Troy Drops Homecoming to Louisiana Tech - Troy University Athletics

Saturday, November 7

Troy, Ala.

3 p.m.

Troy University

4-5 , 2-3

Louisiana Tech

7-2 , 5-0

Team	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Final F
Louisiana Tech	3	17	14	7	41
Troy	7	3	7	0	17

Box Score (PDF)Game Notes (PDF)

11/7/2026 7:39:00 PM | Football

TROY, Ala. – Troy committed five turnovers, leading to 17 Louisiana Tech points as the Trojans fell to the Bulldogs, 41-17, Saturday at The Vet in Sun Belt Conference action.

The Troy (4-5, 2-3 SBC) offense opened with a 15-play, 83-yard drive capped by a 1-yard touchdown run from Gavin Griffin, giving Troy a 7-3 lead. Louisiana Tech (7-2, 5-0 SBC) answered with a 28-yard touchdown pass from Blake Baker to Marcus Calwise Jr.

The Trojans made two key defensive stands after fumbles gave the Bulldogs possession inside the Troy 20-yard line. Marcus Goree Jr. broke up two passes in the red zone on the first possession, limiting the Bulldogs to three points. Donnie Smith forced his fourth career fumble on the second, and Bryce Steele recovered, keeping the deficit at six. Louisiana Tech added another touchdown before halftime to take a 20-7 lead.

Troy cut into the deficit on the opening drive of the second half with its second defensive touchdown in as many weeks. Keno Jones forced a strip-sack fumble on third down, and Delvin Whitaker recovered the loose ball in the end zone to make it 20-17.

However, Louisiana Tech answered with a 74-yard touchdown drive before an interception by Janard Lockhardt put the Bulldogs at the Troy 7-yard line. Louisiana Tech scored on the next play to extend its lead to 34-17.

La Tech tacked on a late touchdown on a 66-yard fumble return for a touchdown for the only scoring in the fourth quarter. Baker finished 16-of-19 for 177 yards and a touchdown, while Calwise led all players with 137 receiving yards and a score.

Tucker Kilcrease completed 18-of-33 passes for 215 yards and Jordan Lovett finished with 31 yards on 10 carries to lead the Troy offense. Mojo Dortch pulled in a career-high five receptions while Howard Kinchen led the Trojans with 63 receiving yards.

Up Next
Troy travels to Mobile, Ala., for the "Battle for the Belt" against South Alabama. Kickoff between the Trojans and Jaguars is at 6 p.m.

Quotable – Troy Head Coach Gerad Parker
It's tough for our Homecoming crowd and all of Troy Nation to have to go through another tough loss at home. It doesn't hurt anybody more than myself and our football team, who's crushed.

The preparation for the week was very good. The pace of it was very good. We just didn't play well during the game. The fact of the matter is, you can't lose the turnover margin. You're not going to win against anybody, especially not our Western Division leader right now. We got too far behind, then tried to come out of it at halftime, gave up a huge drive right after, and then just fell apart.

There's got to be resolve. We play our biggest rival next week

Notable
• Troy won the coin toss (7-2) and elected to defer to the second half. The Trojans are now 27-36 in the last five seasons on the coin toss.
• Gavin Griffin's 2-yard touchdown run to put Troy on the board in the first quarter was his fourth rushing touchdown of the season, all coming in the last five games.
• Troy has scored on its opening drive in 5-of-9 games this season and four straight games at home.
• Tucker Kilcrease completed 18-of-33 passes for 215 yards. It was a season-high in passing and his fifth career 200-yard game.
• Troy turned the ball over five times in the game, its most turnovers since also having five in a 35-3 loss to Arkansas State on Nov. 17, 2016. Troy's four fumbles lost in the game were its most its most since Sept. 11, 2010, in a 41-38 loss at Oklahoma State.
• Donnie Smith recorded his eighth sack of the season as he forced a fumble in the red zone in the second quarter; he now has a sack in 8-of-9 games this season.
• Donnie Smith has recorded a sack in 17 games dating back to last season, the most in the country. He also has at least a 0.5 tackle for loss in 20 games the last two seasons, also the most in the country.
• Donnie Smith moved into a tie for 15th place all-time with 19 career sacks.
• Donnie Smith finished the game with a career-high nine tackles, while Justin Powe added 13 tackles, his second double-digit tackle game of the season.
• Keno Jones forced a fumble on Louisiana Tech's first drive of the second half. Delvin Whitaker recovered the fumble and scored. It marked the first time Troy has recovered a fumble for a touchdown since Luis Medina in the 2025 IS4S Salute to Veterans Bowl.
• The forced fumble was the third of the season for Keno Jones and the fourth in his career. The fumble recovery marked the second of Delvin Whitaker's career.
• Delvin Whitaker's returned fumble was Troy's second defensive touchdown of the year and 21st since 2020. Troy entered the week fourth in the country in defensive touchdowns since 2020.
• Troy has now forced a turnover in 111 of its last 139 games, with multiple turnovers in 68 of those games.
• Delvin Whitaker recorded his third sack of the season; all have come in the last five games.
• Troy finished with three sacks in the game, the 28th time since 2022.
• Hayden Wolfe booted a 41-yard field goal in the final minutes of the second quarter; the longest of his career.