Sunday, December 22, 2024
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Sun Belt ConferenceTroy

Troy Wins The Nation Despite Losing 30-24 To Clemson

Nic Lewis

Despite losing to the #2 ranked Clemson Tigers 30-17 in Death Valley, the Troy Trojans served notice to the rest of the Sun Belt that they are ready for a resurgence.

To the surprise of many in attendance, the Trojans defense came out on fire and held the high-powered Clemson offense to -1 yard in the opening drive. The offense got to start in Clemson territory and took advantage, rolling to the 22-yard line. Facing a fourth and one, the coaching staff brought in kicker Ryan Kay. The kicker nailed his attempt from 39 yards out to give the real men of Troy a 3-0 lead.

As many championship quality teams do, Clemson responded with a score of their own. Instead of the touchdown many expected, Troy held them to a 26-yard kick by Greg Huegel. That kick tied the game at 3-3.

After a pair of punts, the game got a bit sloppy. Troy moved inside the Clemson 25-yard line, but fumbled the ball away. Three plays later, Jalen Roundtree picked off Heisman candidate Deshaun Watson, giving the Trojans the ball on the Clemson 26-yard line.

The very next play, Brandon Silvers was picked off by Jalen Williams. That interception would prove to be huge as Troy missed out on two straight scoring chances in the upset bid.

After holding Clemson to yet another punt, Neal Brown and the Troy coaching staff decided to give Sawyer Smith a chance behind center. That turned out to be disastrous with Smith hitting Clemson defender Kendall Joseph on a pass to turn the ball over on the third straight drive.

This time, the Tigers responded with a Hunter Renfrow 35-yard touchdown reception to give Clemson their first lead at 10-3. At that point, many watching the game expected the Sun Belt program to fold and lose by the projected margin.

But, this is a new Troy and they punched Clemson right in the face. On a fourth and one on their own 34-yard line, the Trojans went for the conversion. They succeeded on converting and got even more as Jabir Frye rumbled 66 yards to tie the game at 10-10.

Despite more turnovers in the first half, the Torjans were somehow only trailing 13-10 at the half.

Still trailing by three midway through the third quarter, Cedarius Rookard picked off Watson and returned the ball to the Clemson 38-yard line. The offense was unable to take advantage of the field position, going three and out and punting back to the Tigers.

Unable to move the ball versus a ferocious Tigers defense, the Trojans defense final broke in giving up a 13-play, 81-yard drive to the homestanding Tigers. Christian Wilkins capped off the drive with a one-yard touchdown pass to extend the lead to 20-10.

About that drive… I’ll just leave this here.

https://twitter.com/HeavensHawkeye/status/774694102340337664

Clemson then went on an 11-play touchdown drive to take a 27-10 lead with 10:00 left in the game. Surely that was the final nail in the coffin of Troy.

Brandon Silvers had other plans, leading Troy on an 86-yard drive. Facing a third and goal at the Clemson two-yard line, he found Deondre Douglas for a two yard touchdown pass that cut the Clemson lead to 27-17 with 4:59 left in the game.

Following a Clemson field goal, the Trojans again found paydirt. Douglas caught his second touchdown pass of the day, this time from a yard out, to pull the underdog Trojans within six points at 30-24 with only :44 left in the game.

A frantic onside kick attempt was unsuccessful, giving Clemson a chance to run out the clock with a kneeldown. As the clock hit zero, the Trojans just missed out on an era defining, but got the attention of the Sun Belt and the rest of the FBS nation. This is not the same old Troy Trojans.

The Trojans ended the day with 386 yards of total offense and 21 first downs. Three costly turnovers were just too much to overcome. We can also talk about the fumble/non-fumble as well. That would have definitely changed things dramatically.

This loss drops the Trojans to 1-1 on the year with a tough non-conference matchup versus Southern Miss waiting in the wings. Kickoff is scheduled for 6:00 PM EST.