Troy University Athletics
Troy University
3-4 , 1-2
Georgia State
6-2 , 3-1
Troy Falls at Georgia State
10/26/2019 10:47:00 PM | Football
ATLANTA – Kaleb Barker threw for 421 yards and DK Billingsley rushed for three scores, but it was not enough as Georgia State defeated Troy, 52-33, Saturday night in Sun Belt Conference action at Georgia State Stadium.
The Trojans (3-4, 1-2 Sun Belt) rolled up 517 yards of total offense behind big night through the air, but it was Georgia State's school-record 390 yards on the ground which stole the show. Tra Barnett accounted for the majority of the yards with 242 and a pair of scores on 34 carries, while Seth Paige added 109 yards on nine carries.
Troy was forced to play catchup all night after falling behind 7-0 early and then 21-7 midway through the second quarter. Billingsley's third touchdown of the night pulled Troy to within 11, 38-27, with just over nine minutes to play, but the Panthers iced the game with a 13-play drive consuming five-plus minutes off the clock.
Barker completed 34-of-45 pass attempts despite battling the flu all week. His favorite target on the night was Khalil McClain who pulled down eight catches for 128 yards – both career-highs –and his sixth touchdown of the season. Tray Eafford added three grabs for 90 yards, including a 64-yard reception – the longest offensive play of the season for Troy.
Carlton Martial paced the Troy defense with 12 tackles – his third double-digit tackle game of the season – and 1.5 tackles for loss. Jarvis Hayes recorded his first career interception in the first quarter which led to Troy's opening score of the game.
Quotable – Troy Head Coach Chip Lindsey
"I appreciate their effort. We played hard but we didn't play great. We played a good team and they were better than us tonight, and we have to give them a lot of credit. We got beat by a better team and tonight they were the better team. They outplayed us, outcoached us all the way around. Not the way we wanted to come over here and play."
Notable
• Troy's three rushing touchdowns as a team marked the first time since week three at Akron that the Trojans scored multiple times on the ground.
• A.J. Lewis caught a 23-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter; it was his second reception of the season, both of which have gone for a touchdown.
• Carlton Martial finished the game with 12 tackles for his third game with double-digit tackles this season; he also added 1.5 tackles for loss after entering the game third nationally averaging 2.0 per game.
Up Next
Troy travels to Coastal Carolina next weekend; kickoff is set for 2 p.m. (CT) and the game will be broadcast on ESPN3.
Team Stats
TROY 0, GSU 7
GSU - Ellington, Dan 19 yd run (Wright, Brandon kick), 10 plays, 75 yards, TOP 3:52
TROY 7, GSU 7
TROY - Billingsley, DK 10 yd run (Sumpter, Tyler kick), 9 plays, 83 yards, TOP 3:31
TROY 7, GSU 14
GSU - Payne, Aubry 40 yd pass from Ellington, Dan (Wright, Brandon kick) 5 plays, 75 yards, TOP 1:46
TROY 7, GSU 21
GSU - Paige, Seth 65 yd run (Wright, Brandon kick), 1 plays, 65 yards, TOP 0:13
TROY 14, GSU 21
TROY - Billingsley, DK 2 yd run (Sumpter, Tyler kick), 4 plays, 70 yards, TOP 1:46
TROY 14, GSU 28
GSU - Barnett, Tra 5 yd run (Wright, Brandon kick), 9 plays, 75 yards, TOP 3:28
TROY 14, GSU 35
GSU - Ellington, Dan 1 yd run (Wright, Brandon kick), 16 plays, 80 yards, TOP 6:55
TROY 21, GSU 35
TROY - Lewis, A.J. 23 yd pass from Barker, Kaleb (Sumpter, Tyler kick) 11 plays, 98 yards, TOP 4:14
TROY 21, GSU 38
GSU - Wright, Brandon 29 yd field goal 8 plays, 31 yards, TOP 3:59
TROY 27, GSU 38
TROY - Billingsley, DK 1 yd run (Whittemore, L. passfailed), 6 plays, 75 yards, TOP 1:49
TROY 27, GSU 45
GSU - Carter, Roger 4 yd pass from Ellington, Dan (Wright, Brandon kick) 13 plays, 75 yards, TOP 5:12
TROY 33, GSU 45
TROY - McClain, Khalil 7 yd pass from Barker, Kaleb (Barker, Kaleb passfailed) 4 plays, 21 yards, TOP 0:51
TROY 33, GSU 52
GSU - Barnett, Tra 41 yd run (Brown, Barry kick), 4 plays, 50 yards, TOP 1:43
