MOBILE, Ala. — Troy scored 24 points in the second quarter and shut out South Alabama 29-0 at Hancock Whitney Stadium in the Battle for the Belt, the season finale for the Jaguars.
South Alabama finished the season 4-7 overall and 3-5 in the Sun Belt Conference. Troy improved to 5-5 and 3-3 in league play.
A Series of Firsts
It was the first time South Alabama has been held scoreless in a home game, whether at Ladd-Peebles Stadium or in the Jaguars’ first season at Hancock Whitney Stadium, and only the second shutout in program history. The other was a 52-0 loss at Georgia Southern.
The win was Troy’s third straight in the series, the first time either school has won three consecutive meetings.
South Alabama played without linebacker Christian Bell, tight end Brandon Crum and wide receiver Kawaan Baker, and several others, including linebacker Riley Cole and quarterback Desmond Trotter, were playing through injuries. Backup quarterback Tanner McGee, a redshirt freshman who finished the previous week’s win, was unavailable because of a shoulder injury.
Troy Pulls Away in Second Quarter
Troy converted its first five third-down attempts but was stopped on third-and-goal at the 1, settling for a 22-yard field goal and a 3-0 lead with 6:02 left in the first quarter.
After a South Alabama punt to open the second quarter, Troy converted two more third downs on a drive that ended with Gunnar Watson’s 15-yard touchdown pass to Khalil McClain, making it 10-0 with 11:06 left in the half.
On the next possession, Trotter completed an 11-yard pass to Jalen Wayne on third down but was then sacked and fumbled, and Troy recovered at the South Alabama 28. Three plays later, Watson threw a 15-yard touchdown pass to Kaylon Geiger with 9:26 left in the half.
South Alabama drove to the Troy 37 and faced fourth-and-5. Head coach Steve Campbell kept the offense on the field rather than attempt a long field goal, and TJ Harris made a diving interception of Trotter’s pass, giving Troy the ball at its own 32. The Trojans needed eight plays to score, with Watson finding Tray Eafford for a 21-yard touchdown and a 24-0 lead with 3:56 left in the half.
The Jaguars reached the Troy 36 on their next drive, but Trotter was sacked on fourth-and-9 with 31 seconds left. Watson then completed passes of 12, 11 and 6 yards, the last to Kimani Vidal, and Troy lined up for a 44-yard field goal with 10 seconds remaining. Campbell called timeout just before the snap, and Evan Legassey’s kick went wide right, but his next attempt was good for a 27-0 halftime lead with 8 seconds left.
Second Half
South Alabama moved the ball more effectively after halftime but did not score. Devin Rockette blocked a Troy field goal attempt, the Trojans’ only scoring try of the second half. Troy later blocked a Jack Brooks punt that went out the back of the end zone for a safety and the final margin.
Statistical Leaders
Troy outgained South Alabama 414 to 239, including 297 to 182 through the air and 117 to 57 on the ground. The Trojans held edges in first downs (25-17), third-down conversions (10 of 15 to 5 of 15), sacks (5-1), takeaways (2-1) and time of possession (31:47 to 28:13).
- Trotter completed 15 of 28 passes for 144 yards with an interception. Freshman Eli Gainey led the final possession and went 6 of 9 for 38 yards.
- Caullin Lacy led the Jaguars in rushing with 38 yards on four carries; Jared Wilson added 33 on eight carries, and Carlos Davis had 1 yard on four carries.
- Jalen Tolbert caught five passes for 92 yards and became the first South Alabama player to surpass 1,000 receiving yards in a season, finishing with 1,085.
- Wayne caught four passes for 32 yards.
- Cole made 10 tackles in his final game for the Jaguars.
For Troy, Watson completed 34 of 41 passes for 297 yards and three touchdowns. Geiger caught seven passes for 51 yards and a touchdown, former Blount High School standout Reggie Todd caught six for 49, and Vidal caught five for 29 while leading all rushers with 76 yards on 22 carries. Linebacker Carlton Martial, a Mobile native who played at McGill-Toolen, had a game-high 14 tackles.
Cole Receives Senior Bowl Invitation
During the pregame Senior Day ceremony, Cole was surprised with an official invitation to the 2021 Reese’s Senior Bowl, which will be played Jan. 30 at Hancock Whitney Stadium.
Campbell, Tolbert React
“It got away from us in the second quarter,” Campbell said. “They got on a little run and we had a hard time stopping them. We didn’t generate what we needed to offensively at all.”
“I thought we had gotten over a little bit of a hump, but we didn’t play very well at all today,” Campbell said. “We had a chance to finish strong. But I give Troy a ton of respect, they are a good football team.”
“We should be able to pick each other up when one side is playing off, and today neither side was able to pick it up,” Tolbert said. “It was just a poor performance by us today so we have to get that fixed.”
Season in Review
South Alabama started the season 3-2 and went 1-5 the rest of the way. The Jaguars are 9-26 in three seasons under Campbell, who is 0-3 against Troy; the Trojans have outscored South Alabama 104-30 in those games, with the closest result a 38-17 Troy win in 2018.
Campbell has one season remaining on his four-year contract, which carries a $350,000 buyout. He and athletics director Joel Erdmann are expected to meet in the coming days, as Erdmann does with each coach at the end of a season.
