Troy's Offense Struggles in Loss to Memphis

The Memphis Tigers extended their dominance over Sun Belt competition with a 28-7 victory over the Troy Trojans, Saturday afternoon in the Veterans Memorial Stadium in Alabama.

This marked the Tigers 13th-straight victory over the Sun Belt. The Trojans put up a valiant effort, trying to overcome the loss of starting quarterback Goose Crowder, who took a big hit at the end of the first drive. He went into the locker room and never returned to the game.

The Tigers started off quick, when quarterback Brendon Lewis found wide receiver Jamari Hawkins deep for a 41-yard completion on the fifth play of the game. A few plays later running back Sutton Smith found the end zone after an eight yard run, capping off an 8-play 65-yard opening drive.

Troy’s offense thought it was going to have a nice response when Goose Crowder found Mojo Dortch for a 73-yard touchdown. Unfortunately, the play was nullified by an illegal formation penalty. The next play is when Crowder went down. He was replaced by Tucker Kilcrease, who saw playing time in seven games last season.

Troy’s only real spark in the game came early in the second quarter. Defensive lineman Donnie Smith sacked on Lewis causing him to lose the ball, which was then recovered by Taleeq Robbins who returned it for a touchdown, tying the game up at 7-7.

2Q – 12:02 | ⚔️ 7 – 🐅 7

Deliver the blow and SCORE.

Donnie Smith forces the fumble and Taleeq Robbins returns it 15 yards for the score and the tied ballgame.#BattleReady | #OneTROY ⚔️🏈 pic.twitter.com/2fgcJ2PUBZ

— Troy Trojans Football 8x⚔️ (@TroyTrojansFB) September 13, 2025

Memphis responded quickly after the fumble. On one play, Lewis found wide receiver Jadon Thompson for a 40-yard pickup to the Troy 25 yard line. A few plays later Lewis found wide receiver Brady Kluse in the back of the end zone for an incredible one handed grab, putting the Tigers back in from 14-7. Towards the end of the second quarter, Smith ran through the middle of the Trojans defense for a 50-yard touchdown, extending the Tigers lead to 21-7.

The score at the half was 21-7 with the Tigers in front and having their way. They racked up 316 total yards compared to the Trojans 40. Lewis went 10-of-15 for 170 yards and a touchdown, and Smith had ran for 90 yards and two touchdowns. Kilcrease completed just one pass in the first half.

The second half was a bit slower with both teams struggling to find a rhythm. The Tigers offense cooled off while the Trojans offense could never get going.

With 3:49 left in the game, the Tigers sealed the deal when running back Makari Bodiford powered in from 8 yards to make the score 28-7. Kilcrease led a final drive into the red zone, which not only was the Trojans first time in the rezone, it was the first time they crossed midfield. Kilcrease had a tipped pass get intercepted by Tigers defensive linemen Jalen Bell which ended the game.

Memphis came into Troy and dominated the game from start to finish.

For the Tigers, Lewis completed 17-of-27 passes for 213 yards and a touchdown, also added 13 carries for 41 yards. Smith carried the ball 18 times for 113 yards, averaging 6.3 yards per carry and two touchdowns.

The Trojans had a tough afternoon offensively. They had 112 total yards of offense for the game. Kilcrease stepped in for the injured Crowder and completed 10-of-29 passes for 65 yards and an interception. Wide receiver Roman Mothershed had caught eight passes for 58 yards.

The Trojans (1-2) will be in Buffalo next Saturday to take on the Buffalo Bulls at 3:30 p.m. ET (2:30 p.m. CT).