Wesley Kirchharr
Staff Writer
The Troy Trojans fell to Georgia Southern 28-24 in a last-second thriller to cap off the regular season with nine wins.
The Trojans (9-3, 6-2 Sun Belt) needed the victory to claim a share in the Sun Belt conference title, but fell just short as the Eagles (4-4 Sun Belt) picked up their fifth win of the season.
In a game that saw five lead changes, Troy got on the board first after capitalizing on an Eagle turnover. Senior kicker Ryan Kay sent a 37-yard kick through the uprights.
The 3-0 lead was relinquished in the second quarter. Georgia Southern capped off a 56-yard drive with a 12-yard lob from quarterback Kevin Ellison.
Troy struck back before the half, reclaiming the lead when junior running back Jordan Chunn punched it in from three yards out. Going into the locker room, Troy held a 10-7 lead.
To begin the second half, the Eagles scored 14 unanswered points, leaving the Trojans behind 21-10. The Trojans caught up after scoring two touchdowns of their own—a Chunn run and a Tevaris McCormick catch.
The Eagle offense and its triple option playbook was firing on all cylinders throughout the second half. With under ten minutes remaining in the game, Ellison found B.J. Johnson III 63 yards downfield for the score to retake the lead and ultimately the win.
Down four points, the Trojan offense had one final shot to claim the conference title. After getting a play off just before time expired, Silvers’ pass fell to the turf, sealing the victory for the Eagles.
For the Trojans, Silvers went 27-of-34 for 218 yards and one score. Chunn gave the offense a second weapon, rushing for 79 yards on 19 touches to go along with two trips to the end zone.
The Georgia Southern offense was run by a duo of quarterbacks, Kevin Ellison and Favian Upshaw. Ellison went for 127 yards through the air, but both his scores came on the ground. Upshaw went 6-for-7 with 48 yards.
The bowl-bound Trojans will have one last shot at their first 10-win season in FBS football. The bowl selections will be announced on Sunday, Dec. 4.
