2001: The ULM Game
After everything that happened against Maryland and playing the worst game of the season, the last place the Trojans wanted to go was Monroe, Louisiana. Nothing against the city; I’m sure it’s a lovely place, but it proved to be bad juju for Troy over the years.
When Troy and Louisiana-Monroe first played each other in 1970, it was a battle between the Red Wave and the Indians. Heck, even the school’s names weren’t the same: Troy State University was playing Northeast Louisiana University.
From 1970-1995, Troy had played in Monroe three times. Their record was 1-1-1, perfectly even in wins, losses, and ties. In the years since 2001, Troy has won in Monroe exactly 1 time in 6 trips.
All of the history (and future) of playing ULM in Monroe aside, this 2001 Trojan team was on a mission to close out the season with as much momentum as they could muster.
That was exactly what the Trojans did. They found every conceivable way to put the eventual Warhawks out of commission early, much to the chagrin of the assembled 8,100 fans.
When looking at the stats, the 44-12 final score seemed to be a bit low. The scoring started light with a 22-yard Drew Boteler field goal to give the Trojans an early lead. They continued the scoring a couple of minutes later when Heyward Skipper caught a 31-yard pass from Jason Samples in a bit of trickery.
Brock Nutter pitched the ball to Demontray Carter, who ran to the left and handed the ball to Samples in a double reverse. He hit the streaking Skipper for the completely wide-open score. A botched extra point left the score at 9-0.
ULM would answer with a 25-yard pass and a missed extra point of their own.
On the next drive, ULM forced a fumble inside their own 5-yard line to stop the Trojan Spread from scoring once again. Unfortunately for the Indians, their luck stopped there.
On the very next play, ULM running back Bryant Jacobs fumbled a pitch to the right side; David Philyaw was there to get the scoop and score. Brock Nutter threw his first touchdown of the day around three minutes later, when Demontray Carter made a grab and went 18 yards for the score.
The Trojans led 23-6 after the first quarter.
The only scoring of the second quarter came in the closing seconds of the period. Troy’s offense stalled at the ULM 47 and Jeremy Schatz was called on to punt the ball away.
The Indian return man Mikkal Henry took the punt and returned it 53 yards to the endzone. Schatz had a chance to stop the score, but missed a tackle at the 5-yard line. The score was 23-12 at the end of the first half, but it was all Trojans from there.
In the third quarter, Demontray Carter added a second touchdown to the stat sheet. This time, it was on the ground for 10 yards.
That brought the score to 30-12.
Brock Nutter and Heyward Skipper connected on their second touchdown of the day, but for the first time a QB threw a score to a WR. The 35-yard toss kept the foot on the gas for the Trojans in the waning moments of the third quarter.
Heading into the fourth, Troy had a commanding 37-12 lead. The final nail in the Indians’ coffin came with a 15-yard Chris Day rushing touchdown. Drew Boteler nailed the final extra point, sealing the 44-12 win for the Trojans.
When looking at the full season scores, it is clear this was Troy’s most complete and dominant performance of the whole season. The stats back up that assumption as well.
Troy had 31 first downs compared to ULM’s 11. Troy outrushed (240-90), outpassed (307-142), and totally outgained the Indians on the day (525 yards to 216 yards).
Both teams lost a fumble, but Troy’s five interceptions were the real difference maker. They allowed the Trojans to keep the offensive pressure on the ULM defense.
Troy also had a nearly 20-minute advantage in time of possession (39:42-20:18) due to these interceptions flipping possession in their favor. Troy was only 6-of-14 on third down possessions, but were a perfect 3-for-3 on 4th down conversions. They were also 5-of-6 in red zone opportunities.
The two-headed running back monster of Demontray Carter and DeWhitt Betterson didn’t crack the 100-yard mark individually, but they did hit 150 together. Carter had 81 yards on 13 carries and a touchdown, while Betterson added another 77 yards.
Brock Nutter drove the offense with his arm. He amassed 268 yards on 21 completions with 2 touchdowns. Heyward Skipper got most of Nutter’s throws catching 7 passes for 2 touchdowns and 169 yards. In addition to his touchdown throw, Jason Samples caught 6 passes for 69 yards.
Overall, the offense worked well against ULM, only punting 5 times.
Keeping the ball on offense gave the defense a much easier job. Naazir Yamini led all Trojans with 9 tackles. Damien Coleman and Derrick Ansley both had six tackles and Ansley forced a fumble.
Vernon Marable had 2 tackles for loss and Shelton Felton, Osi Umeniyora, and Michael Jackson (not that one) added a total of three more.
Interception Machine Rayshun Reed snagged two picks from the Indians. Deiric Jackson, Freeman White, and Derrick Ansley each grabbed one of their own. Osi picked up the only sack on the afternoon
As the Trojans loaded up on the bus from the big win in Monroe, they had to look ahead to one of the toughest tests on the schedule: a battle with bitter rival Jacksonville State.