Troy Rides Historic Defensive Effort in Shutout at Army

Saturday, October 14

West Point, N.Y.

2:30 p.m.

Troy University

5-2 , 2-1

Army

2-4 , 0-0

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Troy

Army West Point

Troy Rides Historic Defensive Effort in Shutout at Army

10/14/2023 7:48:00 PM | Football

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By: Troy Athletics Communications

WEST POINT, N.Y. – Troy's defense put on a historic performance as the Trojans handed Army West Point its first home shutout in 20 years with a 19-0 victory on a rainy Saturday afternoon at Michie Stadium. It marked the first time the Black Knights have been shut out in nine seasons and was just Army's seventh loss at home in the last seven years.

Troy (5-2), which won its fourth straight game and improved to 16-2 since the heartbreaking Hail Mary loss in Week 3 last season, limited Army (2-4) to just 255 yards of total offense, the Trojans' sixth opponent in seven games to be held under the 300-yard threshold; Troy entered the weekend tied with Michigan and Ohio for the nation's lead.

Richard Jibunor forced a pair of fumbles as the Trojans capitalized on four Army turnovers in the game. Led by Jibunor's two sacks, Troy recorded six sacks in the game and finished with nine tackles for loss. Jayden McDonald paced the Trojans with a game-high 13 tackles and 2.5 stops behind the line.

Troy moved the ball on the Black Knights with relative effectiveness but struggled to put touchdowns on the board as Scott Taylor Renfroe tied a program record with four field goals. In his first year as Troy's starting kicker, Renfroe has made 15 field goals, tied for the most in Sun Belt history through the first seven games of a season.

The Trojans racked up 449 yards of total offense with a balanced attack that produced 227 yards through the air and 222 yards on the ground. Kimani Vidal, the nation's leading rusher, added 116 yards to his season total, pulling him within 49 yards of 1,000 on the season and within 142 yards of becoming Troy's all-time leading rusher. Damien Taylor added a career-best 82 yards on just 10 carries.

Gunnar Watson connected with Chris Lewis for a 52-yard touchdown strike with just 38 seconds remaining in the first half; the Trojans started the drive on their own 37-yard line with just 81 seconds on the clock. Lewis' four touchdown receptions this season have averaged 44.3 yards. Jabre Barber caught four passes for a career-best 138 yards.

Troy has held its last three opponents to a combined 10 points, the fewest by a Troy team over a three-game period since 1985 - West Alabama (38-7), West Georgia (42-0), Valdosta State (10-3). The Black Knights crossed the 50-yard line on just four of its 12 dives in the game and reached the red zone once, where they didn't score. Troy has now held opponents scoreless on four of their last six trips to the red zone, with just one touchdown.

Kanye Udoh led the Black Knights, rushing for 124 yards on 18 carries, while Champ Harris completed 6-of-13 passes for 63 yards after starter Bryson Daily left the game in the second quarter.

Troy is off next week before traveling to Texas State on Oct. 28 for a Sun Belt West Division battle.

Quotable – Head Coach Jon Sumrall
"That was a really good victory of our guys. I thought they were well prepared; it was good to see them come out and execute the right way early in the game. We knew the turnover margin was going to be a critical part of our success. Credit to Coach Gas (Gasparato), the defensive staff and those young men on that side of the ball. This three-game stretch of defensive we've played has been pretty productive."

Notable

• Troy's shutout of Army was the first for the Black Knights at home since a 28-0 loss to South Florida on Sept. 27, 2003; it was the first time they were shutout overall since a 35-0 loss at Stanford on Sept. 13, 2014.

• It was Troy's first shutout since a 29-0 victory at South Alabama on Dec. 5, 2020.

• Troy led 3-0 at the end of the first quarter; the Trojans improved to 11-0 under Jon Sumrall when leading at the end of the first quarter and 48-5 since 2015.

• Troy led 16-0 at the half and improved to 11-1 under Jon Sumrall when leading at the half.

• Troy led 19-0 at the end of the third quarter; the Trojans improved to 12-0 when leading after the third quarter under Jon Sumrall.

• Since losing on a Hail Mary at App State in Week 3 last season, Troy is 16-2 while the Mountaineers are 7-8.

• Troy improved to 21-3 when Kimani Vidal rushes for 50-plus yards in a game and 10-1 when he rushed for 100-plus yards.

• Kimani Vidal's 100-yard game was the 11th of his career and fourth this season; he is three behind DeWhitt Betterson for the most in school history.

• Troy has won 14 straight games and 16 of the last 18 when rushing for 100-plus yards; the Trojans rushed for 222 yards on 39 carries against Army. Troy is 59-15 since 2015 when rushing for 100-plus yards.

• Chris Lewis caught a 52-yard touchdown pass from Gunnar Watson in the final seconds of the first half, it was his third touchdown of 40-plus yards this season and the second straight week with a touchdown reception of 50-plus yards; he had a 64-yard score last week against Arkansas State. Chris Lewis' four touchdown receptions this season have come from 64, 52, 40 and 21 yards.

• Troy entered the week ninth nationally with 20 plays of 30-plus yards this season, the Trojans added four more in Saturday's game against Army.
• Troy has allowed a combined 10 points over the last three games; it is the fewest allowed by a Troy team since 1985 -- West Alabama (38-7), West Georgia (42-0), Valdosta State (10-3).

• Troy forced four turnovers in the game after entering the weekend, leading the country with 175 forced turnovers since the start of the 2016 season. Troy has now forced a turnover in 83 of its last 101 games and multiple turnovers in 54 of those 101 games.

• Richard Jibunor forced his eighth and ninth career fumbles, which is tied for the most among active FBS players. He also recorded his 26th career sack and 24th as a Trojan; he ranks eighth all-time in Troy history in sacks and fifth in Sun Belt history. Jibunor's 34 tackles for loss are the seventh most in Troy history.

• Troy shutout Army in the opening half of play; it marked the first time since 2007 (Arkansas State, North Texas) that Troy has shutout opponents in back-to-back games.

• Troy held Army to 255 yards of total offense; the Trojans have now held 6-of-7 opponents this season to 300 yards or fewer … Troy ended the weekend tied for the lead in the country in this category. Troy has held 15 of its last 16 opponents to 400 yards or fewer.

• Troy held an opponent to fewer than 400 yards for the 27th time since the start of the 2021 season; the Trojans improved to 20-7 in those games. It was the ninth most in the country entering the weekend.

• Troy held Army to 78 passing yards, its fifth opponent to be held under 200 yards passing this season. Troy entered the weekend ranked fifth nationally in the category.

• Troy has now held 14-of-21 opponents under Jon Sumrall to fewer than 19 points. The Trojans entered the weekend sixth nationally in the category.

• Troy recorded six sacks in the game and now has 11 over the last two weeks, the Trojans had six in its first five games.

• Scott Taylor Renfroe booted four field goals in the game, already his sixth game this season with multiple field goals, which is tied for the most by a Trojan in program history since at least 2000 -- Sam Glusman (2008), Michael Taylor (2010). His 43-yard make in the third quarter was a career-long.

• Scott Taylor Renfroe tied a school record with his four made field goals in the game; Greg Whibbs also made four against Florida Atlantic in 2007.

• Scott Taylor Renfroe made at least three field goals for the second straight week; his two games with three-plus field goals ranks as the second most in program history since at least 2000 (Tyler Sumpter did so in three games in 2018).

• Scott Taylor Renfroe's 15 field goals through the first seven games of the season are the most by a Troy kicker since at least 2000. His 15 field goals are tied for the most in Sun Belt history through a team's first seven games -- Josh Arauco (Arkansas State, 2008) & Mark Myers (Florida Atlantic, 2004) also made 15.