The Belt is back in Mobile, thanks to South Alabama’s 25-9 victory over Troy on Tuesday night at Hancock Whitney Stadium.

The Jaguars (3-4, 2-1 Sun Belt Conference) won the “Battle for the Belt” for the first time in seven years, beating the Trojans (1-6, 0-3) for just the second time in Mobile and the first time in their on-campus home that opened in 2020. South Alabama’s defense carried the day, holding Troy to just 158 yards of total offense.

South Alabama gets an 11-day break before resuming its 3-game home stretch on Oct. 26 vs. Louisiana-Monroe. Before that, here are 3 takeaways from the Jaguars’ decisive victory in the 13th “Battle for the Belt”:

1. Offense wasn’t great, but didn’t have to be

The Jaguars scored both of their touchdowns during one 5-minute stretch in the second quarter, using a short field after an interception for one of them. Otherwise, it was a pretty ho-hum effort from the Jaguars, who were again plagued by penalties and largely struggled to move the ball against a solid Troy defense. Gio Lopez made a couple of pin-point throws, including a 24-yard strike to Jeremiah Webb for the Jaguars’ first touchdown. He ran 49 yards for the second on fourth-and-2, one play after he’d run for 21 yards on third-and-23. But with the way the South Alabama defense played against an anemic Troy offense, the Jaguars didn’t need much in the way of yards or points. And with key games coming up against ULM and Georgia Southern — both of which are currently in first place — perhaps it’s better that South Alabama didn’t have to open up the entire playbook.

2. Defense controlled the action, played its best game of the year

Again, Troy has major issues on offense — particularly on the offensive line and at quarterback, but South Alabama set the tone early on defense. The Jaguars didn’t allow a first down until late in the second quarter and didn’t permit Troy to reach 100 yards of total offense until the fourth. South Alabama also did not allow a play of longer than 18 yards the entire night. The Jaguars came away with three sacks and three interceptions, including one by Jaden Voisin that set up the first touchdown, and another by Lardarius Webb that led to a field goal. South Alabama has been strong defensively in all three of its conference games, something it can carry forward into the season’s home stretch. Defensive coordinator Will Windham took some lumps early in the season, but deserves some credit for the way this unit has evolved to the point that it at least is no longer a liability.

3. Troy has fallen hard and fast from last year’s championship squad

A team that won 23 games and a pair of conference championships the last two seasons is now among the worst at the major-college level, with its lone win this season against an FCS team and not another one likely to come any time soon. Some growing pains were expected under first-year coach Gerad Parker given the personnel losses, but I’m not sure anyone saw it sinking this far this fast. The Trojans play hard and well on defense — witness 14 tackles for loss on Tuesday — but cannot mount any kind of consistent threat offensively. There have been quarterback issues all year, and one has to wonder how this season might be different had Week 1 starter Goose Crowder remained healthy. But right now, the Trojans’ offense relies almost entirely on getting the ball downfield to wide receiver Devonte Ross, who has nine of their 16 touchdowns this season. The Trojans are probably staring at 2-10 at best this season, and that’s assuming they finish off the season by beating a Southern Miss team that might have already made a coaching change.

NEXT UP: South Alabama hosts ULM (5-1, 3-0) on Oct. 26 at 4 p.m. That game will stream live on ESPN+.