Sam Houston State Bearkats (2-10) vs. Troy Trojans (0-0) September 5, 2026 7:00 pm EDT The Line: Troy Trojans -16.5 / Sam Houston State Bearkats 16.5; Over/Under: 54.5 (Get latest betting odds)
The Sam Houston Bearkats and Troy Trojans meet Saturday in college football action at Veterans Memorial Stadium. Here’s a Troy vs Sam Houston State Prediction. This article will include a Troy vs Sam Houston State Pick.
Sam Houston won just two games last season and enters year two under coach Phil Longo. The good news for Sam Houston is it rebounded from three wins in 2023 to 10 wins in 2024, so maybe the trend continues.
Sam Houston was awful offensively last season, but there’s experience at QB with the return of Landyn Locke. Chris Reed and Grady O’Neill return as the top receivers, and Landan Brown is back after leading the Bearkats in rushing yards. The defense has to improve as well, and that starts with safety Tyler Bailey and defensive lineman Dylan Frazier. Sam Houston has nowhere to go but up given what we saw a season ago.
Troy doubled its win total to eight victories last season and enters year three under coach Gerad Parker. Troy has made a bowl appearance in three of the last four seasons.
Goose Crowder returns at quarterback after throwing for 1,327 yards and 11 touchdowns, and there’s a solid 1-2 punch at running back in Jordan Lovett and Gavin Griffin. The offensive line has question marks due to the roster turnover, but this could be a successful group if Crowder grows at QB. Defensively, there are similar issues with a ton of new faces, but Donnie Smith returns after 11 sacks and 44 tackles, making him arguably the best defensive player in the Sun Belt. He’s the sort of player who can wreck games by himself. Troy is bringing in decent recruits and has nice building blocks. This is a program heading in the right direction.
Sam Houston has some showing and proving to do, and with nothing else to go off of, I’m not jumping on board. You have to show me something. Troy has a solid team that could make a run in the Sun Belt. Troy can run the ball and has one of the best defensive players in the conference. If Troy is as respectable as I think it is, this should be a comfortable win. Sam Houston did nothing last season that makes me want to get behind this squad. I’ll lay the points with the Trojans.