Troy Rally Falls Short in 30-24 Loss to Mississippi State in Front of Record Crowd

Saturday, September 15

Troy, Ala.

6:00 p.m.

Troy University

1-2 , 0-1

Mississippi State

3-0 , 1-0

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Mississippi State

Troy

Photo by: Kevin Glackmeyer

Troy Rally Falls Short in 30-24 Loss to Mississippi State in Front of Record Crowd

9/15/2012 10:59:00 PM | Football

Box Score

By: Adam Prendergast

BOX SCORE
LARRY BLAKENEY QUOTES
TROY PLAYER QUOTES
DAN MULLEN QUOTES
TROY GAME NOTES
MISSISSIPPI STATE GAME NOTES

TROY, Ala. – Troy gashed the nation's 11^th-ranked defense for 572 yards and 30 first downs, but a second-half rally by the Trojans came up just short in a 30-24 loss to Mississippi State in front of a Veterans Memorial Stadium record crowd of 29,013.

The attendance mark shattered the previous record of 26,574 that witnessed Troy defeat Missouri on Sept. 9, 2004. The visit by Mississippi State was the first-ever by a Southeastern Conference school to Veterans Memorial Stadium.

The Trojans (1-2) trailed 23-7 late in the third quarter and pulled to within two, 23-21, in the fourth quarter, but a controversial 25-yard touchdown pass by Tyler Russell to Chad Bumphis on fourth-and-5 with seven minutes to play in the game proved to be the difference.

Corey Robinson completed 32-of-45 passes for 343 yards, while Shawn Southward rushed for 137 yards and two scores to lead the Troy offense; it was his seventh multi-touchdown game of Southward's career. Chip Reeves had nine catches for 79 yards, while Eric Thomas had seven catches for 74 yards. The Trojans did not allow a sack in the game and have allowed just one sack this season in 145 pass attempts.

The 572 yards gained by the Trojans are the most against an SEC team this season and the Bulldogs entered Saturday's contest having allowed just 481 yards combined in their first two games. It was also the second most yards given up during Dan Mullen's four-year tenure as the head coach of the Bulldogs.

Southward started the comeback attempt with a 3-yard touchdown run with 4:17 to play in the third quarter. His 28^th career rushing touchdown moved him into sole possession of third place in Troy history and pulled the Trojans to within nine, 23-14.

Following a trio of punts, the Trojans regained possession on their own 9-yard line early in the fourth quarter. Southward opened the drive with a 13-yard rush up the middle and a 29-yard pass from Robinson to Chandler Worthy set up the Trojans on the Mississippi State 31-yard line. On the next play, Justin Albert rushed around the left side for a touchdown to make it a one-score game, 23-21; Albert finished with 52 yards on 10 carries.

The Bulldogs' next possession proved to be the game winner as they converted a pair of fourth downs, including Russell's touchdown pass to Bumphis to extend the Mississippi State lead to 30-21.

On the ensuing possession, Robinson hooked up with Thomas for 24 yards to set up the Trojans with a first down on the Bulldog 26-yard line. The Mississippi State defense held Troy on the next three plays and Will Scott hit a 40-yard field to pull the Trojans back within one score, 30-24.

Troy pinned Mississippi State on the 20-yard line on the ensuing kickoff, but LaDarius Perkins broke off a 30-yard run up the middle to push the ball to midfield. Facing a third-and-1, Russell rushed up the middle for three yards to pick up the first down and allow Mississippi State to kneel the clock out.

Perkins rushed for 179 yards and a touchdown on 23 carries, while Russell completed just 11-of-26 pass attempts for 244 yards and three touchdowns. Bumphis caught all three touchdown passes and finished the game with 180 yards on six catches.

The Bulldogs took advantage of four first-half turnovers to take a 23-7 lead into the break. The Bulldogs took full advantage of the turnovers as they turned them into 20 points (missed an extra point).

Devon Bell gave Mississippi State the first lead of the game with a 40-yard field goal in the early minutes of the first quarter.

The Trojans immediately answered the Bulldogs' points with a 10-play, 81-yard drive capped by a 1-yard touchdown run from Southward. Robinson had completions of 37 yards to Worthy and 24 yards to Jaquon Robinson on the drive.

A three-out by the Troy defense followed, but the Trojans muffed the punt and the Bulldogs recovered on the Troy 40-yard line. Five plays later Perkins rushed up the middle of the Troy defense for 30 yards and his first touchdown of the game.

The lead swelled to 16-7 early in the second quarter following a Troy fumble and Bumphis went 72 yards on a screen pass on the second play following the turnover. An interception right before the half gave the Bulldogs the ball on their own 42-yard line. This time Russell and Bumphis needed just one play to find the end zone, this on a 58-yard strike.

The Trojans return to Sun Belt Conference play next weekend when they travel to Denton, Texas, to take on North Texas in a game broadcast by ESPN3.

Scoring Summary
MSU – Bell 40-yard FG, 9:57, 1^st                                                                                                     0-3
TROY – Southward 1-yard run (Scott kick), 6:05, 1^st                                                                 7-3
MSU – Perkins 30-yard run (Bell kick), 1:34, 1^st                                                                        7-10
MSU – Bumphis 72-yard pass from Russell (Bell kick failed), 13:03, 2^nd                          7-16
MSU – Bumphis 58-yard pass from Russell (Bell kick), 4:50, 2^nd                                        7-23
TROY – Southward 3-yard run (Scott kick), 4:17, 3^rd                                                               14-23
TROY – Albert 31-yard run (Scott kick), 12:40, 4^th                                                                    21-23
MSU – Bumphis 25-yard pass from Russell (Bell kick), 7:00, 4^th                                         21-30
TROY – Scott 40-yard FG, 4:07, 4^th                                                                                                 24-30