Troy Dominates Arkansas State for SBC Road Win

Saturday, October 31

Jonesboro, Ark.

2 p.m.

Troy University

4-2 , 2-1

Arkansas State

3-4 , 1-3

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Troy

Arkansas State

Troy Dominates Arkansas State for SBC Road Win

10/31/2020 7:39:00 PM | Football

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By: Troy Athletics Communications

JONESBORO, Ark. – Jacob Free threw for the seventh most yards in school history and the Troy defense locked down a potent Arkansas State offense as the Trojans walked into Centennial Bank Stadium Saturday and left with a convincing 38-10 Sun Belt Conference victory.

Free, who was making his first career start, completed 33-of-45 passes for 419 yards and a pair of touchdown strikes. The junior signal caller showed no signs of rust in his first start since 2018 at Northwest Mississippi Community College as he led Troy (4-2, 2-1 Sun Belt) on a pair of first quarter scoring drives.

Luke Whittemore put the Trojans on the board with a 29-yard strike from Free on the opening possession of the game and the lead swelled to 14-0 following a 34-yard Free pass to Reggie Todd two drives later; it was Todd's fifth touchdown of the season.

Troy's defense deserves just as much praise after limiting one of the nation's top offenses to just 10 points in its own house. The Trojans held the Red Wolves (3-4, 1-3) to just 379 yards of total offense and 271 passing yards; both around 100 yards fewer than their season average.

Junior cornerback Terence Dunlap drew the league's top receiver, Jonathan Adams, and forced three pass break ups and limited the explosive playmaker to just five catches for 64 yards; he entered the game averaging eight catches for more than 100 yards.

Troy went into the break with a 24-3 lead after Free used his legs for a touchdown right before the half and Evan Legassey punched through a 35-yard field goal. The Trojans held the Red Wolves to just three points and 177 yards in the first half highlighted by Will Choloh's second blocked kick in as many weeks, this one a field goal attempt.

Richard Jibunor provided the knockout punch for the Trojans with a punishing blow midway through the fourth quarter on Arkansas State quarterback Logan Bonner. The hit jarred the ball loose and Darrell Starling scooped it up for Troy's third defensive touchdown in the last two weeks.

Kaylon Geiger recorded his eighth career 100-yard receiving game as he finished with eight catches for 126 yards while freshman running back Kimani Vidal also pulled in eight catches that went for 77 yards. Vidal also rushed for 58 yards and a touchdown on 17 carries.

Bonner completed 17-of-29 passes for 105 yards while Layne Hatcher was 11-of-20 for 166 yards and a score in Arkansas State's two-quarterback system. Lincoln Pare rushed for 90 yards on 12 carries.

Quotable – Head Coach Chip Lindsey
"I am really proud of our guys for showing up on the road. Any time you can win on the road in this league, it is a big win. I am really proud of the way that our guys showed up for practice this past week. They put their head down and were ready to go to work and correct mistakes. We aren't perfect yet, but I really like the direction that we are heading. It was a total team win. When you hold that team to 10 points, it is really impressive."

Sound Smart with Your Friends
The Trojans won the coin toss for the first time this season (1-5) and elected to receive the opening kick; Troy has elected to receive the opening kickoff all six times it has won the toss under Chip Lindsey. The Trojans have scored on 9-of-14 drives under Chip Lindsey when receiving the opening kickoff; Troy scored a touchdown in today's game.

Notable
• The Trojans won the coin toss for the first time this season (1-5) and elected to receive the opening kick; Troy has elected to receive the opening kickoff all six times it has won the toss under Chip Lindsey. The Trojans have scored on 9-of-14 drives under Chip Lindsey when receiving the opening kickoff; Troy scored a touchdown in today's game.

• Troy improved to 9-2 all-time under Chip Lindsey when leading at halftime; 6-1 when finishing with 400-499 yards of total offense ... it marked the first time in the Chip Lindsey era that Troy won when passing for more than 400 yards (1-3).

• Troy has outscored its opponents by 55 points in the first half this season (122-67).

• Troy has now won 19 of its last 27 Sun Belt Conference games and 31 of its last 45 games overall.

• Quarterback Jacob Free completed 33-of-45 passes for 419 yards and two touchdowns in his first career start; it was the seventh most passing yards in a single-game in school history. He became just the fifth quarterback in school history to top the 400-yard mark.

• Kaylon Geiger caught eight passes for 126 yards; his eighth career 100-yard receiving game and third of the season (three of the last four games) ... Geiger tied for second all-time in school history with his eight 100-yard games (the school record is 10 held by Jerrel Jernigan).

• Troy scored a defensive touchdown for the second straight game on a 20-yard fumble return by Darrell Starling following a sack by Richard Jibunor. It marks the first time since 2015 (Georgia Southern and ULM) that Troy has scored a defensive touchdown in consecutive games.

• The Trojans did not allow points on any shutdown drives in the game (following a Troy score) ... Arkansas State was 0-for-5 in such drives and opponents are now 5-of-26 on the year.

Up Next
Troy hits the road again for a trip to Georgia Southern next Saturday; kickoff is set for 12 p.m. (CT) and the game will be broadcast on ESPN3.