Wesley Kirchharr
Staff Writer
The Troy football team topped conference foe Texas State 40-7 on Saturday, cruising 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 their loss to Arkansas State by handing the Bobcats (2-9, 0-7 Sun Belt) their seventh conference loss. After an Arkansas State loss to Louisiana-Lafayette, Troy is back in the hunt for a possible conference title, controlling 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 totaled only 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. Chunn finished the game with 74 yards on 19 carries, while Anderson rushed for 36 yards and two scores on just five carries.
Junior quarterback Brandon Silvers completed 20 of his 28 attempts through the air for 218 yards and two touchdowns. Silvers also moved into third place in Troy history for most career touchdowns with his two TD passes bumping his total up to 63.
Ryan Kay continued his own run at history after he sent a pair of field goals through the uprights. 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 its only score of the game. Troy finished with 10 second-half points, three coming from one of Kay’s field goals.
The Trojan defense had the Bobcat offense in a frenzy after forcing two turnovers and hurrying the quarterback throughout the entire game. The Trojans also came away with nine tackles and only 256 yards allowed.
Those two Bobcat turnovers came courtesy of a pair of Jalen Rountree interceptions, putting Troy at sixth in the nation in total interceptions.
“I was proud of our guys,” Head Coach Neal Brown said after the game. “We were in attack mode. We had a good week of preparation, and not being in school or having any distractions helped us overcome the showing against Arkansas State.”
Troy now looks ahead to a regular-season finale with the Sun Belt Championship on the line. With a victory, Troy would share the conference title with Appalachian State and Arkansas State, if the latter wins on Saturday.
“It’s an opportunity to get 10 wins, and it’s an opportunity to claim a conference championship,” Brown said. “(Georgia Southern) has similar personnel to Arkansas State, and I fully expect them to mirror their game plan.”
The conference matchup against the 4-7 Eagles is set for 11 a.m. in Statesboro, Georgia. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN2.
