Troy scored 40 unanswered points in a 47-14 victory at Middle Tennessee Saturday in its 2020 opener.
Trojans quarterback Gunnar Watson threw for 248 yards and two touchdowns, both to Khalil McClain. Troy (1-0) also got short rushing scores from DK Billingsley (2 yards), Texas A&M transfer Charles Strong (1 yard) and true freshman Kimani Vidal (1 yard), as well as an 8-yard pass from back-up quarterback Jacob Free to Tyler Hussey.
“It’s extremely exciting," Troy coach Chip Lindsey said. "At one point we weren’t sure if we would play. I told our guys that before we played today, ‘Let’s appreciate this opportunity to play, we weren’t sure we were going to get to. Let’s go out and play every snap like it could be our last, because you never know.’ I think our guys have taken that to heart and I’m really proud of their effort today.”
After Troy opened the scoring with Watson’s 8-yard pass to McClain just 3:47 into the first quarter, Middle Tennessee (0-2) tied the game on Ashar O’Hara’s 2-yard run. That would be all the scoring until the late stages of the game for the Blue Raiders, who have now been outscored 89-14 this season after getting blanked 42-0 by Army two weeks ago.
B.J. Smith led the Trojans with 81 yards rushing on 10 carries in his return from a knee injury that cost him all but two games last season. McClain caught six passes for 75 yards and the two touchdowns, the second a 5-yarder from Watson that made it 26-7 at halftime.
Troy’s defense held Middle Tennessee to just 241 total yards (144 in the first three quarters) and intercepted O’Hara and fellow quarterback Chase Cunningham a combined three times. Terence Dunlap had two of the pickoffs, while Will Choloh sacked Cunningham for a safety in the second quarter. The third interception — by safety Craig Slocum — was returned 65 yards for an apparent touchdown, but was called back by an illegal block penalty.
Middle Tennessee got back on the scoreboard with 1:54 remaining, when third-string quarterback Mike Diliello hit Jaylin Lane for a 28-yard touchdown. Troy then ran out the clock for the victory.
The game was the first of two this season between Troy and Middle Tennessee, both of whom had to scramble to fill non-conference dates after several schools and conferences canceled games amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The teams will also meet Nov. 21 in Troy in the second half of the “Battle for the Palladium” rivalry.
Troy travels to BYU next Saturday.
"middle" - Google News
September 20, 2020 at 06:02AM
https://ift.tt/33LCbTs
Troy rolls past Middle Tennessee 47-14 in 2020 opener - AL.com
"middle" - Google News
https://ift.tt/2MY042F
Shoes Man Tutorial
Pos News Update
Meme Update
Korean Entertainment News
Japan News Update
No comments:
Post a Comment