TROY, Ala. — South Alabama’s defense held Troy scoreless for more than three quarters, and the Jaguars beat Troy 19-8 on Wednesday night at Veterans Memorial Stadium to reclaim the rivalry belt awarded to the winner of the series.
South Alabama entered the midweek Sun Belt Conference game with a 1-4 record and as a 16.5-point underdog. The win improved the Jaguars to 2-4.
Defense Sets the Tone
The Jaguar defense finished with six pass breakups, seven tackles for loss, two sacks, an interception and three fumble recoveries, and it stopped Troy on downs three times. Defensive coordinator Kane Wommack’s unit allowed the Trojans 299 total yards, only 30 of them rushing.
“The challenge of this defense has been, can we finish a game?” Wommack said. “I think when you play the way that we did in the second half, to take the momentum from the get-go, that was the difference.”
A large group of South Alabama fans made the trip to Troy for the game.
Special Teams Help Build 9-0 Halftime Lead
Punter Corliss Waitman set up the first score with a 57-yard punt. On the return, Carlos Robinson forced a fumble by Marcus Jones, and Collier Smith recovered at the Troy 46. Starting quarterback Cole Garvin hit Tra Minter on a screen pass for 37 yards, and Xavier Johnson finished the drive with a 1-yard leap for a 7-0 lead late in the first quarter.
Waitman later boomed a 54-yard punt to the Troy 4, and a block-in-the-back penalty moved the ball back to the 2. On second-and-11, the Jaguars tackled Troy running back Jordan Chunn in the end zone for a safety and a 9-0 lead that held through halftime.
Troy kicker Evan Legassey missed a 27-yard field goal attempt in the first half.
Davis Sparks Second-Half Offense
South Alabama went 0-for-7 on third down in the first half. Late in the half, head coach Joey Jones replaced Garvin with Dallas Davis.
“Cole struggled a little bit and I felt like I needed to get Dallas in the game,” Jones said. “He directed us down the field for a score. He played a good half.”
On the opening possession of the second half, Davis converted all three third downs the Jaguars faced, twice with completions to Sam Harris and finally with a touchdown pass over the middle to Malik Stanley. The 11-play, 64-yard drive put South Alabama ahead 16-0. The Jaguars converted more than half of their third-down attempts after halftime.
Gavin Patterson added a career-long 47-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter for a 19-0 lead.
After a Troy three-and-out, South Alabama took over at its own 43, and Davis connected with Minter on a 49-yard screen pass. Facing fourth-and-goal at the 4, the Jaguars tried a trick play, but Troy sacked Davis and he was flagged for intentional grounding on a 15-yard loss.
Troy Scores Late, Jaguars Hold On
Troy answered with its best drive of the night, going 81 yards in nine plays for a touchdown and adding a two-point conversion to make it 19-8.
The Trojans’ onside kick bounced off a South Alabama player, and David Gardner recovered for the Jaguars at the Troy 48. Three plays later, Denzel Foster was stopped for a two-yard loss on fourth-and-1, giving Troy the ball with 4:30 remaining.
The Jaguar secondary, which has been hit by injuries, forced three straight incompletions from the South Alabama 13. Needing two scores, Troy head coach Neal Brown sent Legassey out for a 30-yard attempt, which he missed wide left. South Alabama then ran out the clock.
Game Statistics
South Alabama finished with 224 total yards, 176 passing and 48 rushing.
Garvin completed 4 of 10 passes for 56 yards with an interception. Davis was 7 of 10 for 120 yards and a touchdown.
Stanley led the Jaguars with four catches for 53 yards and the touchdown. Minter caught three passes for 83 yards, setting up both touchdowns, and Harris had two catches for 25 yards, both on third-down conversions. Foster and Jahmmir Taylor each made one reception.
Foster led the ground game with 30 yards on nine carries. Minter ran 12 times for 21 yards, and Deonta Moore had 10 yards on six attempts. Johnson, who left in the first half with a sprained ankle, gained 4 yards on seven carries and scored South Alabama’s rushing touchdown.
For Troy, Brandon Silvers completed 24 of 46 passes for 263 yards with an interception, and Kaleb Barker completed his only attempt for 6 yards. Emanuel Thompson caught six passes for 67 yards. Chunn, who left the game early with an injury, had 28 yards on 10 carries, and Josh Anderson added 10 yards on three carries.
Reaction
“I know we’ve got a good football team,” Jones said. “I never doubted them, I love them. We know we have a bunch of conference games coming up and we are going to get after our preparation for the game next week with ULM, but right now we are going to enjoy this one.”
Jones said the Sun Belt Conference championship remains the team’s goal. “It’s a huge, huge win for our program. That’s three out of the last four we’ve beaten these guys, and two out of three with the Belt,” he said. “I’m so proud of the way our guys played. They fought their guts out tonight.”
“They outcoached us,” Brown said. “Our guys were not ready to play and that’s on me; that’s disappointing. We didn’t take advantage of a great opportunity. It’s an extremely disappointing evening.”
“This win is huge for us,” Davis said. “We came in 1-4 … and Troy is a good team; they beat LSU. We practiced hard all week and it’s a big rivalry game for us, so we knew we had to bring it, and we did both offensively and defensively.”
Defensive back Khalil McDonald started in place of Malcolm Buggs, who was unable to play. “I just wanted to make sure that I did my job and make sure there wasn’t a drop from his type of performance to mine,” McDonald said.
Senior Jeremy Reaves said the win carried meaning beyond this season. “This win wasn’t only for us, but also for recruiting and the years to come for our program,” Reaves said. “I get to say that I was able to get another win at Troy; I’m 2-0 here. We’ve been through so much adversity and we dedicated this season to turning the program around.”
Up Next
South Alabama has a long week before returning home to host Louisiana-Monroe in its homecoming game Saturday, Oct. 21. Kickoff at Ladd-Peebles Stadium is set for 4 p.m.
