Willis, Smith Lead Troy Past Louisiana; Trojans Remain Unbeaten in League Play

Saturday, November 3

Troy, Ala.

2:30 p.m.

Troy University

7-2 , 5-0

Louisiana

4-5 , 2-3

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Louisiana

Troy

Willis, Smith Lead Troy Past Louisiana; Trojans Remain Unbeaten in League Play

11/3/2018 7:52:00 PM | Football

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By: Troy Athletics Communications

TROY, Ala. – Damion Willis caught 10 passes for 213 yards and B.J. Smith rushed for 103 yards for his fifth straight 100-yard game in Troy's 26-16 victory over Louisiana in Sun Belt play on Homecoming at Veterans Memorial Stadium Saturday afternoon.

Willis joined elite company becoming just the fifth player in school history to eclipse 200 receiving yards in a game to boost the Trojans (7-2, 5-0) to their 11^thstraight win in conference play. He was just 12 yards shy of tying Danny Grant's school record of 225 yards set in 1968.

Joining the senior in the record books was Smith – who is now the only Troy player in history to rush for more than 100 yards in five consecutive games after running for 103 yards on 22 carries against the Ragin' Cajuns (4-5, 2-3).

Quarterback Sawyer Smith was 18-for-22 and averaged 17.6 yards per completion in his third career start – the highest yards-per-completion average by Troy since at least 1996.

However, the real story of the game may have been the Trojan defense, who held the Cajuns to a season-low 270 yards in the game – their previous low came at No. 1 Alabama when the Tide held them to 288. The Trojans limited the Cajuns to just three points in the opening half of the game after Louisiana came in averaging 28.5 points in the first half over their previous four games.

Walk-on safety Kyler Knudsen made his first career start in place of an injured Cedarius Rookard and finished with seven tackles, two pass break ups and a key interception late in the fourth quarter. His best news of the day came in the locker room after the game when head coach Neal Brown awarded the junior a full scholarship.

On special teams, Tyler Sumpter tied Greg Whibbs for the school record with four made field goals in the game. Sumpter knocked in a 49-yarder in the third quarter to effectively seal the game for the Trojans – the second-longest of his career.

After being held to 105 total yards in the first half, Louisiana marched down the field on back-to-back drives, both capped by Trey Ragas rushing touchdowns – Ragas rushed for 106 yards on 18 carries.

Sound Smart with Your Friends
• The victory was Troy's 11th straight Sun Belt Conference win which is the second-longest active conference winning streak in the country (UCF, 13). Troy has won 19 of its last 22 overall league games.

Noteworthy
• Damion Willis caught 10 passes for 213 yards for his second consecutive 100-yard receiving game; he is the first Trojan since Teddy Ruben in 2015 against Idaho and New Mexico State to do so in consecutive games. Willis' 213 yards are the most by a Sun Belt player this season; he has two of the top six totals this season (both coming in the last two games).

• Safety Kyler Knudsen made his first career start in place on an injured Cedarius Rookard which snapped Rookard's team-best 37-game consecutive game start streak. Knudsen recorded seven tackles, an interception, two pass break ups and was placed on scholarship in the locker room following the game.

• Tyler Sumpter connected on all two of his extra-point attempts and is now a perfect 69-of-69 on extra-point attempts in his career. He has now made eight straight field goals and is 11-of-14 on the season – 18-of-23 in his career.

Quotable – Troy Head Coach Neal Brown
We had a great week of preparation with our best week of practice we've had. I thought our coaches did a really good job during the week getting our guys prepared and I am proud of them. I thought getting off to the quick start was huge. Defensively, Kyler Knudsen. He came here as a walk-on receiver, had an interception that pretty much sealed the game, couple PBUs, seven tackles and I can't say enough about him. He earned a scholarship today and I'm proud for him.