Troy Falls at Mississippi State in Final Non-Conference Game of Season

by WAKA Action 8 News

 STARKVILLE, Mississippi – Troy outscored Mississippi State 17-7 in the second half, but the Trojans couldn’t overcome a disastrous opening quarter as the Bulldogs came away with a 45-17 victory Saturday afternoon at Davis Wade Stadium.

 

 

Mississippi State (4-2) scored touchdowns on offense, defense and special teams to quickly jump out to a 21-0 lead after the first 12 minutes of the game. The lead swelled to 38-0 at the half before a different Troy (1-4) team emerged from the locker room after the break.

 

In addition to outscoring the Bulldogs by 10, Troy outgained Mississippi State 223-86 in the second half. The Trojans held the Bulldogs to 125 rushing yards in the game, with 23 coming on the final play of game.

 

The Bulldogs got on the board just 36 seconds into the game as Fred Ross took a screen pass 59 yards for a touchdown. On Troy’s ensuing possession, Brandon Silvers was sacked and fumbled the ball into the end zone where Nelson Adams recovered the loose ball for a score. Ross struck again at the end of the quarter, this time with a 77-yard punt return for a touchdown.

 

A Westin Graves 42-yard field goal, followed by a 28-yard touchdown reception by De’Runnya Wilson and a 1-yard touchdown run by Nick Fitzgerald in the second quarter set the 38-0 halftime margin.

 

After Mississippi State intercepted a pass on Troy’s initial drive of the second half, the Trojan defense came up with a huge stop. The Bulldogs took over on the Troy 30-yard line and faced a third-and-one from the 21-yard line. Tyler Roberts and Justin Lucas stuffed Fitzgerald on third down and Roberts dropped Malik Dear for a 2-yard loss on fourth down.

 

Third-string quarterback Dontreal Pruitt led the Trojans down the field on the ensuing possession with a methodical 15-play, 77-yard drive that took over nine minutes off the clock. Bryan Holmes kept the drive alive with an acrobatic 22-yard reception on fourth-and-nine at the Mississippi State 37-yard line. Pruitt capped the drive with a 5-yard touchdown run after Brandon Burks converted another fourth down the play before.

 

Following the fourth three-and-out by the Trojan defense, which included a forced fumble by Cedarius Rookard, Burks took the second play of the next drive 74 yards for a touchdown; it was the longest run by a Troy player since 2007.

 

Neal Brown dialed up an on-sides kick following Burks’ touchdown run and Robert Johnson recovered for the Trojans. The Trojans marched down to the Bulldog 29-yard line, but a sack and a miscue on a field goal attempt left Troy with no points on the drive.

 

Pruitt finished the game 12-of-17 for 90 yards through the air, while rushing for 56 yards on 18 carries. Tidwell was 3-for-12 for 12 yards and an interception, while Brandon Silvers was 5-of-7 for 40 yards before leaving the game with an injury in the first quarter.

 

Burks finished with 86 yards on 15 carries, while Deondre Douglas led the Trojans with six catches for 35 yards. Douglas also had a 44-yard kickoff return for Troy, which was the longest of the season by a Trojan.

 

Fitzgerald, who played the majority of the game in place of Dak Prescott, was 6-for-7 for 141 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Dontavian Lee led the Bulldogs on the ground with 44 yards on five carries, while Wilson finished with three catches for 82 yards.

 

Mississippi State’s lone points of the second half came on a 49-yard touchdown pass from Fitzgerald to Donald Gray. Troy answered the score with a 21-yard Jed Solomon field goal with 27 seconds to play in the game.

 

The Trojans return to Sun Belt Conference play next Saturday when they host Idaho on Homecoming at 2:30 p.m. in Veterans Memorial Stadium.