ORLANDO – When Troy needed its defense the most, one of the best units in the country stepped up as it had done all season and stuffed UTSA four times from the 5-yard line as No. 23 Troy defeated No. 22 UTSA, 18-12, in the Duluth Trading Cure Bowl on Saturday at Experia Stadium.
Troy (12-2) took the six-point lead on a Brooks Buce 27-yard field goal with just over nine minutes to play in the game, but UTSA (11-3) found itself on the Trojan 5-yard line just four plays later following a 53-yard run by Kevorian Barnes.
The Trojans held Barnes to two yards on first down, and the Troy defense forced three straight incompletions from C-USA MVP Frank Harris to turn the Roadrunners over on downs. Troy's offense milked more than four minutes off the clock on the ensuing possession, and the Trojan defense yielded just one first down before again forcing UTSA to turn the ball over on downs and end the game.
Richard Jibunor forced a pair of turnovers, and game MVP KJ Robertson returned an interception 61 yards to pace a Troy defense that forced five UTSA turnovers in the game and shut down one of the nation's most prolific offenses.
The win was Troy's 11th straight dating back to a Hail Mary loss at App State in week three, while the Trojans' 12th win of the season is a new FBS record for the program and ties the school record set by the NCAA Division II National Champion team in 1987 and the 1993 FCS squad.
The 12 points scored by the Roadrunners were their fewest since Oct. 2020, and the loss snapped UTSA's 10-game winning streak. It was Troy's first win over a ranked opponent since defeating No. 22 LSU in 2017.
UTSA scored the game's first 12 points on a safety, a 2-yard touchdown pass and a 42-yard field goal within the first 21 minutes. From that point on, Troy's defense held the Roadrunners scoreless and forced the five turnovers.
Kimani Vidal put the Trojans on the board with a 2-yard run in the final seconds of an opening half that saw Troy muster just 66 yards of total offense, mainly due to poor starting field position; the Trojans started four drives inside their own 8-yard line.
Robertson turned the game on a dime with his fourth career interception. Leading by five and driving late in the third quarter, UTSA faced a 3rd-and-8 from the Troy 9-yard line when Robertson picked off Harris and returned it 61 yards to the UTSA 37-yard line and an unsportsmanlike penalty moved the ball to the 22-yard line.
Five plays later, Gunnar Watson connected with RaJae' Johnson on a 12-yard strike to put the Trojans in front 13-12; Watson followed with a successful 2-point conversion pass to Clayton Ollendieck extending the Troy lead out to three with 2:34 to play in the third quarter.
The game marked the final one for All-American Carlton Martial in a Troy uniform, and he went out in style. One day after receiving a Senior Bowl invite, Martial posted a game-high 14 tackles as he set the Troy career record with 577 tackles; Martial had previously set the NCAA FBS and Sun Belt career records.
Quotable
"One thing I really wanted – win, lose or draw – was for my daughter to see me play one time," said Robertson, whose two-year-old daughter Layla Drew Hooper was in the stands. "If she remembers it or not, I loved it. It was the best feeling in the world. I really don't know how to even explain it. She was born during COVID, so I didn't want her at the games. Things happened and she wasn't able to make it to any games even after that."
"The turnovers were timely, and we were fortunate enough to get 'em. If we don't get them or those stops, we don't win," Troy head coach Jon Sumrall said. "To hold those guys to 12 points, I don't know what to say. We stayed together all year, and I could not be more proud. I just hope they keep us in the Top 25."
Notable
• Troy extended its winning streak to 11 games with the victory, Troy's longest winning streak since 1995 when that squad also won 11 straight games. Troy's winning streak is tied for the third longest in the country.
• Troy has now won 58 games since the start of the 2016 season; the 18th most wins nationally and the sixth most in the Group of Five over that time.
• Troy has now won five straight bowl games dating back to the 2010 New Orleans Bowl. The Trojans are 6-3 all-time in bowl games at the FBS level and 20-12 in the postseason (NAIA, DII, FCS, FBS).
• Troy's 12 wins are the most in program history at the FBS level and tied for the most in school history (1993, FCS; 1987 DII National Champions).
• Troy improves to 3-28 all-time against ranked opponents -- No. 17 Missouri, 2004 (24-14); No. 22 LSU, 2017 (24-21); No. 22 UTSA (18-12).
• Linebacker KJ Robertson was named the game's MVP after recording nine tackles and returning an interception 61 yards setting up Troy's go-ahead touchdown in the third quarter. He is the second defensive player to earn the Cure Bowl MVP in the history of the game.
• Left tackle Austin Stidham started his 62nd career game, which is the most in Troy history passing Cameron Kaye's 61 career starts; Dell Pettus' started his team-leading 47th straight game.
• Troy improved to 5-1 this season when trailing at the half and 5-1 when scoring less than 21 points; Troy was 11-73 when trailing at the half and 5-52 when scoring less than 21 points since 2005 prior to this season.
• Troy outscored UTSA 11-0 in the second half; the Trojans entered the game ranked 12th nationally with a +6.69 scoring margin in the second half.
• RaJae' Johnson caught two passes for 41 yards and the go-ahead touchdown in the third quarter. He caught four of his seven touchdown passes on the season in Troy's final three games.
• Troy's 169 yards of total offense was its fewest in a bowl game in program history; previous low was 292 in the 2004 Silicon Valley Classic vs. Northern Illinois.
• Carlton Martial recorded 14 tackles in the game and finished his career with 577; Martial set the Troy school record in the game and already held the NCAA FBS and Sun Belt career records.
• Troy forced five UTSA turnovers in the game, which is the fourth time in Troy's bowl history it has forced five turnovers in a game.
• Troy entered bowl season second nationally having forced 163 tackles since the start of the 2016 season, the Trojans are now tied with UCF for the most in that period. The Trojans were third averaging 1.63 turnovers forced per game.
• Troy held UTSA scoreless in the second half; the Trojans entered the game holding opponents to 8.77 points per game in the second half (14th fewest in the country) and 3.92 points in the fourth quarter (sixth fewest).
• Troy held UTSA scoreless in the fourth quarter; the Trojans held 8-of-13 opponents scoreless in the fourth quarter this season.
• Troy held UTSA to just 12 points ... the Roadrunners lowest output since Oct. 31, 2020.
• UTSA entered the game ranked 12th nationally in scoring offense averaging 38.7 points per game; its previous low scoring output this season was 20 points at No. 20 Texas.
• Brooks Buce improved to 17-of-19 on field goal attempts this season after booting a 27-yard kick against UTSA. His 89.5 field goal percentage is the highest in a single-season in school history.
• Brooks Buce finished his Troy career 25-of-28 after going 1,751 days in between field goal attempts (senior year of high school and ULM in 2021.
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