Wk 1 · 2026
Sam Houston Bearkats at Troy Trojans — Sat, Sep 5
Sat, Sep 5 ·
Veterans Memorial Stadium (AL), Troy, AL
· ESPN+ FINAL
Weather
No forecast yet. Forecasts reach about 16 days ahead, so this fills in nearer the game. A seasonal average printed here would look exactly like a forecast, which is why there is not one.
at
7:00pET
TROY -16.5 · total 52.5 DraftKings
Ratings differential TROY by 9.8
What is at stake
A non-conference game. It moves both overall records but neither conference race.
What the ratings imply
The differential above is arithmetic on two published numbers:
The CFB King’s 2026 final efficiency ratings, plus
2.4 points of home field.
It is not a projection, a value, an edge or a lean, and nothing on this site
compares it with the betting line to tell you one is better. Until 2026
games are played it is last season’s measurement of two teams that have
changed.
Efficiency · 2026 ratings
Efficiency margin
Offense (pts/100)
Defense (pts/100)
Pace (plays/g)
Yards / play
Yards / play allowed
Opponent-adjusted ratings from The College
King's 2026 final numbers. Bars share a scale within each row, so
the two lengths are comparable; the brighter side is the better of the two, and a
longer bar is the better number — including the rows where a lower figure is the
good one. Pace is the exception: it is how fast a team plays, not how well, so
neither side is lit and a longer bar there means only more plays.
Team stats · 2026 per game
Points / game
Points allowed
Yards / game
Yards allowed
Pass yds allowed
Rush yds allowed
Turnovers / game
From completed 2026 box scores;
defensive yardage covers the regular season and conference championships.
Sam Houston form
L 3-35at LIBL 14-49at TTUW 59-0vs NICHL 17-23vs TLSAL 21-24at TROY
2026 season
Troy form
W 55-34vs USML 10-21at USUL 17-27at MIZW 34-17vs ALSTW 24-21vs SHSU
2026 season
Sam Houston this season
Straight up1-4 · 20% (5 games)
Against the spread3-2 · 60% (5 games)
Over / under2-3 · 40% (5 games)
Troy this season
Straight up3-2 · 60% (5 games)
Against the spread2-3 · 40% (5 games)
Over / under1-4 · 20% (5 games)
Lines are captured from ESPN's board before kickoff and locked at kickoff, so an in-play price cannot overwrite the number a game is graded against.
Common opponents · 0
These teams share no opponents on the 2026 schedule.
Open these two in the
comparison tool for every shared and unshared opponent.
Series history · 2006–2026
Since 2006, Troy leads 1–0 · Troy won the last one
1 meeting
in 2006–2026 · average margin
3.0 points toward Troy
| Yr | Date | Result | Site | Won |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 2026-09-05 | Sam Houston 21 — 24 Troy | at TROY | Troy |
Sam Houston leaders 2026 regular season
| Passing | Landyn Locke QB #8 | 116/175, 1306 YDS, 11 TD, 3 INT |
| Brett Holloway QB #9 | 3/5, 64 YDS, 1 TD, 1 INT | |
| Rushing | Alton McCaskill RB #22 | 50 CAR, 201 YDS, 1 TD |
| Landan Brown RB #10 | 25 CAR, 105 YDS, 1 TD | |
| Jerrian Parker Jr. RB #6 | 12 CAR, 68 YDS | |
| Receiving | Grady O'Neill WR #7 | 25 REC, 255 YDS, 2 TD |
| Chris Reed WR #2 | 14 REC, 238 YDS, 3 TD | |
| Tim Burns Jr. WR #3 | 9 REC, 205 YDS, 2 TD | |
| Kyan Berry-Johnson WR #5 | 13 REC, 165 YDS, 1 TD |
Defense
| Tackles | Dean Ford LB #21 | 26 |
| Caesar Magee CB #7 | 24 | |
| Brody Henderson DE #3 | 24 | |
| Sacks | Elijah Groves LB #12 | 2.5 |
| Zion Taylor DE #28 | 1 | |
| Justin Terrell DT #98 | 1 | |
| Interceptions | Tyler Bailey S #8 | 1 |
| Cameron Franklin S #15 | 1 | |
| Railyn Adams S #13 | 1 |
Troy leaders 2026 regular season
| Passing | Goose Crowder QB #9 | 87/153, 1047 YDS, 9 TD, 4 INT |
| Evan Crenshaw P #28 | 0/1, 0 YDS | |
| Rushing | Gavin Griffin RB #0 | 69 CAR, 337 YDS, 1 TD |
| Jaheim Merriweather RB #3 | 50 CAR, 281 YDS, 4 TD | |
| Jordan Lovett RB #1 | 44 CAR, 254 YDS, 1 TD | |
| Receiving | TK Keyes WR #8 | 12 REC, 270 YDS, 3 TD |
| Noreel White WR #4 | 11 REC, 159 YDS | |
| Howard Kinchen WR #18 | 13 REC, 147 YDS, 2 TD | |
| Jace Petty WR #17 | 12 REC, 105 YDS |
Defense
| Tackles | Keno Jones LB #42 | 35 |
| Justin Powe S #6 | 30 | |
| TJ Thompson LB #4 | 25 | |
| Sacks | Donnie Smith DB #22 | 5 |
| Keno Jones LB #42 | 1.5 | |
| Ty Clemons DT #11 | 1 | |
| Interceptions | Kavion Henderson DE #25 | 1 |
| TJ Thompson LB #4 | 1 | |
| Jabari Strait CB #1 | 1 |
These are regular-season totals for
the season named on each card — the players who led that team that year,
taken from ESPN's team leaders. That list is keyed to the season, not to today's
roster, so a leader who has since transferred or run out of eligibility still
appears against the year he earned it; the
roster
pages and the depth chart on each team page are where the current squad is.
A team switches to this season's numbers once it has played a game. The roster
pages count bowl games too, so a player's two lines can differ by a game.