Gerad Parker’s debut as Troy’s head football coach was not a memorable one in most senses of the word, as the Trojans lost 28-26 to Nevada on their home field.

As with many of Troy’s losses in recent years, it was by the narrowest of margins. The Trojans scored a touchdown with 21 seconds left, but missed a two-point conversion that could have tied the game.

It left the Trojans with a bitter taste in their mouth. But two days later, Parker is ready to take the long view.

“Losing’s not acceptable here at Troy,” Parker said. “It’s not accepted by our players, our staff, and our fan base. And I understand that, and that’s my responsibility to make sure we put our football team in a position where we don’t have to deal with that very much.

“… The season is a long chapter, it’s a long book, it’s all the above. And the only answer that there is to having a season that you want to have anywhere you are is to get better each week, and that’s easier said than done.”

That is indeed true given the Trojans’ next opponent. Memphis (1-0) is considered one of the Top Group of 5 programs in the country, and is around a three-touchdown underdog as it greets Troy (0-1) to Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium on Saturday.

Despite the loss, Parker said he saw some good things from his team on Saturday. Most notably, the Trojans — champions of the Sun Belt Conference the last two seasons under Jon Sumrall — fought until the final whistle.

“I think our fan base, our staff, our players, everybody needs to see, ‘is Troy still Troy?,’” Parker said. “And you saw that in that last segment of our defense getting a huge stop, our offense driving the field, fighting back to get ourselves in a position to have the two-point play to tie it. We didn’t quit. We played hard, we played gritty, and we answered the bell.”

“… Now we’ve got to take those steps faster, but I was pleased with our guys’ effort, and I was pleased with how we played until the last play. And that’s something you can stand on and move forward with.”

Troy has not opened a season 0-2 since 2014, the final year of Larry Blakeney’s 24-year tenure as Trojans head coach. The last season-opening loss at home came to Boise State in 2018.

Still, slow starts to the season are nothing new for the Trojans. They dropped back-to-back games vs. Kansas State and James Madison after winning their opener last year, then won 10 consecutive games before falling to Duke in the Birmingham Bowl.

“The past two years, we’ve been 1-2, and we went on to win championships,” cornerback cornerback Damaje Yancey said. “So when you’ve been in that environment, you just know you can’t flinch going through everything. That’s where we’re at right now. We just keep pushing, keep fighting. It’s nothing. We just keep going.”

Memphis features one of the top quarterbacks in the Group of 5 in senior Seth Henigan, a fourth-year starter who has passed for 11,072 yards and 81 touchdowns in his college career. The Texas native passed for 308 yards and two scores in a 40-0 victory over North Alabama in the Tigers’ season-opener last week.

Troy’s quarterback, Goose Crowder, made his first career start last week. The Gardendale native passed for 201 yards and a touchdown against Nevada, but fumbled after being hit from behind on the 2-point play in the final seconds.

“There’s no such thing as being a game player,” Parker said. “You have to be a practice player to become a really good game player, and that’s what Goose has done. His preparation was great. There were two or three decisions that he didn’t make that would be to his standard, but other than that, he played a clean game.

“I thought he managed pocket presence very well, got himself out of trouble with his legs, and was extremely accurate and made two or three special throws that it takes to be a great player at that position.”

Troy will be without running back Damien Taylor for the first half on Saturday, as part of an automatic targeting suspension. Taylor, who ran for 103 yards and a touchdown vs. Nevada, was ejected for targeting on an onside attempt after the Trojans’ final touchdown.

Kickoff for Troy at Memphis is set for 11 a.m. Saturday, with television coverage on ESPNU.