Troy loses in overtime

By Drew Champlin

Published: December 22, 2008

NEW ORLEANS — The fourth quarter in Louisiana this year hasn’t been good for Troy. It was golden for Southern Miss Sunday.

The Golden Eagles erased a 10-point deficit and beat the Trojans 30-27 in overtime to claim the New Orleans Bowl title. Britt Barefoot hit a 39-yarder off the left upright and in while Sam Glusman’s field goal try was blocked. It snapped the Sun Belt’s two-game win streak in the game over Conference USA.

“It looked like penetration to me, but I don’t have a photogenic memory,” Troy head coach Larry Blakeney said. “Somebody got penetration on the right side.”

Troy, which won the Sun Belt title, finished the year at 8-5 while USM finished at 7-6 for the Golden Eagles’ 15th straight winning season. It was Troy’s third straight year to finish with eight wins.

The Trojans finished 0-3 in the state of Louisiana, falling to USM, at LSU and at UL-Monroe. The Trojans lost a 31-3 lead at LSU and lost a fourth-quarter lead at ULM.

“We didn’t make plays again,” quarterback Levi Brown said. “Same thing that happened at LSU. We played well for three quarters and built a lead. I’m speechless as to what happened. I’ve got no explanation for why this happened for the second time.”

Troy went up 27-17 late in the third quarter when Jerrel Jernigan scored on a 6-yard run, but after Troy failed to convert a fourth down, USM converted one when New Orleans Bowl MVP Austin Davis hit Jonathan Massey for a 35-yard score on a playaction fake with 7:20 left.

USM tied it with 2:50 left on a 46-yard field goal from Britt Barefoot.

In overtime, Troy got a 10-yard reception from Jernigan to the 15-yard line and a 4-yard run from Jernigan to the 11, but Brown’s passes to Kennard Burton and DuJuan Harris were incomplete.

Michael McGee then blocked the field goal to end the game.

“It’s happened many times in practice,” USM head coach Larry Fedora said.

USM’s redshirt freshman quarterback threw for 276 yards, hitting 20-of-33 passes, with two touchdowns. Troy’s Brown hit 25-of-39 passes for 245 yards, passing the 2,000 mark on the season.

The Trojans were held to just 69 yards on the ground on 34 carries and USM sacked Brown four times.

“I said all along that running the football would be big against these guys because they’re a really physical defense,” Troy coach Larry Blakeney said. “We didn’t get as much of that as we needed. Levi was a little bit off, sick, cold, flu, he didn’t have his best night. We knew it was going to be a close game and go down to the wire.”

Brown threw a 4-yard touchdown pass to Burton early in the game and finished the year with 15 touchdown passes to just three interceptions.

“It (stinks) to end the season like that,” Brown said. “I’m not so much as upset that we lost the game but I’m hurting for the seniors. Some of those guys are just playing their hearts out every week. It just (stinks) to see how much work they put into it every week.

“I’ve got another year. Some of those guys don’t. That’s all I’m thinking about right now and I’m hurting for them.”
Troy got the scoring started when Jorrick Calvin forced a fumble and scored from 17 yards out.

“I just read the play good,” Calvin said. “The tight end nubbed and I saw the option come my way. He slow-played it, pitched it and I jumped it.”

Sam Glusman hit field goals of 20 and 34 yards. Boris Lee led the defense with 12 tackles and two sacks.
The Trojans never trailed in the game until Barefoot’s go-ahead kick in overtime.