Troy University Athletics
Trojans Drop Hard Fought Contest at USC
9/25/2004 12:00:00 AM | Football
The Trojans (2-2, 0-1 Sun Belt Conference) used a bend-but-not-break defensive effort to hang around with the Gamecocks (3-1, 1-1 SEC), but it was head coach Lou Holtz's USC defense that would control the game in front of 79,700, a crowd that surpassed the 77,831 that watched the Trojans play at Nebraska in 2002.
The Trojans mustered 195 yards of total offense on the game and scored its lone touchdown after a fumble recovery set them up in the USC red zone. The Gamecocks, on the other hand, moved the ball 310 yards during the game but could only put 17 points on the board, their second-lowest output of the season.
They are a pretty good football team,” Troy head coach Larry Blakeney said. We were back and forth, turnover to turnover. Now we are going to go back home and get ready for Utah State.”
Senior tailback DeWhitt Betterson ran for a game-high 50 yards and a touchdown on 12 carries. The Starke, Fla., native surpassed Arrid Gregory and Joe Jackson on the school's career rushing yards list and is now third with 2,461. He trails Mike Turk for second place by 72 yards and is 465 yards away from Ted Horstead's school record of 2,926 yards.
It's a good feeling to be on such a prestigious list, but it is kind of bittersweet because we lost the game,” Betterson said. I came to Troy wanting to leave as the all-time leading rusher. Hopefully, I can continue and improve on the season and eventually break the record.”
Senior quarterback Aaron Leak and freshman D.T McDowell split time under center once again for Troy. Leak completed 9-of-21 passes for 108 yards and two interceptions, while McDowell attempted just two passes. Leak ran for 37 yards on eight carries, and McDowell scrambled for 34 on four rushes.
Senior safety Derrick Ansley recorded his first interception of the season in the second quarter. It was the Tallassee, Ala., native's 15th-career pick, tying him with Boise State's Gabe Franklin and LSU's Corey Webster for second in the nation among active players.
Ansley had 10 tackles on the night, one behind junior Bernard Davis' game-high 11 stops. Davis had two tackles for a loss, including one sack. Seniors Jamaal Holt, Cedric Sullivan and Demarcus Ware also recorded sacks for the Troy defense.
USC also used two quarterbacks against the Trojans. Starter Dondrial Pinkins was 6-for-10 with 101 yards and an interception, while Syvelle Newton threw for 98 yards and an interception on 10-of-14 attempts.
The Gamecocks took their first drive downfield and jumped to a 7-0 lead with 9:02 left in the opening quarter after Cory Boyd's 3-yard touchdown run up the middle capped a 81-yard drive that spanned seven plays and 3:31.
USC quarterback Dondrial Pinkins mishandled a snap on third and short with just under five minutes left in the first quarter, and junior defensive end Larry Brown fell on the loose ball to give the Trojans the ball at the Gamecock 18-yard line. Four plays and 1:51 later, Betterson punched it in off right tackle from three-yards out to tie the game at seven.
The two teams swapped possessions throughout the second quarter, but a career-long 40-yard field goal by Josh Brown with 19 seconds to play in the half gave the Gamecocks a hard-fought 10-7 halftime lead. The field goal capped a 13-play, 65-yard drive that took 5:21 off of the clock. A roughing-the-kicker penalty by Joel Whinghter prolonged the scoring drive after USC punter Brown's 27-yard kick was downed at the Gamecock 42-yard line.
Troy tallied just 74 yards of total offense on 21 plays in the first half while surrendering 214 yards on 38 plays to the Gamecocks, but six USC penalties and the lone turnover of the half, Ansley's interception, allowed kept the Trojans within striking distance going into the locker room.
Ball control was the story of South Carolina's third quarter. The Gamecocks held the ball for 9:45 of the 15-minute quarter, highlighted by a 7:22 scoring drive that spanned 14 plays and consumed 80 yards. The drive was completed with 1:44 on the clock when backup quarterback Syvelle Newton scrambled for a six-yard score, to give USC the deciding 17-7 advantage.
The Trojans threatened twice in the fourth quarter but couldn't put any more points on the board. They reached the USC 30-yard line on the quarter's opening possession but turned the ball over on downs, and they had a first down at the Gamecocks' 11-yard line with just over two minutes to play when Leak was intercepted by Lance Laury to seal the win for USC.
Troy will return to Sun Belt Conference action on Saturday, Oct. 2, at 2:30 p.m. CT, when it plays host to Utah State, who is in its final season as a Sun Belt member.
