Troy Does it Again; Trojans Topple Nebraska 24-19

Saturday, September 15

Lincoln, Neb.

11 a.m.

Troy University

2-1

Nebraska

0-2

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Troy

Nebraska

Troy Does it Again; Trojans Topple Nebraska 24-19

9/15/2018 7:01:00 PM | Football

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By: Troy Athletics Communications

LINCOLN, Neb. – The giant killers struck again, this time in Lincoln, Neb., as Troy went into Memorial Stadium and knocked off Nebraska, 24-19, for its second straight victory over a Power Five opponent; Troy defeated LSU last season in Tiger Stadium.

"I'm proud of our guys," Troy head coach Neal Brown said. "I thought we showed tremendous grit and determination. Our guys fully expected to come in here and compete and have the opportunity to win in the fourth quarter and that's what we did. We've been nationally ranked, we've beaten LSU at LSU. Our guys have really improved over the last two weeks. So, the narrative needs to be about us and what our program is doing."

Troy (2-1) forced three Nebraska turnovers, returned a punt for a touchdown and recorded 10 tackles for loss in front of the sellout crowd of 89,360 at Memorial Stadium.

The Trojans did not trail at any point in the game, same as last season's victory at LSU, and at one point had a 17-0 lead after the first of two B.J. Smith touchdowns. Smith finished with 70 yards on 11 carries and the career-best two scores. His second romp into the end zone pushed the Troy advantage to 24-13 with 6:45 to play in the game.

Tyler Sumpter flipped the field following Troy's opening possession of the game with a 79-yard punt – the longest in Troy's FBS history and second-longest in its DI history. Following a stop by the Troy defense and a 39-yard reception by Damion Willis, Sumpter put Troy in front for good with a 37-yard field goal.

Vic Koenning's defense forced a pair of first quarter turnovers and limited Nebraska (0-2) to just 5-for-15 on third down over the course of the game. Tron Folsom recorded a game-high 14 tackles to go along with two tackles for loss, a sack and a pass break up, while Hunter Reese had seven tackles, a sack and recovered a fumble.

Cedarius Rookard turned the game in Troy's favor with a 58-yard punt return – Troy's seventh special teams touchdown in four years under Brown – early in the second quarter and Smith silenced the crowd with a 9-yard score seven minutes later to give Troy the 17-point advantage.

The Cornhuskers pulled within 10 at the half, 17-7, on a 9-yard touchdown pass from Andrew Bunch to Stanley Morgan with 3:02 to play in the second quarter. Nebraska closed the gap to just four points, 17-13, with three minutes to play in the third quarter following a pair of chip-shot field goals.

Following a late Nebraska touchdown, the Huskers elected to kick deep and forced Troy into a three-and-out. Sumpter boomed a 49-yard punt that was not returned to set Nebraska up on its own 28-yard line with 2:26 to play in the game.

On the second play of the drive, Will Sunderland picked off Bunch to seal the victory for the Trojans.

Kaleb Barker completed 14-of-21 passes for 110 yards for the Trojans, while backup quarterback Sawyer Smith rushed for 60 yards, including a 57-yard run to pick up a key third down that set up a Troy touchdown – the longest by a Troy quarterback since 2002.

Bunch finished 19-of-27 for 177 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions and Maurice Washington added 92 yards on the ground on 14 carries.

Up Next
Troy opens Sun Belt Conference play at ULM in Monroe, La., on Sept. 22. Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. and the game will be broadcast live on ESPN+.

Sound Smart With Your Friends
Troy now has five victories over Power Five opponents since moving to the FBS level, there is at least one member of the current coaching staff that was either a player or coach in each one of the previous victories – 2001 vs. Mississippi State, 2004 vs. Missouri, 2007 vs. Oklahoma State and 2017 vs. LSU.

Notable
• Troy has carried a 17-0 lead in its last two games against Power Five opponents – LSU and Nebraska.

• Troy led 3-0 at the end of the first quarter; the Trojans improved to 23-2 all-time under Neal Brown when leading after one quarter of play; Troy led 17-7 at the half; the Trojans improved to 24-1 all-time under Neal Brown when leading at the half; Troy led 17-10 at the end of the third quarter; the Trojans improved to 26-0 all-time under Neal Brown when leading after three quarters.

• Troy forced three Nebraska turnovers in the game and has now forced eight turnovers this season; the Trojans have averaged 28 turnovers forced the last two seasons which ranks seventh nationally.

• Tyler Sumpter missed the single-game Troy punting record by one yard; he averaged 53.8 yards on five punt attempts and the record was 54.8 by Thomas Olmstead in 2004.