Troy Smothers Georgia Southern in Homecoming Win

Saturday, November 9

Troy, Ala.

2:30 p.m.

Troy University

4-5 , 2-3

Georgia Southern

5-4 , 3-2

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Georgia Southern

Troy

Troy Smothers Georgia Southern in Homecoming Win

11/9/2019 7:44:00 PM | Football

Box Score Highlights Box Score (PDF)Game Notes Chip Lindsey Quotes Chip Lindsey Press Conference Players Press Conference Georgia Southern Quotes Photo Gallery (1)Photo Gallery (2)Photo Gallery (3)Photo Gallery Photo Gallery 2

By: Troy Athletics Communications

TROY, Ala. – Troy dominated Georgia Southern in all three phases of the game in a convincing 49-28 victory Saturday at The Vet in Sun Belt Conference play. The Trojans rolled up 603 yards of total offense, registered a school-record nine sacks and outrushed the Eagles' triple option attack for the Homecoming win.

Troy (4-5, 2-3 Sun Belt) snapped Georgia Southern's (5-4, 3-2) four-game winning streak thanks to a decisive fourth quarter where the Trojans scored on three straight possessions to turn a 6-point game into a 49-21 pasting with just under four minutes to play.

Kaleb Barker continued his remarkable comeback season after an ACL injury cost him the last six games of the 2018 campaign. The Troy senior threw three touchdown passes and finished with 330 yards in the air for his fifth 300-yard game of the season. Barker now has 24 touchdown passes on the year, already good for the fourth most in a season in school history.

Troy built a quick 14-0 lead thanks to a touchdown strike from Barker and the first of two DK Billingsley rushing touchdowns. Billingsley added a 70-yard score in the fourth quarter and finished the game with 163 yards on just 14 carries – the 27th most yards in a game in school history.

The Trojan defense limited Georgia Southern's ball-control offense to just 27 plays for 166 yards in the first half while Troy tallied 390 yards on 48 plays at the break. Troy held Georgia Southern to just 152 yards on the ground for the game; its lowest output against a non-undefeated team (LSU and Minnesota) this season.

Troy outrushed Georgia Southern by a 273-152 margin despite 17 fewer carries in the game thanks to strong defensive performances from Carlton Martial (11 tackles) and Marcus Webb (7 tackles, three sacks).

Webb's three sacks are the third most in school history and fourth most in the country this year. Troy's nine sacks are even more impressive considering Georgia Southern had allowed nine all year in its first eight games.

Tyler Sumpter booted a pair of late field goals in the second quarter to send Troy to the locker room with a 27-14 advantage of the Eagles, who were coming off a win at No. 20 Appalachian State last week.

The Eagles pulled to within six, 27-21, on one of three Shai Werts' touchdown passes in the opening seconds of the fourth quarter. However, Barker led the Trojans down the field on a 13-play, 75-yard drive that consumed more than five minutes off the clock to build out a two-possession lead.

Werts completed 8-of-16 attempts for 181 yards while Wesley Kennedy rushed for 75 yards and a touchdown on 10 carries.

Quotable – Troy Head Coach Chip Lindsey
"Obviously, we're very excited to get this victory. I want to thank our fans, as they continue to be incredible. Our student body was excellent again, as they have been all year. They were loud and you could hear them on the field. Homecoming is obviously special to Troy and this university. We had a lot of alums back this week who stopped by and reached out. Anytime you win a conference game here against a really good opponent it's special."

Sound Smart with Your Friends
Kaylon Geiger caught seven passes for 110 yards; his fifth 100-yard receiving game of the season and Troy's 11th. Troy's total leads the country and Geiger entered the week tied for fourth nationally in 100-yard games.

Notable
• Kaleb Barker passed Jeremy Rowell for ninth place on Troy's career touchdowns responsible list with 45 after three on Saturday; Rowell was in the Georgia Southern coaches booth for today's game.

• Troy totaled 603 yards of total offense for its sixth 500-yard plus game of the season, which ties a Troy Division I record. It was the most yards by a Troy offense since totaling 641 yards against Texas State in 2017.

• A.J. Smiley started at bandit and Marcus Webb started at defensive end for their first starts of the season ... Troy has now started 23 different players on defense this year.

• Carlton Martial moved into ninth place on the Troy single-season list with 16.5 tackles for loss after recording one on Saturday; he is tied for 16th with 25 in his career.

On Tap
Troy hits the road again next week for a Sun Belt matchup against Texas State in San Marcos, Texas. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m. and the game will be broadcast on ESPN3.