Week 8 Preview: Troy at ULM

The Troy Trojans and the ULM Warhawks are two teams heading into this matchup going in two different directions.

The Trojans are coming off a comeback victory over Texas State, a game in which they trailed throughout most of the night. After starting the season 1-2, the Trojans have won three straight contests and have already tied the number of wins they had the entire 2024 campaign.

For the Warhawks, they are on a two-game losing streak, having been outscored 65-15 in those contests.

The Warhawks will look to win their second straight game against the Trojans, defeating them last year 13-9.

Troy

The Trojans are coming off another in-conference win after defeating Texas State 48-41 in overtime. Troy had to claw their way back into that game after a rough first quarter. Texas State scored touchdowns on all four drives that quarter to take a 28-7 lead after the first quarter.

Head coach Gerad Parker credits his team’s mental toughness and leadership for never wavering, no matter what situation they are in.

“The resilience and toughness of this football team is unlike anything I’ve seen before,” Parker said. “We all know what the score was, we know how far behind we were, we kept on playing, we took chances, we took risks.”

Tucker Kilcrease had a career night in the win, with career highs in completions with 30, completion percentage completing 76.9% of his passes, passing yards with 415, and passing touchdowns with five. Kilcrease was named Davey O’Brien National Co-QB of the Week.

“I try to think of it in such a team aspect and kind of like well, what can I do to help this team win,” Kilcrease said. “The stats never really even crossed my mind, I just try to go out there every playing, do my job to the best of my ability.”

How about that … Tucker Kilcrease is the @daveyobrien National Co-QB of the Week ‼️ pic.twitter.com/nSY3Tafsmq

— Troy Trojans Football 8x⚔️ (@TroyTrojansFB) October 14, 2025

Along with Kilcrease having a career game, the same goes for DJ Epps. The redshirt junior had a career high 10 receptions for 148 yards and two scores. His two touchdown grabs came in the biggest moments of the game, to help send the game into overtime and to take the lead in overtime.

ULM

The Warhawks fell to 1-1 in conference play after a 23-8 loss to Coastal Carolina. While the Warhawks’ offense gained 315 total yards during the game, they couldn’t put the ball in the end zone once.

The penalties and turnovers hurt the Warhawks in the contest, turning the ball over twice and committing seven penalties for 64 yards. Head coach Bryant Vincent was not pleased with the penalties, feeling that they put them in a situation that would be hard to overcome.

“How we started the game put us behind the eight ball, and they were all self-inflicted penalties,” Vincent said.

Coming off this tough loss, ULM knows they must execute better to get back into the win column.

“We’re not going to beat anybody playing like this, this execution offensively, you’re not going to beat anybody,” Vincent said. “We’ve got a long way to go, and we’ve got a lot of work to do in a short time to get there.”

In the game against Coastal Carolina, quarterback Aidan Armenta went 14-for-28 with 176 yards, one touchdown, and one interception. Braylon McReynolds had a nice game on the ground with 78 yards on 14 carries, averaging 5.6 yards per carry.