Troy Drops “Battle for the Belt” at South Alabama

Saturday, November 14

Mobile, Ala.

6 p.m.

Troy University

4-6 , 2-4

South Alabama

5-5 , 3-3

Team	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Final F
Troy	0	7	0	7	14
South Alabama	14	3	10	0	27

Box Score (PDF)Game Notes (PDF)

11/14/2026 10:50:00 PM | Football

Box Score Box Score (PDF)Game Notes (PDF)Gerad Parker Press Conference

By: Troy Athletics Communications

MOBILE, Ala. – South Alabama built a 14-point first-quarter lead that proved too much for Troy to overcome, and the Jaguars defeated the Trojans, 27-14, Saturday at Hancock Whitney Stadium in the annual "Battle for the Belt".

The win was just South Alabama's (5-5, 3-3 SBC) second in the last nine meetings between the two schools.

Trae'von Dunbar broke touchdown runs of 46 and 44 yards on South Alabama's first and third drives of the game to build a 14-0 lead.

Making his first start in three weeks, Goose Crowder pulled Troy (4-6, 2-4) within a touchdown on a 45-yard run on fourth-and-1 in the opening minutes of the second quarter. It was the longest of Crowder's six career touchdown runs and the second-longest by a Trojan this season.

The Jags added a 29-yard field goal with just over four minutes left in the half, taking a 17-7 lead into the break.

Crowder completed 24-of-41 passes for 231 yards and a touchdown and rushed for 58 yards on 11 carries, despite losing 24 yards on three sacks. South Alabama's Bishop Davenport was far less efficient, completing just 9-of-21 passes for 122 yards and rushing for 39 yards on six carries.

Troy's secondary broke up a season-high eight passes, led by Jordan Turner's three and Justin Powe's two. It was Turner's first start of the season and first action on defense; he added four tackles while Powe had a team-high nine stops.

Despite the deficiencies through the air, South Alabama found holes in Troy's rushing defense. Led by Dunbar's 153 yards on just 14 carries, the Jaguars rushed for 246 yards, averaging 6.3 yards per carry.

The South Alabama lead swelled to 27-7 midway through the third quarter on a second short field goal and a 28-yard touchdown run by Davenport.

Crowder led the Trojans on a 13-play drive following the South touchdown, capped by a fourth-and-goal touchdown pass to Nick Hampton, pulling Troy within 13 with 14:05 to play.

Troy's defense held the Jags on three straight plays, giving the ball back to the offense at the Troy 44-yard line. The Trojans marched down to the Jags' 33-yard line, but an offensive face mask penalty pushed Troy behind the sticks, stalling the drive.

After the defense held again, Troy had a first down at the South Alabama 14-yard line, but a holding penalty again pushed the Trojans behind the sticks, killing the drive – the Trojans had three drives end on downs in the game.

Up Next
Troy closes out its home schedule on Saturday, Nov. 21, when it hosts Sun Belt East Division leader Georgia Southern at The Vet; kickoff is set for 3 p.m.

Quotable – Troy Head Coach Gerad Parker
"They outplayed us tonight, especially up front early. You can't get down 14 points early to start a game and expect to get back. They won the rushing battle, nobody turned the football over, surprisingly, and if you don't win the turnover margin and the rushing battle, you lose rivalry games."

Notable
• Troy fell to 10-5 all-time against South Alabama.
• Troy fell to 5-3 all-time against South Alabama in Mobile and 2-2 against the Jags at Hancock Whitney Stadium.
• Despite the loss, Troy has won seven of the last nine games in the series.
• Cornerback Jordan Turner made the first start of his career; he is the 24th player this season to make his first Troy start.
• Troy won the coin toss (8-2) and elected to defer to the second half. The Trojans are now 28-36 in the last five seasons on the coin toss.
• Troy kicked off to open a game four times this season; the Trojans are 0-4 in those games.
• Troy's opponent has scored on its opening drive of the game in three straight contests after the Trojans had gone five consecutive games without allowing an opening-drive score and 6-of-7 to open the season.
• Goose Crowder's 45-yard touchdown run on 4th-and-inches in the second quarter was his third rushing touchdown of the season and sixth of his career. It's his first rushing TD since having two in the victory over Southern Miss.
• Goose Crowder's 45-yard touchdown run was the second-longest rush of his career (48 vs. Southern Miss this season) and the longest touchdown run of his career.
• Goose Crowder's six career rushing touchdowns are tied with Tucker Kilcrease for the fifth most by a quarterback in Troy's DI history.
• Goose Crowder's 45-yard touchdown run was Troy's second-longest touchdown run this season; Jaheim Merriweather had a 69-yard score against Alabama State.
• Troy failed to score on its opening drive of the game for the sixth time this season; Troy fell to 2-4 this season when not scoring on its opening drive of the game.
• First-year tight end Nick Hampton caught his second touchdown of the season on a 4th-and-goal from the 4-yard line.
• Troy finished 3-for-6 on fourth down in the game; the Trojans entered the week tied for seventh in the nation with 26 fourth-down attempts.
• Goose Crowder's touchdown pass to Nick Hampton was the 27th of his career and 10th this season.
• Goose Crowder completed 24-of-41 passes for 231 yards; the 41 attempts were the third most of his career and it marked the 10th 200-yard passing game of his career (fourth this season).
• Goose Crowder led Troy with 58 rushing yards on 11 carries despite losing 24 yards on sacks. It marked the second game this season (Crowder vs. Southern Miss), that a Troy quarterback led the team in rushing.
• Goose Crowder moved into 13th place in Troy history with 3,356 career passing yards; passing Jeremy Rowell.
• Jordan Lovett caught a career-high six passes for 47 yards.
• Making his first career start and playing his first defensive snaps of the season, Jordan Turner finished with three pass break ups and four tackles from his cornerback position.
• Justin Powe tied his career-high with two pass break ups (James Madison) to go along with a team-high nine tackles.
• Troy broke up eight passes as a team, a new season high. Troy's previous high was six against ULM.
• Donnie Smith failed to record a sack for just the second time this season and for just the seventh game the past two seasons.
• Donnie Smith recorded a half tackle for loss; he now has at least a half tackle for loss in 21 games dating back to last season, the most in the country.
• Troy held South Alabama to just 50 yards in the fourth quarter and three first downs and forced the Jaguars to punt three times.
• Troy limited South Alabama to just nine completions and 122 passing yards. The Trojans have now held five opponents to fewer than 150 passing yards this season; they entered the week fourth in the category.