Troy University Athletics

Troy Stuns Texas State in SBC Sendoff; Rallies from Down 21
10/12/2025 12:09:00 AM | Football
SAN MARCOS, Texas – Tucker Kilcrease threw five touchdown passes, including a 6-yard strike to DJ Epps in overtime, as Troy rallied from 21 and 28-point first quarter deficits to stun Texas State, 48-41, on Saturday night at UFCU Stadium.
Â
The victory marked Troy's second straight overtime win and the first time in program history the Trojans have played overtime games in consecutive weeks. It was also the final Sun Belt Conference matchup between foes before Texas State departs for the Pac-12 after the season.
Â
Troy (4-2, 2-0 Sun Belt) trailed 28-7 after a quarter but outscored Texas State 41-13 the rest of the way, capped by Epps' game-winning catch on the first possession of overtime.Â
Â
Kilcrease, who completed 30 of 39 passes for 415 yards, tied for the second-most touchdown passes in school history and engineered his second 17-plus-point comeback of the season; Troy rallied from 17 down in the fourth quarter to beat Buffalo in September.
Â
Epps caught 10 passes for 148 yards and two touchdowns, including the game-tying 18-yard score and two-point conversion with 1:13 left in regulation. RaRa Thomas added a 57-yard touchdown in the first quarter, while tight ends Jackson Worley and Trae Swartz each hauled in scoring passes. Jarris Williams scored his first career touchdown on a 2-yard run early in the third quarter.
Â
After falling behind 28-7, Troy began its rally with Kilcrease's 6-yard touchdown pass to Worley and Paddy McAteer's school-record-tying 53-yard field goal as time expired in the first half to close within 31-17. McAteer also executed the Trojans' first successful onside kick since 2020 to help fuel the comeback.
Â
Kilcrease's 47-yard connection to DJ Epps set up a field goal early in the third quarter before Williams plunged in from two yards out to make it 31-24. Trailing 41-33 late, Troy drove 75 yards in 2:42 to tie the game on Epps' 18-yard touchdown grab and his catch on the conversion attempt.
Â
Troy's defense, gashed for 286 yards and 28 points in the first quarter, stiffened over the final three, limiting Texas State (3-3, 0-2) to 288 yards and 13 points the rest of the way. Linebacker Jordan Stringer posted career highs with 15 tackles and three for loss, while Steven Cattledge and Stringer each recorded a sack.
Â
Texas State finished with 574 yards of total offense, including 326 on the ground. Lincoln Paré rushed for 113 yards and three touchdowns, and Greg Burrell added 136 yards and a score. Bobcats quarterback Brad Jackson completed 19 of 22 passes for 248 yards but was sacked three times and stopped short on fourth down in overtime to end the game.
Â
Troy won despite managing only 43 rushing yards and finishing the night with one healthy starting offensive lineman. Still, the Trojans produced 27 first downs and scored on all six red zone trips.
Â
The Trojans improved to 14-2 all-time against Texas State, including 6-1 in San Marcos. They've now won five of their last six Sun Belt games dating back to last season.
Â
Quotable – Troy Head Coach Gerad Parker
"The resilience and toughness of this football team is unlike anything I've seen before. We all know what the score was. We all know how far behind we were. We kept on playing. We took chances. We took risks. We executed a great kickoff stampede play that we put in that ricocheted off. We got a possession back. We did all the things you have to do to take risks to get back in one, and all our guys do is keep playing. The backup linemen come in. We had three offensive linemen go down and we kept on playing. Tucker Kilcrease plays like a warrior. DJ Epps too and it goes on, and on and on. An unbelievable effort by everyone, and when their best was required on defense, they got the job done to finish the game in overtime."
Â
Notable
• Troy has won five of its last six Sun Belt Conference games dating back to last season.Â
Â
• Troy has won in overtime in back-to-back weeks; it is the first time in program history that Troy has played an overtime game in consecutive games. Troy improved to 3-6 all-time in overtime games.Â
Â
• Troy rallied from deficits of 21-0 and 28-7 in the first quarter ... it marks the second time this season that Troy has rallied from a 17-point or more deficit (trailed 17-0 at Buffalo entering the fourth quarter).Â
Â
• Troy technically did not hold a lead with time on the clock in the game; Troy's first lead came following its touchdown in overtime.Â
Â
• Tucker Kilcrease completed 30-of-39 passes for 415 yards and five touchdowns; it's tied for the second most touchdown passes in a game in program history (Kaleb Barker, six vs. Texas State, 2019) and the seventh most passing yards in a game in program history.Â
Â
• Tucker Kilcrease's five touchdown passes are the most in program history by a player with 400-plus passing yards.
Â
• RaRa Thomas caught a 57-yard touchdown pass from Tucker Kilcrease to put Troy on the board in the first quarter ... it was the longest play of the season for the Trojans. It was the second-longest reception in Thomas' career (75 yards against Texas A&M when playing at Mississippi State in 2022) and the second-longest pass of Kilcrease's career (62 yards at Iowa in 2024).
Â
• RaRa Thomas has caught a touchdown pass in three straight games for the first time since 2021, when he was playing at Mississippi State.
Â
• DJ Epps posted career highs in receptions (10), yards (148) and touchdown receptions (2) ... it's the 10th most yards in a game in program history. He also caught the game-tying two-point conversion at the end of the fourth quarter.
Â
• Troy's 15-play, 75-yard drive in the second quarter that used 7:34 off the clock was its longest scoring drive of the season ... the Trojans had a 16-play drive that used 8:41 at Clemson that resulted in a turnover on downs.Â
Â
• Troy rushed for 43 yards in the game, its fewest in a victory since rushing for 22 yards at Texas State in 2023. It's just the fifth time since Troy moved to FBS that the Trojans won a game when rushing for 45 yards or fewer.
Â
• Troy scored 21 points in the fourth quarter and overtime combined; the Trojans have scored 80 points this season in the fourth quarter and OT through six games.
Â
• Troy recorded 27 first downs in the game; the Trojans are 4-0 this season when topping the 20 first down mark and have won seven of their last eight games when reaching 20 first downs.
Â
• Troy finished the game with just one of its original five starting linemen (Matt Henry) after injuries to the other four.
Â
• Troy finished with three sacks in the game ... the Trojans have recorded multiple sacks in 30 games since the start of the 2022 season, which ranked as the 26th most in the country entering the weekend.Â
Â
• Jordan Stringer recorded 15 tackles and three tackles for loss, both career highs.Â
Â
• Texas State finished with 574 yards of total offense; it was the fourth most allowed in a Troy victory at the FBS level and most since allowed 606 yards in a 32-25 win at Arkansas State in 2017.
Â
•Texas State rushed for 326 yards, the third most allowed by a Troy team in a victory ...Â
Louisiana (345 yards in 2007) and Navy (328 yards in 2012).
Â
• After allowing 286 yards and 28 points in the first quarter, Troy held Texas State to just 64 yards and three points in the second quarter.
Â
• Paddy McAteer booted a 53-yard field goal as time expired in the first half; it was his first career field goal make (missed one at Clemson) and was tied for the longest in program history; Will Scott in 2012 vs. Louisiana.
Â
• Paddy McAteer converted Troy's first successful onside kick since Oct. 10, 2020, vs. Georgia State, when he drilled the ball off a Texas State player and Troy recovered; the Trojans scored a field goal on the ensuing drive.Â
Â
• Evan Crenshaw added two more punts of 50-plus yards; he now has 14 on the season after Troy had just one all of last year.
Â
• Scott Taylor Renfroe scored seven points to move into a tie for 10th place all-time on Troy's career scoring list with 204 points.Â
Â
Â
Â
Â
Team Stats

TRO 0, TXS 7
TXS - Jackson,Brad 8 yd run (Robles,Tyler kick), 8 plays, 55 yards, TOP 02:57

TRO 0, TXS 14
TXS - Burrell,Greg 59 yd run (Robles,Tyler kick), 4 plays, 80 yards, TOP 00:55

TRO 0, TXS 21
TXS - Pare,Lincoln 7 yd run (Robles,Tyler kick), 13 plays, 70 yards, TOP 06:00

TRO 7, TXS 21
TRO - Thomas,RaRa 57 yd pass from Kilcrease,Tucker (Renfroe,Scott Taylor kick) 3 plays, 75 yards, TOP 01:17

TRO 7, TXS 28
TXS - Pare,Lincoln 62 yd run (Robles,Tyler kick), 3 plays, 71 yards, TOP 00:58

TRO 14, TXS 28
TRO - Worley,Jackson 6 yd pass from Kilcrease,Tucker (Renfroe,Scott Taylor kick) 15 plays, 75 yards, TOP 07:34

TRO 14, TXS 31
TXS - Robles,Tyler 42 yd field goal 11 plays, 68 yards, TOP 04:53

TRO 17, TXS 31
TRO - McAteer,Paddy 53 yd field goal 8 plays, 30 yards, TOP 01:11

TRO 24, TXS 31
TRO - Williams,Jarris 2 yd run (Renfroe,Scott Taylor kick), 7 plays, 75 yards, TOP 03:33

TRO 27, TXS 31
TRO - Renfroe,Scott Taylor 47 yd field goal 6 plays, 30 yards, TOP 03:23

TRO 27, TXS 38
TXS - Pare,Lincoln 1 yd run (Robles,Tyler kick), 10 plays, 70 yards, TOP 04:12

TRO 33, TXS 38
TRO - Swartz,Trae 2 yd pass from Kilcrease,Tucker () 13 plays, 75 yards, TOP 06:00

TRO 33, TXS 41
TXS - Robles,Tyler 37 yd field goal 16 plays, 66 yards, TOP 08:45

TRO 41, TXS 41
TRO - Epps,DJ 18 yd pass from Kilcrease,Tucker (Epps,DJ pass) 9 plays, 75 yards, TOP 02:42

TRO 48, TXS 41
TRO - Epps,DJ 6 yd pass from Kilcrease,Tucker (Renfroe,Scott Taylor kick) 5 plays, 25 yards, TOP 00:00