Wesley Kirchharr
Staff Writer
The Troy football team topped conference foe Texas State 40-7 on Saturday, cruising ever closer to a record, 10-win season, a bowl appearance, and a share in a conference title.
The Trojans (9-2, 6-1 Sun Belt) bounced back from last week’s loss to Arkansas State by handing the Bobcats (2-9, 0-7 Sun Belt) their seventh conference loss. After an Arkansas State loss today, Troy is right back in the hunt for a possible conference title, and still controls its own destiny.
After four first half touchdowns, Troy jumped out to a 30-0 lead at the half, racking up 304 yards of total offense. The Bobcats struggled to maintain any rhythm on offense, as they only totaled 100 yards in the first two quarters of play.
A number of Trojans scored in the first half, highlighted by a combined three touchdowns courtesy of Josh Anderson and Jordan Chunn in the ground game. Junior quarterback Brandon Silvers completed 20 of his 28 attempts through the air for 218 yards and two touchdowns.
Chunn finished the game with 74 yards on 19 carries, while Anderson rushed for 36 yards and two scores on just five carries.
Ryan Kay continued his run at history after he sent a pair of field goals through the uprights in the win. Kay needs only three more field goals to match Troy’s single-season record.
At the end of the third quarter, Texas State found the end zone for their only score of the game. Troy finished with 10 second half points, three of which coming from another field goal from Kay to wrap things up.
The Trojan defense had the Bobcat offense in a frenzy after forcing two turnovers and hurried the quarterback throughout the entire game. The Trojans also came away with nine tackles for loss en route to only allowing 256 yards in the entire contest.
Troy now looks ahead to a regular season finale with a Sun Belt Championship on the line. With a victory, Troy would share the conference title with Appalachian State and Arkansas State, if each of those teams were to record a victory as well.
The conference matchup against Georgia Southern is set for 11 a.m. in Statesboro, Georgia. The game’s live broadcast can be found on ESPN2.
