Troy falls to Missouri
Troy bent No. 20 Missouri, but the Tigers did not break as they held off the upset-minded Trojans Saturday night, 27-17, at Memorial Stadium.
Troy outgained Missouri 323 yards to 230; the first time Missouri has been outgained all season. The Trojans also limited Tiger quarterback Austin Simmons to only 91 passing yards, his lowest amount this season. Head coach Gerad Parker said in a press conference Monday that Troy stepped up to Missouri and showed its true self.
“I really would ask everyone, if you could, to pull [the game] up and see who was more physical that night,” Parker said. “I thought Troy was the more physical football team for four quarters, and I thought Missouri fought back and was physical too.
“I’m not saying that they didn’t. I just think that for four quarters, we were at that party, and when you do that and play that connected, it gives you a chance to play high-level football, and we did most of the night.”
Missouri’s Jamal Roberts led rushing for both teams with 22 carries for 128 yards and a touchdown. Troy’s Gavin Griffin and Jaheim Merriweather would rush for 56 and 44 yards, respectively.
Troy would strike immediately when quarterback Goose Crowder hit a 76-yard pass to wide receiver TK Keyes for a touchdown on the second play of the game. After a Missouri punt, Troy would score a field goal near the end of the first quarter.
Missouri close the lead to 10-3 with its own field goal early in the second quarter. Following that, Missouri’s DaMarion Fowlkes turn the game around for the Tigers when he returned a punt for a touchdown.
Missouri took advantage of multiple Troy mistakes, as the Tigers had three further drives that started inside Trojan territory, all of which led to touchdowns.
Troy had two turnovers in the second quarter, both of which would lead to Missouri scores. With Troy losing the turnover battle, Parker said the team can’t win if they keep giving opposing teams opportunities.
“We gave them the football on the 34-yard line, the 18-yard line, the 13-yard line and gave up a punt return for a touchdown, losing the turnover margin by two and lost by ten points,” Parker said. “You can’t win any game, doesn’t matter if it’s an SEC opponent, a Pac-12 opponent or a Sun Belt opponent, you can’t win games losing the turnover margin by two and giving teams that good of field position.”
The second half was a punt fest, with only a field goal by Missouri and a missed field goal by Troy breaking up the punt game.
The Trojans now look to return to the win column as they head to Utah State for the next matchup Sept. 26 at 6:30 p.m.
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