Troy University Athletics
Saturday, September 11
Troy, Ala.
6 p.m.
Troy University
1-1 , 0-0
13
vs
21
Liberty
2-0 , 0-0
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
F
Liberty
7
7
0
7
21
Troy
7
0
0
6
13
Troy Falls to Liberty
9/11/2021 11:05:00 PM | Football
TROY -- Troy scored touchdowns on its first and final possession Saturday night.
In between? Not enough.
Liberty ran the ball better, controlled the clock, shortened the game and held off the Trojans 21-13 on Saturday night at Veterans Memorial Stadium.
"Obviously disappointed. This was a four-quarter battle. We thought it would be (and) it lived up to that," Troy head coach Chip Lindsey said. "Two good football teams going back and forth. They made enough plays on offense to win the game tonight.
"I'm really proud of our team. They competed and played their butts off. They're heartbroken right now because we had an opportunity to beat a good football team and really give us a shot in the arm for 2021, but I am proud of the effort."
Troy opened the game with a 13-play, 75-yard drive that took 5:20 off the clock. It finished the fourth quarter with a desperate nine-play, 64-yard drive in 2:45. Those two drives accounted for 22 of the Trojans' 49 plays, 139 of their 232 yards and 8:05 of their 21:01of possession time.
"I think the story of the game was from the first drive on not being able to get anything going on offense," Lindsey said. "Really, to be honest with you, not sure without looking at the film exactly why that happened. You've got to give their defense credit."
Troy's defense kept the Trojans in the football game but gradually wore down against elusive Liberty quarterback Malik Willis, who threw for 154 yards and two touchdowns and led the Flames with 93 yards rushing and a touchdown on 20 attempts. He also was sacked five times by the Troy defense.
Defensive tackle Will Choloh was outstanding, finishing with eight tackles, four tackles for loss and 2 1/2 sacks.
Choloh is just the third player in FBS football since the start of last season to record four TFLs and 2 ½ sacks. A Troy player hasn't done that since Jonathan Massaquoi in 2010.
"It's difficult," Choloh concluded when asked about defending Willis. "The thing is, you've got to pressure him. But at the same time, you don't want to flush him out of the pocket. He's a great player. I played him in high school. Unfortunately, I lost to him in high school, too."
Troy several times had the play that Liberty called thwarted, but Willis would find an escape lane and run for a first down.
"That happened to us a bunch," Choloh said. "It was frustrating. We knew from the first play of the game they couldn't block us. It was just a matter of catching him, honestly. That's just on us. We've got to tackle better; we've got to do our job better."
Troy took a 7-0 lead when running back B.J. Smith scored on a 5-yard run just 5:20 into the game. The Trojans converted three times on third down on that march with the opening kickoff -- the last time on a 15-yard completion on third-and-8 from the Liberty 20 from quarterback Taylor Powell to Luke Whittemore.
Powell finished the game 18-for-25 passing for 211 yards and a touchdown. He was intercepted once and, like Willis, was sacked five times.
Troy finished with just 21 yards rushing on 24 rushing attempts.
Willis led Liberty to the end zone on the Flames' first possession. His 32-yard pass up the right sideline to Demario Douglas on a wheel route tied the game 7-all.
Liberty edged ahead 14-7 midway through the second quarter when Willis hit Jerome Jackson on a pass over the middle on fourth-and-goal from the 2.
The Flames kept the ball for 11:33 in the second quarter, 11:35 of the third and 10:31 of the fourth. That took its toll on the Troy defense.
Liberty extended its lead to 21-7 early in the fourth quarter on Willis' 4-yard run, ending an eight-play, 90-yard drive. The quarterback had a 20-yard run for a first down on third-and-2 on that drive.
The Flames were about put it away when Dell Pettus pumped life into the Trojans. Pettus blocked a 32-yard field attempt, and Troy recovered on its own 36 with 3:55 remaining in the game.
"I felt like that gave our team some hope and life again. We're never out of the fight. That's one thing as a team we believe in," Pettus said. "That field goal, it gave everybody a visual that we can do this; we can finish. It was a great moment for our team."
Powell drove Troy down the field, converting a 35-yard completion to Whittemore on fourth-and-3 at the Liberty 36 that gave Troy a first and goal.
A sack hurt the Trojans, but Powell threw an 11-yard TD pass to Deyunkrea Lewis for a touchdown with 1:10 remaining. The extra point was blocked.
Liberty recovered the onside kick and ran out the clock.
In between? Not enough.
Liberty ran the ball better, controlled the clock, shortened the game and held off the Trojans 21-13 on Saturday night at Veterans Memorial Stadium.
"Obviously disappointed. This was a four-quarter battle. We thought it would be (and) it lived up to that," Troy head coach Chip Lindsey said. "Two good football teams going back and forth. They made enough plays on offense to win the game tonight.
"I'm really proud of our team. They competed and played their butts off. They're heartbroken right now because we had an opportunity to beat a good football team and really give us a shot in the arm for 2021, but I am proud of the effort."
Troy opened the game with a 13-play, 75-yard drive that took 5:20 off the clock. It finished the fourth quarter with a desperate nine-play, 64-yard drive in 2:45. Those two drives accounted for 22 of the Trojans' 49 plays, 139 of their 232 yards and 8:05 of their 21:01of possession time.
"I think the story of the game was from the first drive on not being able to get anything going on offense," Lindsey said. "Really, to be honest with you, not sure without looking at the film exactly why that happened. You've got to give their defense credit."
Troy's defense kept the Trojans in the football game but gradually wore down against elusive Liberty quarterback Malik Willis, who threw for 154 yards and two touchdowns and led the Flames with 93 yards rushing and a touchdown on 20 attempts. He also was sacked five times by the Troy defense.
Defensive tackle Will Choloh was outstanding, finishing with eight tackles, four tackles for loss and 2 1/2 sacks.
Choloh is just the third player in FBS football since the start of last season to record four TFLs and 2 ½ sacks. A Troy player hasn't done that since Jonathan Massaquoi in 2010.
"It's difficult," Choloh concluded when asked about defending Willis. "The thing is, you've got to pressure him. But at the same time, you don't want to flush him out of the pocket. He's a great player. I played him in high school. Unfortunately, I lost to him in high school, too."
Troy several times had the play that Liberty called thwarted, but Willis would find an escape lane and run for a first down.
"That happened to us a bunch," Choloh said. "It was frustrating. We knew from the first play of the game they couldn't block us. It was just a matter of catching him, honestly. That's just on us. We've got to tackle better; we've got to do our job better."
Troy took a 7-0 lead when running back B.J. Smith scored on a 5-yard run just 5:20 into the game. The Trojans converted three times on third down on that march with the opening kickoff -- the last time on a 15-yard completion on third-and-8 from the Liberty 20 from quarterback Taylor Powell to Luke Whittemore.
Powell finished the game 18-for-25 passing for 211 yards and a touchdown. He was intercepted once and, like Willis, was sacked five times.
Troy finished with just 21 yards rushing on 24 rushing attempts.
Willis led Liberty to the end zone on the Flames' first possession. His 32-yard pass up the right sideline to Demario Douglas on a wheel route tied the game 7-all.
Liberty edged ahead 14-7 midway through the second quarter when Willis hit Jerome Jackson on a pass over the middle on fourth-and-goal from the 2.
The Flames kept the ball for 11:33 in the second quarter, 11:35 of the third and 10:31 of the fourth. That took its toll on the Troy defense.
Liberty extended its lead to 21-7 early in the fourth quarter on Willis' 4-yard run, ending an eight-play, 90-yard drive. The quarterback had a 20-yard run for a first down on third-and-2 on that drive.
The Flames were about put it away when Dell Pettus pumped life into the Trojans. Pettus blocked a 32-yard field attempt, and Troy recovered on its own 36 with 3:55 remaining in the game.
"I felt like that gave our team some hope and life again. We're never out of the fight. That's one thing as a team we believe in," Pettus said. "That field goal, it gave everybody a visual that we can do this; we can finish. It was a great moment for our team."
Powell drove Troy down the field, converting a 35-yard completion to Whittemore on fourth-and-3 at the Liberty 36 that gave Troy a first and goal.
A sack hurt the Trojans, but Powell threw an 11-yard TD pass to Deyunkrea Lewis for a touchdown with 1:10 remaining. The extra point was blocked.
Liberty recovered the onside kick and ran out the clock.
Team Stats
LIB
TRY
Total Yards
339
232
Pass Yards
154
211
Rushing Yards
185
21
Penalty Yards
65
35
1st Downs
22
13
3rd Downs
6
4
4th Downs
2
2
TOP
38:59
21:01
1st Quarter
LIB 0, TRY 7
TRY - Smith,B.J. 5 yd run (Buce,Brooks kick), 13 plays, 75 yards, TOP 05:20
LIB 7, TRY 7
LIB - Douglas,Demario 32 yd pass from Willis,Malik (Barbir,Alex kick) 9 plays, 75 yards, TOP 05:11
2nd Quarter
LIB 14, TRY 7
LIB - Jackson,Jerome 2 yd pass from Willis,Malik (Barbir,Alex kick) 13 plays, 80 yards, TOP 07:40
4th Quarter
LIB 21, TRY 7
LIB - Willis,Malik 4 yd run (Barbir,Alex kick), 8 plays, 90 yards, TOP 04:44
LIB 21, TRY 13
TRY - Lewis,Deyunkrea 11 yd pass from Powell,Taylor () 9 plays, 64 yards, TOP 02:45
Game Leaders
Passing Leaders
CMP
18
TD
1
YDS
211
INT
1
Players Mentioned
DT
/ Football
TE
/ Football
S
/ FootballQB
/ Football
RB
/ Football
WR
/ FootballGerad Parker Press Conference - Memphis Game
Monday, September 08
Troy Football Press Conference (Players) - Memphis Game
Monday, September 08
Josh Lauer Postgame Press Conference - Jackson State
Saturday, September 06
Player Postgame Press Conference (Luke Hodge, Tray Taylor) - No. 8 Clemson
Saturday, September 06