Red Zone Woes Cost Trojans in Loss to Hogs

Saturday, November 14

Fayetteville, Ark.

6:30 pm

Troy University

Arkansas

Red Zone Woes Cost Trojans in Loss to Hogs

11/14/2009 11:00:00 PM | Football

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Two of the most accurate passers in college football matched up Saturday night at Reynolds Razorback Stadium, and neither came away unscathed.

It was the homestanding Razorbacks who took the biggest advantage of mistakes, building a 28-10 halftime lead en route to a 56-20 victory over the Trojans in front of a raucous crowd of 66,442.

The loss for Troy (7-3) snapped the Trojans' seven-game win streak while Arkansas (6-4) gained bowl eligibility with the victory.

“They are an SEC football program and you don't just go prancing into many SEC stadiums and do much better than we did tonight,” Troy coach Larry Blakeney said. “We are proud of our kids because they played hard, even though they didn't play perfect. We gave up some big plays defensively and we gave up some turnovers.”

Troy senior Levi Brown entered play against Arkansas having not thrown an interception in 27 quarters, and stood just 13 pass attempts shy of the NCAA record. His streak (265) came to an end on Troy's second possession, six tries shy of the mark set by Trent Dilfer of Fresno State in 1993.

“If I had been thinking about the streak, I never would have thrown that pass because it was not a very smart pass,” Brown said. “We had two go routes and I tried to look the safety off to the right and throw to the left. When I tried to look him off, he didn't move, so I should have thrown it to the right. For whatever reason I tried to fit it in. It was not a very smart play.”

It was not, however, Brown's only miscue of the first half against the Razorbacks. He was intercepted twice more before halftime, including a failed “Hail Mary” on the final play of the half and a deflection off receiver Tebiarus Gill's hands.

Troy was able to move the ball against the Razorbacks, piling up 455 yards of total offense, but the Trojans struggled in the red zone, settling for field goal attempts three times and turning the ball over on a fumble once.

“We probably could have scored two or three more times if we didn't turn it over,” Blakeney said. “We were getting ready to put the ones back in if we had scored down there to cut it to a manageable margin. Then they came right out and hit a big play.

Arkansas sophomore Ryan Mallett came into the game with the second longest active streak without a pick in the nation, but that streak also ended in the second quarter when Bryan Willis recorded his team-leading fourth interception of the year. Mallett's streak ended at 141 attempts.

Despite the pick, Mallett had a career game, throwing for 405 yards and five touchdowns. The five scoring passes against the Trojans are the most for an opposing quarterback since Chad Pennington had five for Marshall in 1998.

“That play-action was tough,” linebacker Bear Woods said. “They are a pro-style offense and they do a good job of hiding those backs in there. You think they have the ball but then they roll out that boot and receivers are wide open. If they get you to bite on the play action, those receivers will be open, and that is what they were able to do. We don't see that type of play in our conference very much.”

The Razorbacks got on the board first in the game as Mallett connected with Joe Adams for a 23-yard score on the opening possession of the game.

The 7-0 lead for Arkansas stood up through the opening quarter when Michael Taylor had his 48-yard field goal attempt hit the right upright later in the quarter. It was his first missed FG after three makes this year.

The Hogs pushed their lead to 14-0 early in the second quarter when Broderick Green capped an 11-play drive with a dive over from the one.

The Trojans got on the board with 5:49 left in the half when Jason Bruce hauled in a Brown pass from three yards out. The scoring play capped a 10-play drive that covered 69 yards. It was Bruce's first career TD reception and was the 31st in Brown's career, fifth on the Troy career list.

Arkansas answered the Troy touchdown with two quick scores of its own. First Ronnie Wingo scored on a 16-yard run and then Mallett hit Greg Childs for a 13-yard score.

Troy was able to answer before halftime, cutting the deficit to 28-10 on a 30-yard Taylor field goal.

The Trojans opened the second half with an eight-play drive that stalled in the red zone, bringing in Taylor for 21-yard field goal, cutting the Arkansas lead to 28-13.

The teams traded touchdowns through the end of the third quarter, with Arkansas getting TD passes of 28 and nine yards from Mallett, his third and fourth scoring strikes of the day.

Troy's TD came on a pass from Jonathan Chandler to Andrew Davis for 17 yards. It was the first career TD pass for Chandler.

The Razorbacks added three late scores, two on Mallett TD passes, to put the game away. Mallett's five touchdown strikes went to five different Razorbacks receivers.

The Trojans will return to action next Saturday against Florida Atlantic with a chance to wrap-up a fourth consecutive Sun Belt crown. In addition to being Senior Day at Movie Gallery Veterans Stadium, it will also mark Troy University's annual “Salute to Veterans” game.

Kickoff for the game between the Trojans and Owls is set for 3:19 p.m. The game will be televised on CSS as the Sun Belt Game of the Week.

Troy Game Notes

Quarterback Levi Brown's first quarter interception against Arkansas was his first in 27 quarters ending his streak which was the longest in the nation. He previously had 265 attempts dating back to September 19th against UAB. That interception was in the first quarter as well. Free safety Matt Harris, son of former Dallas Cowboy Cliff Harris, intercepted Brown on the long pass attempt intended for Chip Reeves. Opposing Arkansas quarterback Ryan Mallett took over the lead in the NCAA as the longest streak without an interception.
Arkansas' first quarter 7-0 lead marked the first time Troy had trailed after the opening quarter since the last trip to the state of Arkansas. Arkansas State led Troy after one quarter 10-3 in the fourth game of the season. Troy won the game 30-27.
Boris Lee got his first sack of the season against Arkansas in the second quarter. It couldn't have come at a better time too. The Lee sack against Mallett forced the Razorbacks into a 4th and 22 situation up 14-0 against the Trojans. The sack forced a Razorback punt, and put Troy's offense back on the field.
Wide receiver Jason Bruce caught his first career touchdown pass for Troy's first touchdown of the game. The 3-yard touchdown pass from Levi Brown to Bruce pulled the Trojans within a touchdown bringing the second-quarter score to 14-7.
Levi Brown's second quarter interception to linebacker Jerry Franklin marked the first time he has thrown two picks in a game since the season opening loss at Bowling Green.
Kicker Michael Taylor's first quarter miss from 48 yards was his first miss of the season. The long field goal attempt had plenty of distance, but a collision with the right side upright spiraled the ball to the ground.
Bryan Willis ended Mallett's streak of pass attempts without an interception. Willis' interception was his fourth of the season accounting for half of Troy's team total. The Trojans have intercepted eight passes as a team.
Levi Brown posted a career high for interceptions in a game when he threw three in the first half. That number was also the most picks a Troy quarterback had thrown since Omar Haugabook tossed four against North Texas on October 20, 2007.
Levi Brown's touchdown pass to Jason Bruce in the second quarter was his 31st career touchdown pass moving him into fifth all-time in the Troy record books. He currently holds the spot by himself.
Jonathon Chandler threw his first career touchdown pass to receiver Andrew Davis in the third quarter. Chandler is listed as a wide receiver as well, but also takes snaps at the quarterback position.
Ryan Mallet's five touchdown passes were the most touchdowns thrown against the Trojans since Marshall's Chad Pennington did it in 1998. It is the most since the Trojans jumped to Division 1 as well.