Troy
didn’t come to Mobile to pretend, they came to win and win big.
The
Troy defense forced four turnovers and held South Alabama to just 252 yards of
offense as the Trojans ran past the Jaguars 31-10 Saturday afternoon at
Ladd-Peebles Stadium.
Troy
(3-2, 2-1 Sun Belt) held South Alabama (1-4, 0-1) to just 51 yards of total
offense in the second half as the Trojans moved to 3-0 on the road. Troy is one
of just five teams in the country sitting at 3-0 away from home this season.
Combined
with the seven points Troy allowed at North Texas last week, it is the fewest
points allowed in back-to-back games by the Trojans since they held Western
Kentucky and Arkansas State to a combined 12 points in 2008. South Alabama's
quarterbacks were a combined 8-for-20 for just 59 yards through the air.
Troy
picked up 214 yards on the ground on a season-high 51 attempts. Shawn Southward
rushed 17 times for 86 yards to lead the Trojans. Backup quarterback Deon
Anthony had seven carries for 37 yards, while D.J. Taylor rushed nine times for
35 yards and Troy's final touchdown of the game. Justin Albert added 30 yards
and a touchdown on 10 carries.
Corey Robinson completed 15-of-24 passes for 223 yards
but threw three interceptions, while Anthony was 3-of-3 for 58 yards and his
first career passing touchdown. Chandler Worthy had five catches for 48 yards
and his first touchdown of the season to go along with 30 rushing yards. Eric
Thomas and Chip Reeves both narrowly missed touchdowns as they had catches down
to the 1-yard line and 2-yard line, respectively.
Turnovers
and penalties plagued the middle of the second quarter as the teams traded
interceptions. There were a combined six turnovers and 18 penalties for 163
yards in the opening 30 minutes of action. South Alabama finished the game with
15 penalties for 142 yards.
The
Trojans will enjoy a bye week next weekend before hosting Western Kentucky in a
nationally televised game on ESPNU on Thursday, Oct. 11, in Veterans Memorial
Stadium.
