Late Strike Not Enough as Troy Falls to Middle Tennessee

Saturday, November 21

Troy, Ala.

2:30 p.m.

Troy University

4-4 , 2-2

Middle Tennessee

3-6 , 2-4

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Middle Tennessee

Troy

Late Strike Not Enough as Troy Falls to Middle Tennessee

11/21/2020 7:38:00 PM | Football

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By: Troy Athletics Communications

TROY, Ala. – Despite a late 11-play, 85-yard drive that resulted in an 8-yard strike from quarterback Gunnar Watson to Khalil McClain, Troy fell 20-17 to Middle Tennessee Saturday afternoon at Veterans Memorial Stadium.

In his return to action, Watson completed 25-of-39 passes for 300 yards and the score to McClain which was his 12th career touchdown in his 20th game.  Senior B.J. Smith rushed for 62 yards on just 10 carries for the Trojans (4-4) and reached the end zone for the fourth time in 2020.

On the defensive side of the ball, Carlton Martial turned in an 11-tackle performance that moved him into 20^th place on the Troy all-time tackle list (268 tackles), while Luis Medina recorded his first career sack.

After losing the coin toss for the seventh time in eight games, the Trojans started on offense, turning in a 10-play, 68-yard drive that ended in an Evan Legassey 33-yard field goal.

The Trojan defense backed up the early field goal by forcing a Middle Tennessee (3-6) punt giving the ball back to Watson and the offense. The stop marked the sixth time that the Troy defense held a team scoreless on the opening drive.

Troy's next offensive possession would reach the Blue Raiders' 44-yard line before Watson's pass was intercepted at the 30-yard line. Taking over with 6:05 left in the opening quarter, Asher O'Hara engineered an 11-play, 65-yard drive that was capped by Chaton Mobley 4-yard rush with 56 ticks to play in the quarter.

After a stalled Troy drive, O'Hara turned in another 11-play drive that amassed 71 yards and 5:09 off game clock. The scoring drive gave the visitors a 14-3 lead with 7:45 left in the opening half.

The Trojans found an answer using a 58-yard screen pass from Watson to freshman Tez Johnson advanced the Trojans to the opposing 2-yard line. Smith promptly made the most of the next opportunity scampering for a two-yard touchdown, his 19th career score.

On the next drive, O'Hara pushed the Blue Raiders deep into Troy territory, before the drive resulted in a chip shot 22-yard field goal.

Looking to seize a bit of momentum with just 17 seconds to play, Watson hit McClain for a 29-yard pass that advanced the Trojans to Blue Raiders 35.

After an incomplete pass dropped the first half clock to below 10 seconds, Legassey attempted a 53-yard attempt that barely missed sneaking inside the left upright, as the game went to the half with the visitors up 17-10.

In the third quarter, neither Troy nor Middle Tennessee were able to score, as the game went to final period with MTSU in front 17-10.  The scoreless quarter marks the second consecutive week that Troy played in a scoreless quarter.

The Trojans looked to have a small window of opportunity when the Blue Raiders missed a short field goal (33 yards), but the ensuing Troy possession stalled near midfield.

Looking to ice the game away, O'Hara authored a 10-play, 51-yard drive that ate up more than five minutes of game clock and ended with a 49-yard field goal.

Down 20-10 with 2:37 to play, it was Watson's turn to put together an impressive drive, using an 11-play, 85-yard sequence to cut the MTSU lead to 20-17 with 28 seconds remaining.

On the onside kick attempt, Kyle Coale delivered a bouncing knuckle ball that bounced high in the air before falling into the arms of safety Reed Blankenship.

For the afternoon, O'Hara completed 19-of-23 passes for 210 yards and rushed for 86 yards on 23 attempts.

Up Next
Troy hits the road for a crucial Sun Belt Eastern division matchup at Appalachian State next Saturday (Nov. 28). Kickoff from Boone is slated for 7 p.m. central on ESPNU.

Quotable – Interim Head Coach Brian Blackmon
"It's different in each game but it's not just the three losses, it's three losses where we are right there at the end of the game. You look at the Georgia State game and again tonight we are an on-side kick away from getting the ball and having a chance to go down and kick a field goal. The margin of error in our league is so small and the teams are really, really good. If you look across our conference, there are a lot of comparable teams in our league so you can't afford to make mistakes and win."

Notable
• The Trojans lost the coin toss (1-7) and received the opening kickoff. It marked the seventh time this season and the 15th time in 20 games under Chip Lindsey that the Trojans received the opening kick. Troy scored a field goal on the possession marking the 10th time on those 15 drives that the Trojans have put points on the board.

• Troy trailed at the half, 17-10 ... it marked just the second time this season (BYU) that the Trojans had trailed at halftime.

• Khalil McClain caught his 12th career touchdown reception to move into a tie for 17th place in Troy history. He has now caught a touchdown pass in 10-of-20 career games at Troy.

• Kaylon Geiger moved into 10th place all-time in Troy history with 122 career receptions after catching four passes for 34 yards; he is just 21 yards shy of the all-time top 20.

• Tez Johnson caught a 58-yard pass during the second quarter was the longest play of the season by the Trojans and the second 50-yard pass of the season by Gunnar Watson.

• Carlton Martial finished with a game-high 11 tackles for his 10th career game with double-digit tackles this season and for the second time in the last four games.

• Will Choloh recorded his 10th career sack during the game.