Troy University Athletics
Saturday, December 5
Mobile, Ala.
1 p.m.
Troy University
5-5 , 4-4
29
at
0
South Alabama
4-7 , 2-4
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
F
Troy
3
24
0
2
29
South Alabama
0
0
0
0
0
Troy Blanks South Alabama in "Battle for the Belt"
12/5/2020 5:32:00 PM | Football
MOBILE, Ala. – The Troy defense was dominant in a shutout victory over South Alabama in the Drive Safe Alabama "Battle for the Belt" Saturday afternoon at Hancock Whitney Stadium in Sun Belt Conference play. Troy secured its third-straight victory over the Jaguars with a convincing 29-0 win, marking the first shutout in the rivalry's nine-year history.
Troy's defense turned South Alabama over on downs four times and tallied two additional turnovers in the outing. The Trojans (5-4, 3-3 Sun Belt) combined for a season-high five sacks and held the Jaguars (4-7, 3-5) to 57 yards rushing, the third time this season Troy has held its opponent to under 100 yards on the ground.
Carlton Martial finished with a team-high 14 tackles, his third consecutive game with double-digit tackles, while T.J. Harris recorded a career-high nine tackles and notched his first-career interception. Antonio Showers recovered his second-career fumble after Richard Jibunor forced a strip-sack in the second quarter.
Troy quarterback Gunnar Watson finished an impressive 34-for-41 for 297 yards and three touchdowns while Kimani Vidal led the Trojan ground game with a 76-yard effort to go along with 29 receiving yards. Nine different Trojans tallied a reception in the win, led by Geiger's seven receptions for 51 yards and Tray Eafford's four receptions for 67 yards.
After throwing an interception on a trick play on the opening drive, Troy struck first after Evan Legassey connected on a 22-yard field goal. Watson and the Trojan offense then went to work, scoring a touchdown on its next three drives.
The sophomore gunslinger found three different receivers for scores in the second quarter connecting with Khalil McClain (15 yards), Geiger (15 yards) and Eafford (21 yards) to give the Trojans a 24-0 advantage. Watson became the third Troy quarterback since 2015 to throw three touchdown passes in a quarter.
A 44-yard field goal with eight seconds left in the second quarter, Legassey's second of the day, gave Troy a commanding 27-0 lead at the half-way point. It was Troy's eighth halftime lead in 10 games this season and marked the ninth time this season that the Trojans scored on its final possession heading into the half.
Both defenses flexed their muscles in the second half as the Trojans turned the Jaguars over on downs twice in the third quarter, while Troy came up shy on fourth-and-short inside the red zone on its first offensive possession of the half. Another promising Troy offensive drive ended without points after South Alabama blocked Legassey's 33-yard attempt in the fourth quarter.
The second half's only points came on special teams when Geiger blocked a punt for a safety, the senior's first-career block.
South Alabama quarterback Desmond Trotter went 15-for-28 for 144 yards with an interception and a fumble. Jalen Tolbert finished as the Jaguars' leading receiver with 92 yards on five receptions.
Quotable – Head Coach Chip Lindsey
"We had a great week of practice. First of all, we had the majority of our guys back this week and they did really good work this week Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. I told our team before the game today 'I don't know what's going to happen today but I do know this, we've had as good of a week of practice as we've had in a long time and it paid off today.' I thought we played a complete game, offense, defense and special team. There are a couple of things we have to correct but really proud with how our team played together and went out and got a big win.
"I thought we had a really good, simple plan. We understood that we had to do our best to get the ball to our play makers. I thought Gunnar did an excellent job. He took what they gave us and took care of the football and obviously those two young running backs we've got are going to be really good in Kimani [Vidal] and Jamontez [Woods]."
Sound Smart with Your Friends
Troy improved to 6-3 all-time against South Alabama; the Trojans' three straight wins are the most consecutive victories by either team in the series. Troy has outscored South Alabama 104-30 in those three victories. Troy's 29-point victory was the largest margin of victory for either side, previous best was 24 points by Troy in 2019. Troy has now beat South Alabama by at least 21 points four times and in three straight games.
Notable
• The Trojans won the coin toss (2-8) and received the opening kickoff. It marked the ninth time this season and the 17th time in 22 games under Chip Lindsey that the Trojans received the opening kick. The Trojans were held off the scoreboard for just the sixth time in those 17 game-opening drives.
• Troy led 27-0 at the half; it marked the eighth time in 10 games this season that the Trojans led at the half.
• Troy has outscored its opponents 179-124 in the opening half this season; the Trojans have outscored its opponents 125-65 in the second quarter this season.
• Troy shutout South Alabama 29-0 in the game; it marked the first shutout by the Trojans since Sept. 13, 2008, against Alcorn State (65-0), first in the Sun Belt since Oct. 27, 2007, at Arkansas State (27-0).
• Quarterback Gunnar Watson completed 35-of-41 passes for 297 yards and three touchdowns in the game; Watson's 82.9 completion percentage is the fifth most in Troy's Division I history among quarterbacks with at least 15 pass attempts and the most among quarterbacks with more than 35 pass attempts.
• Troy scored on back-to-back drives in the second quarter, both coming after South Alabama touchdowns. The Trojans have now scored on 12-of-13 drives following an opponent turnover this season.
• Carlton Martial finished with a game-high 14 tackles for his 12th career game with double-digit tackles, his fourth this season and the fourth time in the last six games. Martial is averaging 11.3 tackles per game over that six-game stretch.
• Troy forced two turnovers in the game after not forcing a turnover in each of the last two games; the Trojans have forced 116 turnovers since the start of the 2016 season. Troy entered the weekend sixth in the category.
• Troy held South Alabama to just 239 yards of total offense in the game, which is the fewest by a Sun Belt Conference opponent since Troy held South Alabama 224 yards in 2017.
Up Next
Troy returns to The Vet to host No. 14 Coastal Carolina Saturday, Dec. 12 at 2 p.m.
Troy's defense turned South Alabama over on downs four times and tallied two additional turnovers in the outing. The Trojans (5-4, 3-3 Sun Belt) combined for a season-high five sacks and held the Jaguars (4-7, 3-5) to 57 yards rushing, the third time this season Troy has held its opponent to under 100 yards on the ground.
Carlton Martial finished with a team-high 14 tackles, his third consecutive game with double-digit tackles, while T.J. Harris recorded a career-high nine tackles and notched his first-career interception. Antonio Showers recovered his second-career fumble after Richard Jibunor forced a strip-sack in the second quarter.
Troy quarterback Gunnar Watson finished an impressive 34-for-41 for 297 yards and three touchdowns while Kimani Vidal led the Trojan ground game with a 76-yard effort to go along with 29 receiving yards. Nine different Trojans tallied a reception in the win, led by Geiger's seven receptions for 51 yards and Tray Eafford's four receptions for 67 yards.
After throwing an interception on a trick play on the opening drive, Troy struck first after Evan Legassey connected on a 22-yard field goal. Watson and the Trojan offense then went to work, scoring a touchdown on its next three drives.
The sophomore gunslinger found three different receivers for scores in the second quarter connecting with Khalil McClain (15 yards), Geiger (15 yards) and Eafford (21 yards) to give the Trojans a 24-0 advantage. Watson became the third Troy quarterback since 2015 to throw three touchdown passes in a quarter.
A 44-yard field goal with eight seconds left in the second quarter, Legassey's second of the day, gave Troy a commanding 27-0 lead at the half-way point. It was Troy's eighth halftime lead in 10 games this season and marked the ninth time this season that the Trojans scored on its final possession heading into the half.
Both defenses flexed their muscles in the second half as the Trojans turned the Jaguars over on downs twice in the third quarter, while Troy came up shy on fourth-and-short inside the red zone on its first offensive possession of the half. Another promising Troy offensive drive ended without points after South Alabama blocked Legassey's 33-yard attempt in the fourth quarter.
The second half's only points came on special teams when Geiger blocked a punt for a safety, the senior's first-career block.
South Alabama quarterback Desmond Trotter went 15-for-28 for 144 yards with an interception and a fumble. Jalen Tolbert finished as the Jaguars' leading receiver with 92 yards on five receptions.
Quotable – Head Coach Chip Lindsey
"We had a great week of practice. First of all, we had the majority of our guys back this week and they did really good work this week Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. I told our team before the game today 'I don't know what's going to happen today but I do know this, we've had as good of a week of practice as we've had in a long time and it paid off today.' I thought we played a complete game, offense, defense and special team. There are a couple of things we have to correct but really proud with how our team played together and went out and got a big win.
"I thought we had a really good, simple plan. We understood that we had to do our best to get the ball to our play makers. I thought Gunnar did an excellent job. He took what they gave us and took care of the football and obviously those two young running backs we've got are going to be really good in Kimani [Vidal] and Jamontez [Woods]."
Sound Smart with Your Friends
Troy improved to 6-3 all-time against South Alabama; the Trojans' three straight wins are the most consecutive victories by either team in the series. Troy has outscored South Alabama 104-30 in those three victories. Troy's 29-point victory was the largest margin of victory for either side, previous best was 24 points by Troy in 2019. Troy has now beat South Alabama by at least 21 points four times and in three straight games.
Notable
• The Trojans won the coin toss (2-8) and received the opening kickoff. It marked the ninth time this season and the 17th time in 22 games under Chip Lindsey that the Trojans received the opening kick. The Trojans were held off the scoreboard for just the sixth time in those 17 game-opening drives.
• Troy led 27-0 at the half; it marked the eighth time in 10 games this season that the Trojans led at the half.
• Troy has outscored its opponents 179-124 in the opening half this season; the Trojans have outscored its opponents 125-65 in the second quarter this season.
• Troy shutout South Alabama 29-0 in the game; it marked the first shutout by the Trojans since Sept. 13, 2008, against Alcorn State (65-0), first in the Sun Belt since Oct. 27, 2007, at Arkansas State (27-0).
• Quarterback Gunnar Watson completed 35-of-41 passes for 297 yards and three touchdowns in the game; Watson's 82.9 completion percentage is the fifth most in Troy's Division I history among quarterbacks with at least 15 pass attempts and the most among quarterbacks with more than 35 pass attempts.
• Troy scored on back-to-back drives in the second quarter, both coming after South Alabama touchdowns. The Trojans have now scored on 12-of-13 drives following an opponent turnover this season.
• Carlton Martial finished with a game-high 14 tackles for his 12th career game with double-digit tackles, his fourth this season and the fourth time in the last six games. Martial is averaging 11.3 tackles per game over that six-game stretch.
• Troy forced two turnovers in the game after not forcing a turnover in each of the last two games; the Trojans have forced 116 turnovers since the start of the 2016 season. Troy entered the weekend sixth in the category.
• Troy held South Alabama to just 239 yards of total offense in the game, which is the fewest by a Sun Belt Conference opponent since Troy held South Alabama 224 yards in 2017.
Up Next
Troy returns to The Vet to host No. 14 Coastal Carolina Saturday, Dec. 12 at 2 p.m.
Team Stats
TROY
USA
Total Yards
414
239
Pass Yards
297
182
Rushing Yards
117
57
Penalty Yards
10
10
1st Downs
25
17
3rd Downs
10
5
4th Downs
0
1
TOP
31:47
28:13
1st Quarter
TROY 3, USA 0
TROY - Legassey, Evan 22 yd field goal 13 plays, 56 yards, TOP 4:17
2nd Quarter
TROY 10, USA 0
TROY - McClain, Khalil 15 yd pass from Watson, Gunnar (Legassey, Evan kick) 10 plays, 89 yards, TOP 3:48
TROY 17, USA 0
TROY - Geiger, Kaylon 15 yd pass from Watson, Gunnar (Legassey, Evan kick) 3 plays, 28 yards, TOP 0:40
TROY 24, USA 0
TROY - Eafford, Tray 21 yd pass from Watson, Gunnar (Legassey, Evan kick) 8 plays, 68 yards, TOP 2:51
TROY 27, USA 0
TROY - Legassey, Evan 44 yd field goal 4 plays, 29 yards, TOP 0:23
4th Quarter
TROY 29, USA 0
TROY - TEAM 11 yd safety
Game Leaders
CMP
34
TD
3
YDS
297
INT
0
CMP
0
TD
0
YDS
0
INT
1
Players Mentioned
WR
/ Football
BAN
/ Football
K/P
/ Football
LB
/ Football
WR
/ Football
DE
/ Football
RB
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