Troy Rallies, Tops Georgia State 31-21, Move to 5-1

After going down 14-6 midway through the third quarter, Troy used a seven-minute drive, but had to settle for a field goal to make it 14-9. The following kickoff, Neal Brown gambled with an onside kick and recovered. After that, Troy scored three touchdowns in seven minutes of game time and held off a late Georgia State rally for a 31-21 on a Homecoming Saturday afternoon.

The wins pushes Troy to 5-1 overall and 3-0 in the Sun Belt while the Panthers fall to 1-5 overall an 1-2 in the Sun Belt.

Brandon Silvers went 2o for 35 for 235 yards passing for two touchdowns and an interception on the day. Jordan Chunn got 91 yards on 32 carries for the Trojans.

For the Panthers, Conner Manning was 28 of 52 for 381 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions on the day. Todd Boyd had nine catches for 122 yards and a touchdown. Robert Davis caught five passes for 117 yards.

The first half was a defensive slugfest with GSU unable to do anything offensively and Troy unable to finish drives. After being down 6-0 at half, Manning found Boyd from 25 yards out and Davis from 65 yards out in under three minutes to quickly make it 14-6.

Penalties killed Troy’s chance at a touchdown the next drive and after cutting the G-State lead to 14-9, the onside kick came and was recovered by the Trojans at the GSU 35. After Chunn scored their first touchdown of the day for Troy on a three-yard run to take the 17-14 lead, the Panthers’ offense couldn’t respond and before you knew it, Troy was up 31-14.

Up next for Troy is a trip to Mobile and the Battle for the Belt against rivals South Alabama next Thursday night on ESPNU. Georgia State will head back to Atlanta to face FCS UT-Martin next Saturday in a must-win game.