Watson, Solomon Lead Troy Past ULM – Trojans Clinch SBC West Title

Saturday, November 11

Monroe, La.

1 p.m.

Troy University

8-2 , 5-1

ULM

2-8 , 0-7

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Troy

ULM

Watson, Solomon Lead Troy Past ULM – Trojans Clinch SBC West Title

11/11/2023 6:32:00 PM | Football

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By: Troy Athletics Communications

MONROE, La. – Gunnar Watson threw four touchdown passes, and Javon Solomon recorded four sacks, tying the school record, as Troy defeated ULM, 45-14, Saturday afternoon at Malone Stadium. The Trojans locked up their second straight Sun Belt West Division title in the process and will play in the Sun Belt Championship Game on Dec. 2.

Watson, who now has 10 touchdown passes in Troy's (8-2, 5-1 SBC) last three games, had a trio of scoring passes in the opening half as the Trojans took a 21-0 lead into the break. He added another in the opening seconds of the fourth quarter before watching the rest of the game from the sideline.

Solomon's four sacks tied Osi Umenyiora for the most in a game in program history and were part of a nine-sack effort by the Trojans in the game. Solomon's four sacks are tied for the most by an FBS player this season and are the most by a Group of Five player.

Richard Jibunor added 3.5 sacks to move into second place in Sun Belt history with 28.5 in his Troy career. The nine sacks by the Trojans tied a program record for most in a Sun Belt game and are tied for the second most by a team this season.

Troy's victory, along with a Southern Miss win on Thursday and wins by South Alabama and Coastal Carolina on Saturday, locked up the West Division in the Trojans' favor with two weeks to play. Troy, which is 10-0 against SBC West opponents the last two years, won't know the location of the title game until an East Division champion has been crowned.

Six different Trojans found the end zone in the victory. It was just Troy's second victory at Malone Stadium since 2005 – Troy is now 2-5 in its last seven trips to ULM (2-8, 0-7).

Tae Meadows capped the scoring for Troy with the squad's only rushing touchdown of the day; it came on his first career carry. Jabre Barber, Asa Martin, Damien Taylor, Ethan Conner and Devonte Ross all had touchdown receptions.

Watson completed 24-of-39 passes for 219 yards and his fourth career four-touchdown game. Kimani Vidal rushed for 50 yards on just 15 carries, while Barber led the Trojans with eight catches for 73 yards.

Troy allowed just its fourth touchdown in the last six games as ULM scored on a 46-yard pass from Jiya Wright to Tyrone Howell after Howell pulled down Reddy Steward by the face mask to get open in the third quarter. ULM added another score on a second Wright touchdown pass, this one in the fourth quarter. Wright finished 20-of-36 for 243 yards, while Howell had four catches for 93 yards.

Up Next
Troy closes out the home portion of its regular season schedule next Saturday hosting Louisiana at The Vet. Kickoff is set for 2:30 p.m., and it will be Senior Day and Military Appreciation Day.

Quotable – Troy Head Coach Jon Sumrall
"It's a hard trip when you come in here and the environment has some Bermuda Triangle vibes; you can get sucked in and a little dazed and confused if you don't stay on high alert, and I think our guys did a decent job of being ready emotionally, but I don't think we best football at all today. If we perform like this down the stretch, we're going to get exposed.

Notable
• Troy improved to 13-1 under Jon Sumrall when leading at the half; Troy led ULM 21-0 at the break.

• Troy improved to 15-0 under Jon Sumrall when leading after three quarters; Troy led ULM 24-7 heading into the fourth quarter.

• Since losing on a Hail Mary at App State in Week 3 last season, Troy is 19-2.

• Troy has outscored its opponents 188-47 over its past six games.

• Troy is 10-0 against SBC West Division opponents over the last two seasons.

• Troy improved to 5-0 on Veterans Day at the DI level and 6-2-1 all-time.

• Troy's victory was its seventh straight overall, the second straight season in which Troy has put together a seven-game winning streak.

• Troy possessed the ball for 32:21 in the victory over ULM; Troy has won the time of possession battle in 9-of-10 games this season.

• Troy has scored on 38-of-81 drives (46.9 percent) over its last six games, this comes after scoring on 20 percent of its drives against JMU and Kansas State. Troy scored on 7-of-13 offensive drives against ULM.

• Troy entered the week ranked 11th nationally, scoring on 93.8 percent of its red zone opportunities but 115th in red zone touchdowns; Troy was 7-for-7 in the red zone against ULM and scored touchdowns on 6-of-7 trips to the red zone.

• Gunnar Watson threw a pair of touchdown passes in the game, his 14th career multi-touchdown game and 10th career game with three or more touchdown passes. Troy is now 12-2 when Watson throws multiple touchdowns in a game and 9-1 when he throws three or more touchdowns. He now has a touchdown pass in 13 straight games dating back to the 2022 ULM game.

• Gunnar Watson moved into a tie for eighth place in a single-season in Troy history with his 21st touchdown pass of the season; he is tied with Corey Robinson and Omar Haugabook. Watson has 10 touchdown passes in Troy's last three games.

• Jabre Barber moved into 17th place on Troy's career reception list with 107 after pulling down eight receptions for 73 yards against ULM.

• Asa Martin and Tae Meadows scored their first career touchdowns for the Trojans, both coming in the fourth quarter. Martin's was a 9-yard touchdown pass from Goose Crowder and Meadows' was a 5-yard run on his first career touch. Crowder's touchdown pass to Martin was the first of his career.

• Kimani Vidal moved into fifth place on Troy's single-season rushing list with 1,168 yards after rushing for 50 yards against ULM; he is 170 shy of becoming Troy's single-season rushing leader.

• Troy finished with just 349 yards of total offense, its first win this season when not topping the 400-yard mark, snapping a streak of six straight games with 400-plus yards.

• Troy did not turn the ball over in the game against ULM; the Trojans have committed just four turnovers in their last six games after turning the ball over 10 times in the first four games.

• Gunnar Watson has attempted 163 straight passes without throwing an interception, dating back to Troy's win at Georgia State.

• Troy has allowed just five touchdowns and 47 points in its last six games.

• Troy held ULM to just 14 points, marking the 17th time holding its opponent to fewer than 19 points since the start of the 2022 season. Troy entered the weekend ranked third nationally in the category.

• Troy recorded nine sacks in the game, tying the program record for sacks in a Sun Belt game. It marks the fourth time (Georgia Southern, 2019; Coastal Carolina, 2018; North Texas, 2007) that Troy has had nine sacks in a Sun Belt game.

• Javon Solomon recorded a career-high four sacks in the game; his previous best was 3.5 at Southern Miss in 2021. It is Solomon's second career game with three or more sacks. His four sacks tied Osi Umenyiora for the most in a game in program history.

• Javon Solomon moved into seventh place in Troy history with 27 career sacks and is third in Sun Belt history. Solomon moved into third place in Troy history with 42.0 career tackles for loss.

• Richard Jibunor recorded a career-high 3.5 sacks in the victory over ULM to move into second place in Sun Belt history with 28.5 career sacks as a Trojan (he had two at Auburn before transferring to Troy). Jibunor ranks third all-time in Troy history with his 28.5 career sacks. Jibunor moved into fourth place in Troy history with 39.5 career tackles for loss.

• Richard Jibunor forced his 10th career fumble and ninth as a Trojan; he entered the weekend tied for the nation's lead in the category among FBS players. His nine as a Trojan are the second most by a Trojan since at least 2000 -- Kanorris Davis had 10 from 2009-12.

• Bennett Galloway's 41-yard run in the second quarter was the first run of 30-plus yards allowed by the Troy defense this season. The Trojans were one of just four teams in the country to have not allowed a rush of 30-plus yards.

• Troy has held 17 of its last 19 opponents to fewer than 400 yards after limiting ULM to 309 yards in the game; Troy entered the weekend ranked 10th in the category. The Trojans are 22-7 since the start of the 2021 season when holding opponents to fewer than 400 yards.

• Troy held ULM to 66 yards rushing, its fifth opponent this season under 100 yards rushing.

• Troy now has 23 sacks in its last five games after recording just six sacks in the first five games of the season.

• Zach Edwards blocked his first career kick to keep ULM off the board in the second quarter; Troy's first field goal block since Sept. 24, 2022, against Marshall. Keyshawn Swanson returned the blocked kick 43 yards.

• Scott Taylor Renfroe made his 17th field goal of the season to move into a tie for fifth on Troy's single-season list; he is three shy of setting the Troy single-season record.