Wesley Kirchharr
Sports Editor
In front of a record crowd, the Troy football team dropped its season opener to No. 22 Boise State 56-20.
Troy fans set a record at Veterans Memorial Stadium with a crowd of 29,612.
The Trojan defense, which ranked 12th last season in the nation in overall defense, had no answer for the Broncos’ offense.
Boise State scored on five of its first seven possessions as Boise State quarterback Brett Rypien took advantage of the Trojans’ secondary.
Rypien threw for 276 yards and four touchdowns in the first half alone. Broncos wide receiver Sean Modster had two touchdowns and 161 receiving yards off six catches in the first two quarters.
The senior quarterback for the Broncos ended up with 305 passing yards and four touchdowns after sitting much of the second half.
After seeing the Broncos score on their first drive, the Trojans punted the ball but caught a break when the football hit Avery Williams of Boise State, and Troy recovered.
The Trojans would go on to score on a 23-yard touchdown by Jabir Frye, the second of his career, and tie the game at seven points each.
The game then got out of hand for last year’s Sun Belt Champions. Rypien threw a 53-yard touchdown to receiver C.T. Thomas to give Boise State the lead, which it held for the remainder of the game.
Then a series of mistakes plagued Troy. Boise State’s Tony Lashley picked off Kaleb Barker, and the Broncos pounced with another touchdown with Rypien’s third and fourth touchdowns to put Boise State up by 28 at the half.
The Trojans ended up with four turnovers for the game, which the Broncos used to score three touchdowns.
In the second half, as the pace of the game slowed, the Trojans crept back after a rushing touchdown by running back B.J. Smith and a passing touchdown by junior quarterback Kaleb Barker.
But any momentum was stopped by a fumble by Troy, which was returned by Boise State’s Tyler Horton for his second defensive touchdown of the night.
Broncos backup quarterback Chase Cord put up the final points of the night with a 44-yard run for a touchdown.
In his first game as starter, Barker threw 20-29 for 211 yards, a touchdown and an interception. Sawyer Smith saw some action, completing four of his five passes for 44 yards.
Frye led the team in rushing with 41 yards off seven attempts. Deondre Douglas eclipsed the century mark with 102 receiving yards and a touchdown.
The Trojans ended up with 379 yards of offense compared to 416 total for the Broncos.
Next Saturday, Troy plays FCS opponent Florida A&M in its second-consecutive home game to begin the season.
