Troy lacking confidence entering Georgia game

photo Troy coach Larry Blakeney, right, and Middle Tennessee State coach Rick Stockstill shake hands after a 2011 game. Blakeney's Trojans have fallen on hard times after regularly winning the Sun Belt Conference for several years.

SEC WEEKLY HONORS• Offense: Arkansas tailback Alex Collins, who rushed 27 times for 212 yards and two touchdowns in the win over Texas Tech.• Defense: Missouri defensive end Shane Ray, who had two sacks against UCF and leads the nation with 7.5 tackles for loss.• Special teams: Florida punter Kyle Christy, who averaged 48.7 yards on six punts and put four inside the 20 against Kentucky.• Freshman: Kentucky receiver Garrett Johnson, who had six catches for 154 yards and two touchdowns in the loss at Florida.• Offensive lineman: South Carolina tackle Corey Robinson, who had 11 knockdown blocks in the 38-35 triumph over Georgia.• Defensive lineman: Mississippi State's Preston Smith, who had two sacks and a forced fumble and has won this award three straight weeks.

It's not every week that Georgia hosts a football team coming off a loss to the Abilene Christian Wildcats.

Troy University, which won five consecutive Sun Belt Conference championships from 2006 to 2010, will arrive at Sanford Stadium this Saturday amid tougher times. The Trojans were pummeled by UAB and Duke to open this season and were hoping to rebound last Saturday against a team from the Championship Subdivision, but they blew a 21-7 halftime lead and fell 38-35.

"It was something that was an awfully bad dream that came true," Troy coach Larry Blakeney said Monday. "We're trying to deal with a confidence level and a young quarterback and a defense that's not as bad as they may seem but not as good as they need to be. Hopefully we can find a way to stay together and fight hard and keep trying to get better."

Georgia also lost 38-35 this past weekend -- at South Carolina -- but that's the only similarity Blakeney sees between his team and its next opponent. Blakeney has a 175-107-1 record in his 24th year with the Trojans, but he's only 14-25 since the start of the 2011 season.

"There is no good time to play Georgia, and now they've lost a game," Blakeney said. "When they make up their mind that they're going to take the ball and cram it down your throat, they're pretty capable. Playing Georgia any time, from our perspective, is not something that you relish unless you knew you had a chance to go in there and do something.

"We played against them pretty well the last time we were there [a 44-34 Bulldogs win in 2007], and they were a dominant team then. They're a dominant team now, and I think they're still in the hunt in the [SEC] East."

Troy became the first FBS victim for Abilene Christian since 1959, when the Wildcats won at UTEP.

Chubb has surgery

Georgia freshman tailback Nick Chubb played at South Carolina with a fractured thumb and underwent surgery Monday, coach Mark Richt told reporters Monday night.

Chubb, who had his thumb protected against the Gamecocks, rushed four times for 34 yards. Richt considers Chubb "50-50" as far as playing this weekend.

"He's a tough dude," Richt said.

Odds and ends

The Bulldogs worked out Monday for 90 minutes in shorts. ... Freshman tailback Sony Michel is the special teams captain this week, joining center David Andrews and tailback Todd Gurley on offense and defensive lineman Toby Johnson on defense. ... South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier on his early-season schedule: "I don't think anybody has played three teams who all could win 10 games or more. I don't know what Texas A&M will do, but they easily could win 10. East Carolina is probably going to win 10, and Georgia, in all likelihood, probably will win 10 or more."

Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.

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