Troy Scores 21 in the Fourth Quarter to Rally Past Buffalo

Saturday, September 20

Buffalo, N.Y.

2:30 p.m.

Troy University

2-2 , 0-0

Buffalo

2-2 , 1-0

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Troy

Buffalo

Troy Scores 21 in the Fourth Quarter to Rally Past Buffalo

9/20/2025 7:20:00 PM | Football

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By: Troy Athletics Communications

BUFFALO, N.Y. – Troy scored 21 points in the fourth quarter to rally past Buffalo, 21-17, in non-conference action Saturday at UB Stadium. It's the Trojans' largest comeback since 2022, when Troy also trailed 17-0 in the fourth quarter at Louisiana. Tucker Kilcrease rushed for a touchdown and completed another in the deciding quarter, while the Trojan defense held Buffalo to just 57 yards on its four drives in the final quarter.

Buffalo (2-2) took a 17-0 lead on the first play of the fourth quarter, and Troy (2-2) had turned the ball over on downs and thrown an interception on its two drives in the second half prior to the Bulls' 39-yard field goal.

On the ensuing drive, Kilcrease orchestrated a 14-play, 75-yard drive that included a trio of third-down conversions and one fourth-down conversion, which he capped with a 6-yard run into the end zone. The junior quarterback, making just the third start of his career, completed five passes on the drive.

Troy's defense took over, forcing Buffalo into a 3-and-out on three straight drives after the Trojans' initial score. Kilcrease and the offense took advantage as Kilcrease hit RaRa Thomas for a 10-yard touchdown pass to cap a 7-play, 66-yard drive to close the gap to 17-14, with 5:45 to play in the game. The touchdown strike followed one play after a 29-yard pass from Kilcrease to Roman Mothershed.

Buffalo's next drive took just 24 seconds off the clock, and Troy took over in its own 38-yard line with 5:21 to play, but the Trojans couldn't pick up a first down. With just over four minutes on the clock, a timeout and one of the nation's top punters in his pocket, Troy head coach Gerad Parker elected to punt. Evan Crenshaw boomed a 53-yard punt that rolled out at the 10-yard line. Crenshaw averaged 52.2 yards on his five punts in the game, with three of 50-plus yards and three finishing inside the 20-yard line. Crenshaw's shortest punt, a 43-yard kick that was downed at the 8-yard line.

The Troy defense responded, yielding just six yards and forcing another Buffalo punt, allowing Troy to take over at midfield with 2:33 remaining in the game.

The game-winning drive became the Tae Meadows show, as the junior running back carried the ball five times for 40 yards, including a 20-yard burst on third-and-4 for his second touchdown of the season. The score gave the Trojans a 21-17 lead with 45 seconds remaining.

The Bulls got as far as the Troy 29-yard line before running out of time and seeing their Hail Mary knocked to the turf by redshirt-freshman Joe Lott.

Kilcrease completed 14-of-24 passes for 148 yards and the one touchdown, while Ui Ale made his first appearance of the season, completing 5-of-10 passes for 54 yards. The pair were sacked seven times, the most in a Troy win in the program's Division I history. Thomas finished with five receptions for 78 yards, his most since the 2022 season (he also threw an interception), while Meadows rushed for 68 yards on 14 carries.

Buffalo carried a 7-0 lead into the break thanks to a 1-yard run by Ay-Jay Henderson in the first quarter and James McNeil Jr., used his only carry of the game to put the Bulls up 14-0 with just over nine minutes to play in the third.

Up Next
Troy will enjoy one of its two bye weeks next Saturday before opening Sun Belt Conference play against South Alabama at The Vet on Oct. 4.

Quotable – Troy Head Coach Gerad Parker
"I don't know if I've been a part of something like this. There are so many things that go through your mind when you're trying to find a solution. But maybe our football players taught us a lesson that the solution is them. What an unbelievable effort by all three phases to finish a game in the fourth quarter. To come back and win that football game on the road. It's unbelievable. We have to trust our players as they continue to earn it. I trusted Evan Crenshaw, even though we could've converted and he pinned them within the 10-yard line. From there, we get the stop, get the ball back at midfield, and you saw the rest. When guys find a way to believe in one another and win one of these, it changes everything. It changes the season. It puts belief in how people are thinking. Now, we have to ride that momentum."

Notable
• Safety Rondell Carter and offensive lineman Caleb Ash both made their first career starts, while quarterback Tucker Kilcrease started his first game of the season.

• Troy won the coin toss and elected to defer until the second half; Buffalo received the opening kickoff. The Trojans are now 16-28 the last four seasons and 10-19 the last three seasons on the coin toss. The Trojans are 3-1 this year on the coin toss and have deferred twice.

• Troy rallied from a 17-0 deficit in the fourth quarter; it's Troy's largest comeback since a 23-17 victory at Louisiana in 2002, when Troy trailed 17-0 in the fourth quarter. Troy scored with 10:23, 5:45 and 0:45 in the fourth quarter.

• Tucker Kilcrease completed 14-of-24 passes for 148 yards ... his 6-yard rushing touchdown, which put Troy on the board, was the first of his career.

• RaRa Thomas caught his first touchdown in a Troy uniform to pull the Trojans within 17-14 with 5:45 to play in the game. It was his first touchdown catch since Oct. 7, 2023, against Kentucky when he was a member of the Georgia Bulldogs.

• Tae Meadows scored the game-winning touchdown, a 20-yard score on third-and-4. It was Meadows' third career rushing touchdown and second of the season.

• Troy went into the break with just 117 yards of total offense; the Trojans racked up 248 yards in the second half, including 189 yards in their 17-point fourth quarter.

• Troy allowed seven sacks in the game, the most in a Trojan victory in the program's Division I era.

• Troy rushed for 163 yards despite the seven sacks; the Trojans improved to 43-4 since 2015 when rushing for 150-plus yards,

• Troy improved to 71-17 since 2015 when scoring 21-plus points.

• Troy held Buffalo to 278 yards of total offense; the Trojans have held 19 opponents to fewer than 300 yards since the start of the 2022 season, improving to 17-2 in those games.

• Troy held Buffalo 57 yards over its final four drives of the game (after the Bulls took a 17-0 lead), with 46 of those yards coming on the final drive of the game.

• Troy forced Buffalo into a 3-and-out on six of its 12 possessions.

• Devin Lafayette recorded a team-high nine tackles; it was his second straight game with nine tackles.

• Evan Crenshaw booted his first punt of the game 62 yards, his ninth punt of 50-plus yards and his first of 60-plus yards this season; it was the second-longest punt of his career (67 yards vs. Georgia Southern, 2003). Troy had just one 50-yard punt in 2024.

• Evan Crenshaw added punts of 43 (downed at the 8-yard line), 49, 53 and 54 yards in the game ... averaged 52.2 yards per punt, with three inside the 20-yard line.