Troy beats UMass 52-31, wins sixth straight

The Troy Trojans continue their run at history topping UMass by a score of 52-31 on Saturday.

The Trojans (7-1, 4-0 Sun Belt) are off to their best FBS start in history and made yet another push to be included in the week 9 college football rankings.

The Minutemen (2-8) jumped out to an early 14-point lead after a quick scoring drive and a Troy interception.

After Quarterback Brandon Silver’s intercepted pass, Troy drove 69 yards on the ensuing drive. Silvers found receiver Emanuel Thompson for the five yard score, to come within seven points, 14-7.

The Trojans tacked on 2 more scores before the end of the first half, with UMass adding a 28 yard field goal. The two teams headed to the locker room with the Trojans holding onto a  28-17 lead.

On their first drive of the second half, UMass drove 70 yards in seven plays to reach the end zone. Redshirt sophomore quarterback Andrew Ford found senior Jalen Williams for the 31-yard score through the air to cut the Trojan lead to four, 28-24.

With time winding down in the third quarter, Silvers found four different receivers during a 64-yard drive to the UMass 3. After a three and out, senior kicker Ryan Kay came out and sent the 21-yard kick through the uprights, extending the lead 31-24.

After a muffed kickoff by the Minutemen, the Trojan offense came back out, starting inside the red zone. Troy then dialed up a trick play, a throwback play from junior receiver John Johnson, to take a 38-24 lead.

Troy scored twice more in the final quarter of play, extending the lead to 52-31. UMass punched in one more score late in the fourth, becoming only the third team this season to score at least 30 points on the Trojans. Troy’s 52-31 lead held as time expired.

Silvers led the Trojans, completing 26 of his 36 attempts through the air for three touchdowns and another on the ground. For the Minutemen, Andrew Ford went 23-44 for 316 yards and three scores as well.

The Trojans return to the Vet next Saturday for a much anticipated conference game against Appalachian State. The Mountaineers (7-2, 5-0 Sun Belt) come to town with both teams having a perfect conference record, and the top spot in the Sun Belt on the line. Kickoff time is TBA.