 or more points in each of its first three games, will provide the toughest challenge Missouri’s defense has faced yet.

“The road ahead gets a whole lot more difficult, but it's really about us improving and finding ways to get better and learn more about our team,” Drinkwitz said.

Missouri will hit the road to play Mississippi State (3-0, 1-0 in SEC) at 6:45 p.m. Saturday in Starkville, Mississippi.

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