Coming Home: Troy Downs Middle Tennessee in Return of the Battle for the Palladium

Saturday, September 19

Murfreesboro, Tenn.

2:30 p.m.

Troy University

Middle Tennessee

Coming Home: Troy Downs Middle Tennessee in Return of the Battle for the Palladium

9/19/2020 8:08:00 PM | Football

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By: Troy Athletics Communications

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. -- The Troy football travel party will have an extra member on the way back home this evening, as the Trojans earned the coveted Palladium trophy after Saturday's convincing 47-14 victory over Middle Tennessee at Floyd Stadium in the first matchup between the former Sun Belt Conference rivals since 2012.

The Trojans (1-0), who scored 40 unanswered points after the Blue Raiders (0-2) tied the contest at seven, were sparked by a nine-point outburst over the final 90 seconds of the opening half that was powered by a Will Choloh safety and a 5-yard touchdown reception by Khalil McClain with three ticks remaining in the opening half.

In his first career start, sophomore signal-caller Gunnar Watson impressed completing 26-of-37 passes for 242 yards and two touchdowns. With the win, Watson became the first Troy signal caller to earn a victory in his first-career start since Corey Robinson against Bowling Green in 2010.

B.J. Smith made his return to action Saturday afternoon, rushing for 81 yards on an efficient 10 carries. In total, four different Trojans rushed for a touchdown including highly touted freshman Kimani Vidal.

Troy received contributions up-and-down the roster in the convincing 34-point victory, as seven different Trojans recorded a touchdown and five different Trojans scored their first career touchdown.

On the defensive side of the ball, the Troy defense shined, allowing just 14 points and 242 yards of total offense. The performance was the fifth time since 2017 that the Trojans allowed fewer than 250 yards.

Terence Dunlap also made quite an impact in his return action with a pair of interceptions in a game.

Head coach Chip Lindsey became the first head coach at Troy to win his first two season-openers since Chan Gailey in 1983 and 1984, as the Trojans amassed 400 yards of total offense for the ninth time in Lindsey's short Troy career (13 games).

The Trojans drew first blood capping a 12-play, 73-yard drive on an 8-yard strike from Watson to McClain. The score was Watson's first career touchdown and marked the first time that the Trojans scored a touchdown on the opening drive of the season since 2016 (Austin Peay).

After stalling on its first two drives of the afternoon, MTSU and quarterback Asher O'Hara answered the Trojans strike with a 9-play, 69-yard drive that culminated with a 2-yard scamper by O'Hara. On the afternoon, O'Hara completed 16-of-23 passes for 109 yards through the air and rushed for 45 yards on 14 attempts.

Needing an answer, Watson showed off his poise, leading the Trojans on a 7-play drive that ended with Charles Strong's first career collegiate touchdown. The 1-yard rush gave the Trojans a 14-7 lead with 14:11 left in the opening half.

After the two teams traded punts on the next two drives, former walk-on Craig Slocum stepped in front of an O'Hara pass for the first interception of his Troy career.

Troy cashed the turnover in for three points when Evan Legassey connected on a career-best 47-yard field goal that gave the visitors a 17-7 lead with 6:50 left in the half.

On the next MTSU drive, the Trojans defense again proved to be up for the challenge, forcing the first of two turnovers on downs.

Following a stalled Trojan drive, Kyle Coale pinned the Blue Raiders back on their own 6-yard line. The punt proved to be a big turning point in the game, as Will Choloh on third down sacked Chase Cunningham in the end zone for a safety with 1:29 left.

Looking to seize control of the contest, the Trojans answered the safety with another seven points, as Watson found McClain in the right-corner of the end zone for the senior's second touchdown of the half.

The strike gave the Trojans a commanding 26-7 lead at the break.

On the opening drive of the second half, Dunlap picked off a Cunningham pass at the Trojans' 30-yard line, giving Watson and the Trojan offense the ball back. On the ensuing drive, Vidal capped an 11-play, 70-yard drive with a 2-yard scamper that gave the Trojans a 33-7 advantage with 9:56 left in the third period.

After yet another Dunlap interception, the Trojans offense again found pay dirt, as junior DK Billingsley's 2-yard run on third-and-goal gave the Trojans a 40-7 advantage with 3:22 left in the third quarter.

Troy recorded its final touchdown of the afternoon midway through the fourth quarter, when Jacob Free found Tyler Hussey for an 8-yard touchdown strike. The connection was the first touchdown pass of Free's career and the first reception of Hussey's career.

A late MTSU 28-yard strike from Mike DiLiello to Jaylin Lane capped the afternoon for both sides, as the Trojans recorded the second-largest margin of victory in the Lindsey era (36 points, Texas State).

Up Next
Troy continues its three-game road trip to open the season with a visit to No. 22 BYU next Saturday. Kickoff is set for 9:15 p.m. (CT) and the game will be broadcast on ESPN.

Quotable – Head Coach Chip Lindsey
"It's extremely exciting [to start this season off with a win]. At one point we weren't sure if we would play. I told our guys that before we played today, 'Let's appreciate this opportunity to play, we weren't sure we were going to get to. Let's go out and play every snap like it could be our last, because you never know.' I think our guys have taken that to heart and I'm really proud of their effort today."

Sound Smart with Your Friends
Javon Solomon, Elgin Griffin, Craig Slocum, Reddy Steward, Gunnar Watson, Grant Betts and Bubba Hudson all made their first career starts for the Trojans.

Notable
• Troy Gunnar Watson's 248 passing yards is the most from a quarterback in their first career start since Corey Robinson passed for 252 yards in 2010

• Troy has now won seven of the last eight games vs MTSU and is now 9-4 since 1999

• Troy received the opening kickoff for the 10th time in 13 career games with Chip Lindsey as head coach; the Trojans have scored on seven of those drives with four touchdowns following a Khalil McClain touchdown against Middle Tennessee

• The game was the ninth out of 13 under head coach Chip Lindsey where the Trojans topped the 400-yard mark on offense

• Troy's three interceptions are the most in a game since recording four interceptions at Texas State last season. Troy is tied with App State for the most interceptions nationally since 2016 with 71