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The Troy Trojans (3-8, 2-5) will finish up the 2024 football season on Saturday, Nov. 30, against the Southern Miss Golden Eagles (1-10, 0-7).

Troy is coming off a frustrating loss to Louisiana last week, which saw the Trojans get behind by more than 20 points in the second quarter only to rally and come with seven points in the fourth before the Cajuns pulled away.

Troy comes into season finale with receiver Devonte Ross on the verge of eclipsing the 1,000-yard mark, which would make him the first Trojan receiver to do so since 2012. Ross comes into the Southern Miss game with 71 catches for 974 yards and a conference best 11 touchdowns.

Running back Damien Taylor is also nearing 1,000 yards as he has 841 yards and four touchdowns on 150 carries. If both Taylor and Ross were able to eclipse the 1,000-yard mark it would also be the first time Troy has had a 1,000-yarder runner and 1,000-yard receiver since that 2012 season, as well.

On the other side, it’s also been a rocky season for Southern Miss as head coach Will Hall was fired after starting the season 1-6. Interim coach Reed Stringer as the team’s associate head coach before being promoted.

Southern Miss comes into the game ranked dead last in the Sun Belt in both scoring offense, scoring defense, total offense, rushing offense and rushing defense. The Eagles are also ranked 13th in pass offense, eighth in pass defense and 13th in total defense.

The last time Troy and Southern Miss met was in 2023, a 35-17 win, and the Trojans are currently on a three-game winning streak against the Eagles.

Coming into the final game of the season, records and stats will mean little as both teams are hungry to head into the offseason with some momentum.

“It’s 100% critical that we finish our season and finish it the right way, which is a win for our fans, a win for our locker room, a win for our staff and a win for momentum,” Troy Coach Gerad Parker said.

Parker also wants to send his small group of seniors off with a win.

“I’ll be forever grateful for what they’ve given to the program before I was here, but certainly in our time together this season when it could have gone many different ways and they didn’t let it,” Parker said. “I think they will see a lot of things in their futures that will be the foundation of what they helped build in our future as we find success. I couldn’t be more happier and proud to have been their coach.”

Troy hosts Southern Miss at 1 p.m. on Saturday at Veterans Memorial Stadium in Troy.