Troy Falls at Georgia Southern

Saturday, December 3

Statesboro, Ga.

11 a.m.

Troy University

9-3 , 6-2

Georgia Southern

5-7 , 4-4

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Troy

Georgia Southern

Photo by: Joey Meredith

12/3/2016 4:32:00 PM | Football

Box Score Final Stats Season Stats Troy Game Notes Troy Players Press Conference Highlights Neal Brown Press Conference

By: Adam Prendergast

FInal Stats | Season Stats | Troy Game Notes | Neal Brown Press Conference | Players Press Conference | Highlights

STATESBORO, Georgia – Troy's bid for a sixth Sun Belt Conference championship fell nine yards short as Georgia Southern defeated the Trojans, 28-24, Saturday afternoon in Paulson Stadium.

Troy finished its regular season 9-3 overall and 6-2 in the Sun Belt; the Trojans' five-win improvement from last year ranks as the fifth-best turnaround nationally. Troy will now await its destination for the school's first bowl game since 2010.

Trailing by the final four-point margin, Troy took over on its own 14-yard line with 6:20 to play in the game. The Trojans converted a pair of third downs and a fourth down on the drive to set up the final dramatics.

A 20-yard completion by Emanuel Thompson gave the Trojans a first down on the Eagles' 11-yard line. After a pair of 1-yard gains, Troy called timeout with 22 seconds remaining in the game and the Trojans on the 9-yard line. A Brandon Silvers swing pass on third down did not net any yards and Silvers' fourth-down desperation throw as time expired was incomplete.

Troy rallied from an 11-point deficit in the third quarter on a Tevaris McCormick touchdown reception and a Jordan Chunn touchdown run to put the Trojans in front 24-21 with 12:22 to play in the game.

Georgia Southern (5-7, 4-4) regained the lead with 9:46 to play as Kevin Ellison found B.J. Johnson for a 64-yard touchdown pass.

Johnson finished with 129 yards and two touchdowns on seven catches, while Ellison rushed for 115 yards and two touchdowns and passed for 127 yards and two scores.

The Trojans took a 10-7 lead into the half after a 37-yard field goal by Ryan Kay and Chunn's first rushing touchdown of the day.

Chunn tied Joe Jackson's career rushing touchdown record as his two scores on Saturday pushed his total to 34 in his career. Kay moved into second in a season in Troy history with his 18^th field goal of the season, while Emanuel Thompson's seven receptions on the day pushed his season total to 72; the third-most in a season in Troy history.

Silvers finished the game 27-of-34 for 218 yards and one touchdown, while rushing for 25 yards on 10 carries. Chunn carried the ball 19 times for 79 yards and the two scores, and Thompson finished with 96 yards on his seven receptions.

The Eagles quickly erased the three-point halftime deficit with a pair of Ellison touchdown runs on their first two drives of the third quarter.

Turning Point
Georgia Southern rallied from a three-point halftime deficit with long touchdown runs on its first two possessions of the second half. Kevin Ellison had scores of 24 and 54 yards to give the Eagles a 21-10 lead.

Stat Geek
Troy lost the toss on Saturday for the ninth time in 12 games this season.

Notable
• Junior defensive tackle Seth Calloway forced the first fumble of his career on Georgia Southern's opening drive, which was recovered by Rashad Dillard; his second career fumble recovery.

• Jordan Chunn set the Troy single-season record for carries after rushing 19 times at Georgia Southern; he now has 259 on the year.

• Neal Brown has never been shut out as a head coach or as an offensive coordinator -- a span of 112 games.

• Rashad Dillard increased his sack total to 7.5 on the season after picking up one against Georgia Southern; he now has 14.5 in his career.

Up Next
Troy will make its first bowl appearance since 2010 to close out the 2016 season. The Trojans will find out the location of their bowl either Saturday night or Sunday.