Troy beats South Alabama in OT Thriller

The Battle for the Belt between the Troy Trojans and the South Alabama Jaguars certainly lived up to the hype. Both teams went back and forth throughout the night, ending in a Trojans 31-24 overtime victory in their Sun Belt opener.

Running back Tae Meadows powered into the end zone from three yards out on the Trojans’ third play of overtime. The defense did its job afterwards and stopped the Jaguars from scoring and getting the win. The win improves the Trojans to 3-2 overall and 1-0 in conference. The Jaguars drop to 1-5 and 0-2 in conference.

1OT | ⚔️ 31 – 🚫 24

Too quick with it.

On three plays, Troy punches in the touchdown via a 3-yard gain by Tae Meadows as he gets into the endzone. #BattleReady | #OneTROY ⚔️🏈 pic.twitter.com/GWNenPpdcS

— Troy Trojans Football 8x⚔️ (@TroyTrojansFB) October 5, 2025

“The resiliency to finish a game in overtime and continue to develop what we want to be as a program, which is a tough physical football team and find ways to win one-score games,” said Trojans Head Coach Gerad Parker. “This is how we are going to have to win this year as we continue to find efficiency on offense and play great defense.”

Tucker Kilcrease completed 13-of-21 passes for 203 yards, threw two touchdowns and one interception. On the ground, he added 102 rushing yards on 19 carries, including a rushing touchdown. “He was a warrior. He took hit after hit after hit and didn’t flinch, and that’s why he’s becoming a very good football player,” said Parker.

The Jaguars’ run-heavy attack kept them in the game. Led by Kentrel Bullock and Bishop Davenport, the Jaguars ran the ball 56 times in the game. On those 56 runs they gained 265 yards, which is an average of 4.7 yards per carry.

The Trojans got off to a good start offensively when Kilcrease kept the ball on a read option and went 34 yards untouched for the game’s first score.

1Q – 7:12 | ⚔️ 7 – 🚫 0

TO THE HOUSE ‼️

Tucker Kilcrease turns on the jets and breaks away for a big-time score on the QB read. #BattleReady | #OneTROY ⚔️🏈 pic.twitter.com/jO3rGfip72

— Troy Trojans Football 8x⚔️ (@TroyTrojansFB) October 4, 2025

The Jaguars responded on the next drive when Davenport pitched the ball to Micah Woods for a 33-yard score to tie the game.

After a missed 48-yard field goal and a costly interception, the Trojans picked up some momentum at the end of the half. A 22-yard connection to DJ Epps, a roughing the passer penalty and a 25-yard completion to RaRa Thomas gave the Trojans a 14-7 lead heading into the half.

A Kilcrease fumble right after halftime led to a Jaguars field goal, and after the defense forced a three-and-out, Davenport punched it in from 56 yards out, putting the Jaguars in front 17-14.

The Trojans responded after Tray Taylor hauled in a 48-yard pass from Kilcrease. A few plays later Kilcrease found Epps for an 11-yard touchdown, putting the Trojans back in front 21-17. Epps finished the game with five receptions for 59 yards.

In the fourth, Scott Taylor Renfroe kicked a 28-yard field goal to extend the lead to 24-17. The Jaguars responded with several big plays. The first was a 28-yard completion from Davenport to Devin Voisin on 4th-and-6. Then, on the very next play Davenport connected with Bullock who was left wide open for a 15-yard score, allowing the Jaguars to tie the game and send it to overtime.

Bishop finds Bull. We’re tied. 🙌#LSF pic.twitter.com/rzu5ZEQrds

— South Alabama Football 🏈 (@SouthAlabamaFB) October 5, 2025

The Trojans responded after losing to the Jaguars last year, which snapped a six-game winning streak over the Jaguars. The Trojans now lead the all-time series 10-4.