Crowder Throws Four TD Passes, Troy Knocks Off Georgia State on Senior Day

Saturday, November 22

Troy, Ala.

3 p.m.

Troy University

7-4 , 5-2

Georgia State

1-10 , 0-7

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Georgia State

Troy

Crowder Throws Four TD Passes, Troy Knocks Off Georgia State on Senior Day

11/22/2025 8:09:00 PM | Football

TROY, Ala. – Goose Crowder threw for 361 yards and four touchdowns in his first start since early September to lead Troy past Georgia State, 31-19, on Senior Day at The Vet. Troy's victory on Saturday sets up a winner-take-all showdown with Southern Miss next week for a berth in the Sun Belt Championship Game.

Crowder, who played most of last week's game at Old Dominion, took every snap under center for the Trojans for the first time since he suffered an injury on the first series against Memphis on Sept. 13. It was Crowder's first multi-touchdown game against an FBS opponent after he threw a pair of touchdown passes to both Ethan Conner and DJ Epps.

Troy (7-4, 5-2 SBC) held a 17-12 lead entering the fourth quarter, but Crowder connected with Epps on touchdown strikes of 10 yards and 35 yards in the final period to put some distance between the Trojans and Panthers (1-10, 0-7).

Conner gave the Trojans a 10-3 lead late in the second quarter on a 26-yard touchdown reception, his first score since the season opener. Troy took a 10-6 lead into the break after Liam Rickman booted a 47-yard field goal as time expired, his second field goal of the half.

Following a fumble on Troy's second play of the second half, the Trojans forced a missed field goal, and Conner cashed in the ensuing 7-play 73-yard drive, taking a screen pass from Crowder 39 yards for his second score of the night.

Crowder completed 27-of-43 passes for 361 yards and four touchdowns, all career-highs, while Epps caught eight passes for 103 yards (his second 100-yard game of the season) and Conner finished with a career-best 85 yards on three catches.

Christian Veilleux came off the bench to complete 19-of-38 passes for 307 yards with a touchdown and an interception for the Panthers, who totaled 516 yards of total offense in the loss.

The Trojans held the Panthers to touchdowns on just two of five trips in the red zone after Troy entered the weekend ranked 16^th nationally at a 50-percent clip.

Up Next
Troy travels to Southern Miss (7-4, 5-2) next Saturday, with kickoff set at 2:30 p.m. The winner between the Trojans and Golden Eagles will play at James Madison on Friday, Dec. 5, in the Sun Belt Championship Game.

Quotable – Troy Head Coach Gerad Parker
"This staff and these players have worked tirelessly to put this program in a position to play in championship games here. That's what's expected from Dr. Hawkins, Troy University, our fan base and Kyle George. That's what they hired me to do. We're finding ways. It's never going to be as pretty as you want it to be, and in many ways, they would say that I've got a little too high of an expectation for perfection, but I'm not going to apologize for that. There's a lot of work and expectations that go into this. There are a large group of players and staff who have answered the bell since Jan. 14 and put us in position to play this game."

Notable
• Troy improved to 7-4 all-time against Georgia State and 4-1 against the Panthers in The Vet.
• Troy improved to 106-62 all-time in Sun Belt Conference Games.
• With Troy's victory, it sets up a winner-take-all match-up at Southern Miss next weekend to advance to the Sun Belt Championship Game at James Madison. Troy has played in the Sun Belt Championship Game twice in the last three seasons, winning both games.
• Troy has won eight of its last 11 Sun Belt games and 10 of its last 15 games overall.
• Troy improved to 9-5 since 2022 when having more than seven days to prepare for a game.
• Ethan Conner caught a 26-yard touchdown pass in the final minute of the second quarter; it was his first touchdown reception since the season opener against Nicholls. It was Conner's sixth career touchdown reception.
• Ethan Conner added his second touchdown reception of the game on Troy's second drive of the third quarter, a 39-yard pass from Goose Crowder. The reception was the longest of Conner's career and marked the second multi-touchdown game of his career; he had two touchdown receptions in his first career game as a Trojan, against Stephen F. Austin in the 2023 season opener.
• DJ Epps recorded his second 100-yard receiving game of the season after catching eight passes for 103 yards.
• Goose Crowder finished with four touchdown passes in the game, the third multi-touchdown game of his career and the second of the season (Nicholls) ... it's his first multi-touchdown game against an FBS opponent.
• Goose Crowder finished the game with career-highs in completions (27), attempts (43), touchdowns (4) and passing yards (361).
• Troy finished with 423 yards of total offense, its most since tallying 458 yards in its overtime victory at Texas State on Oct. 11.
• Ethan Conner and DJ Epps became the first Troy duo since Bryan Holmes and Eric Thomas against South Alabama on Oct. 5, 2013, to have multiple touchdown receptions in the same game.
• Goose Crowder (361 yards vs. Georgia State) and Tucker Kilcrease (415 at Texas State) became the first Troy quarterbacks to throw for more than 350 yards in a game in the same season in program history ... they are the first pair to throw for more than 300 yards in a game in the same season since Gunnar Watson and Taylor Powell did so in 2021.
• Troy passed for 361 yards in the game; it is the first time since 2020 that the Trojans have passed for 350 yards or more in multiple games (415 at Texas State).
• Troy rushed for just 62 yards in the game; the Trojans have been outrushed in seven straight games but have gone 5-2 in those contests.
• Troy started its fifth different offensive line configuration of the season after Tyler Cappi started at center, Paul Bowling slid out to left guard and Eli Russ to left tackle.
• Jamel Fils-Aime recorded his second sack of the season and forced his first career fumble on the play in the second quarter; his first came in Troy's victory against South Alabama.
• Devin Lafayette intercepted Christian Veilleux's and returned it 31 yards at the end of the third quarter. It marked the third interception of his career.
• Troy allowed 516 yards of total offense in the game; the Trojans have now won two games this season when allowing 500-plus yards (Texas State). Troy is one of just nine schools to have multiple wins when allowing 500-plus yards. It marks just the second time in the program's Division I history that it's won multiple games in the same season when allowing more than 500 yards (2013).
• Jordan Stringer moved into ninth place all-time in Troy history with 147 career assisted tackles after recording four in the game.
• Luke Hodge, who played the whole second half after Jordan Stringer was called for targeting at the end of the first half, finished with a career-high nine tackles.
• Troy held Georgia State to 19 points in the game, the 24th opponent since it held to 19 or fewer points. The Trojans improved to 21-3 in those games.
• Scott Taylor Renfroe booted a 28-yard field goal in the second quarter, moving him into a tie for fourth place all-time in Troy history (Tyler Sumpter) with 39 in his career.
• Scott Taylor Renfroe moved into eighth place on Troy's career scoring list with 233 in his career after scoring seven points in the game.
• Evan Crenshaw booted a 62-yard punt at the end of the first half, tying his longest of the season (Buffalo) ... he added a 53-yard punt in the fourth quarter and now 20 punts of 50-plus yards this season.