1987: The Nicholls State Game

Starting the season 0-1 is never the way that you want a year to begin, especially one with as much potential and promise as 1987. The Trojans’ #3 ranking was now gone and dreams of a national title weren’t far behind, it would seem.

Ahead of the Trojans sat their next opponents, the Nicholls State Colonels of Thibodaux, Louisiana.

Coach Rhoades recognized the Trojans needed a wakeup call.

“After the SEMO game, the intensity at practice was raised considerably,” Quarterback Mike Turk recalled. “That was all from coach Rhoades and the other coaches – they set the tone for us, and we all followed suit.  Coach Rhoades stressed to us that we had to earn everything that we got, that what we accomplished previously was not going to have any impact on what transpired during the rest of the season.”

The Nicholls State Colonels were an opponent the Trojans knew all too well. The 26-25 loss to NSU was the lone blemish In the Trojans’ 1986 campaign, until the loss to South Dakota in the playoffs.

It was a hard loss too, because that Troy squad knew it was on the verge of something special. For this reason, the Nicholls State game was one of catharsis for many Trojans on the team, not the least of which was Ted Clem.

Ted Clem. 

The man behind The Kick.

Troy’s last-second field goal to beat North Dakota State for the 1984 national title.

There aren’t many moments in Troy lore as synonymous as Ted Clem and The Kick.

If you were to say Clem was the greatest kicker in Troy history, not many would argue with you (though Lawrence Tynes and Ryan Kay have quite a case).

But in 1986 and 1987, Clem was going through a rough period.

During the Nicholls game in 1986, Clem had three separate chances to connect on kicks, any of which would’ve eventually put the Trojans on top.

He missed on all three.

“They were all kicks I usually make and I really don’t have an explanation as to why I missed them,” Clem said. “I guess you just have to expect to have a few bad breaks and that game was one of them.”

Clem ended 1986 alright through, earning All-Gulf South honors, but two missed kicks in the SEMO game seemed to bring back the early season issues.

“I really think I’ve improved as a kicker from last year, but my game performance wouldn’t show it,” Clem said of himself, heading into the Nicholls game. “But it’s just a matter of time that will tell throughout the season.”

Come game time, the Trojans felt they were ready to play. Whether they were ready for the rain is another matter.

“The Nichols State game stood out to me,” Tight end Brent Roe said. “That was the only time I was a captain for the game.  It was raining so hard that we had the coin toss inside and not on the field.”

Nicholls took the opening kickoff and drove 46 yards until the drive stalled. The Colonels kicked a 34-yard field goal to take the first lead of the day.

On the next drive Turk and the Trojans rambled 61 yards, before Tony Jackson scored on a 15-yard scamper and gave Troy State a 7-3 lead. The whole drive took nine plays, ending with 5:30 left in the first. 

Nothing out of the ordinary happened until Tommy Wasden fumbled in the second quarter and the Colonels’ Virgil Roberston recovered it at the TSU 29. The NSU drive stalled at the TSU 7; they added another field goal. 

The Trojan offense kept going like a machine. This time the Trojans took 10 plays to go 80 yards, rumbling for another score. Mike Turk hit Titus Dixon for a 33-yard pass to get in the red zone. Turk then ran it in from the NSU 4, increasing the Trojans’ lead to 14-6. 

Nicholls missed a field goal with 5:36 left in the half. This would become an important three points later on.

Troy took over and looked to add to their lead. The Trojans drove to the Nicholls 14, but Tommy Dugosh fumbled after a 23-yard run. The Colonels recovered and ran out the remaining two minutes in the half.

I’m not sure how, but according to the write-ups of the game, Nicholls got both the opening and second half kickoffs. The Colonels drove 75 yards to start the half.

NSU faced a 4th and 9, when quarterback Bobby McDonald threw a 37-yard bomb to score. He then hit receiver Pat Constantine for the two-point conversion, tying the score at 14 with 11:05 to go in the third.

Troy responded with a long drive of its own. The Trojans started at their own 32, racing down to the Colonels 3. Ted Clem came out to kick a 20-yard field goal, essentially a point after.

He nailed it.

Clem’s first field goal against NSU in at least two years gave Troy a 17-14 lead with 5:19 left in the third.

Weirdly enough, Nicholls’ next possession mirrored the Trojans’ almost exactly. The Colonels also started at their own 32 and drove to the Troy 4. They also connected on their field goal and tied it for the second time in the third quarter, 17-17.

During the fourth quarter, Troy’s drive stalled at the Colonels 49, so the punt team came out. Nicholls sent out its unit, but when the ball was snapped, it had 12 men on the field, giving the Trojans a new lease on life.

Troy continued driving until Mike Turk threw his only interception of the day, turning the ball over at the Nicholls 7 with 6:49 left in the game. The Colonels’ next drive stalled as well, so five minutes later, Troy was right back in scoring position.

It was redemption time for Ted Clem.

Clem lined up for a 40-yard field goal attempt, a go-ahead score for the Trojans with 1:39 left in the game. The kick went up.

Then it went wide.

Clem was now 1-for-4 against Nicholls State in two games.

Nicholls took over at their own 24 and drove to the Troy 20 with only 7 seconds left in the game. 

With the Trojans’ chances at another successful regular season hanging in the balance, Colonels’ kicker Jim Windham, who had made three kicks that day, lined up to crush Troy’s hopes.

His kick went wide right. The miss secured the tie and left Troy with an 0-1-1 record to start the 1987 campaign.

Mike Turk finished the game with 120 yards passing, going 6-of-12 on the day. The wishbone offense generated 228 yards for the Trojans. The real difference maker in the game was Troy State’s missed chances. 

Two Trojan fumbles.

An interception.

Another Ted Clem missed field goal.

All the Trojans could do after the game was look forward to the next one: a welcome trip home and a face-off against the West Texas State Buffaloes.