Troy Notches 12th Straight Win Over Texas State, Trojans’ Bowl Eligible

Saturday, October 28

San Marcos, Texas

6 p.m.

Troy University

6-2 , 3-1

Texas State

5-3 , 2-2

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Troy

Texas St.

Troy Notches 12th Straight Win Over Texas State, Trojans’ Bowl Eligible

10/28/2023 11:08:00 PM | Football

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By: Troy Athletics Communications

SAN MARCOS – Down at the half? Good. Troy won for the seventh time in 10 games under head coach Jon Sumrall when trailing at the half as the Trojans boat raced the Bobcats after the break en route to a 31-13 victory on Texas State's Homecoming at Bobcat Stadium on Saturday.

Troy (6-2, 3-1 Sun Belt) moved into sole possession of first place in the Sun Belt West Division with the victory after outscoring Texas State (5-3, 2-2) by a 24-3 margin in the second half. Troy's ferocious defense forced four turnovers for the second straight game and held the Bobcats to their second-fewest yards of the season.

Gunnar Watson threw for a career-best 392 yards plus three touchdown passes, while Jabre Barber set career-highs with 10 receptions and 160 yards receiving. Watson's passing yards ranked as the 14^th most in program history, while Barber's total sits as the 15^th most in school history and the most in 13 seasons.

Texas State scored on its first drive of the game but wouldn't find the end zone again as Troy intercepted TJ Finley twice and stripped the ball from him once, while running back Ismail Mahdi also fumbled once despite his 128-yard effort.

The game flipped on the opening drive of the second half as Watson and Barber carved the Bobcats' defense into pieces. Watson needed just five plays, four of which were passes to Barber for 21 yards, 15 yards and nine yards to set up a 29-yard touchdown strike, Barber's third of the season. A personal foul penalty against linebacker Brian Holloway also added 15 yards to Troy's drive.

Troy scored on four of its six drives in the second half, with Watson connecting on touchdown passes to Deshon Stoudemire and Landon Parker, the first of the season for both, and Scott Taylor Renfroe icing the game with a field goal in the final seconds of the contest.

Jordan Stringer intercepted his first career pass and forced a fumble for the Trojans, while Dell Pettus recorded a game-high 12 tackles and Reddy Steward intercepted his eighth career pass. Richard Jibunor moved into fourth place in Sun Belt history with his 25^th career sack.

Up Next
It's a quick turnaround for the Trojans, who are expected to arrive back in Troy around 4 a.m. following their flight home as they host South Alabama in the "Battle for the Belt" on Thursday night at The Vet. Kickoff is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. and the game will be televised on ESPN2.

Quotable – Head Coach Jon Sumrall
"We did a lot of bending, more than I'd like, but at the end of the day how many points you score is what matters; to hold this offense to 13 points is a pretty special night."

Notable
• With the victory, Troy has reached bowl eligibility for the 12th time in program history and for the fifth time in the past eight seasons.
• Troy improved to 7-3 under Jon Sumrall when trailing at the half; Texas State led 10-7 at the break. Troy was 11-73 from 2005-21 when trailing at the half.

• Troy improved to 42-26 on the road in Sun Belt play since the start of the 2006 season; the Trojans entered the weekend fourth in the league with a .612 road winning percentage.

• Troy's victory was its 94th since joining the Sun Belt in 2004; it is the most wins by 13 since 2004 and Troy's 94 overall Sun Belt victories are the most all-time in league history.

• Since losing on a Hail Mary at App State in Week 3 last season, Troy is 17-2.

• Gunnar Watson put Troy on the board in the opening seconds of the second quarter with his fourth career rushing touchdown, first since rushing for two at App State in 2022.

• Gunnar Watson threw for a career-high 392 yards on 26-of-40 passing, with three touchdowns. He now has a touchdown pass in 11 straight games.

• Troy improved to 7-2 when Gunnar Watson throws for more than 315 yards, 15-6 when he doesn't throw an interception and 10-2 when he throws multiple touchdown passes.

• Gunnar Watson's 392 passing yards rank as the 14th most in program history and most since Jacob Free threw for 419 yards at Arkansas State in 2020.

• Jabre Barber set career highs for catches (10) and yards (160) ... his 160 yards are the 15th most in program history and most since Jerrel Jernigan had 209 yards at Arkansas State in 2010.

• Kimani Vidal rushed for just 43 yards on 18 carries; Troy is now 7-11 when Vidal rushes for fewer than 50 yards.

• Troy improved to 45-7 since 2015 when topping the 400-yard mark of total offense.

• Troy had seven passing plays of 20-plus yards on the night; Troy entered the weekend tied for 17th nationally in 20-yard plays.

• Troy forced four turnovers for the second straight game; the Trojans entered the weekend leading the country with 179 forced turnovers since the start of the 2016 season. Troy has now forced a turnover in 84 of its last 102 games and multiple turnovers in 55 of those 102 games.

• Troy has now held 15-of-22 opponents under Jon Sumrall to fewer than 19 points. The Trojans entered the weekend fifth nationally in the category.

• Troy allowed points on its opponent's opening drive for just the second time this season (Kansas State).

• Troy held Texas State to just three points and 177 yards in the second half; the Bobcats racked up 260 yards in the first half, with 166 yards in the first quarter.

• Troy held Texas State's high-powered offense to its second-fewest yards of the season and tied for its fewest points of the season; UTSA held the Bobcats to 13 points and 242 yards in week two.

• Scott Taylor Renfroe made his only attempt of the game and improved to 16-of-19 this season, which are the fourth most by a player in Sun Belt history through the first eight games of a season.

• Jabre Barber returned the opening punt of the game a career-best 35 yards; it was the longest punt return of the season for the Trojans and longest since a 58-yard return for a touchdown by Cedarius Rookard in Troy's victory at Nebraska in 2018.