Column: Teammate consoles Trojan kicker

NEW ORLEANS — You didn’t need to see their faces to know how bad the Troy Trojans hurt after their 30-27 overtime loss to Southern Mississippi in the New Orleans Bowl.

Michael McGee’s block of Sam Glusman’s 28-yard field goal attempt sent the Golden Eagles leaping and the Trojans reeling.

Until overtime, Troy didn’t trail at all in a game that featured enough momentum swings, big plays and drama to warrant a long home-and-home contract between these two programs.

“This feels like a big conference championship game that we just lost,” Troy linebacker Boris Lee said in the tunnel outside the Trojans locker room. “You never want to go out losing.”

Before he left the field, he said something to a teammate. Lee took Glusman, who was despondent after throwing his helmet to the turf, and whispered close.

“I told him I loved him,” Lee said simply. “I told him I loved him.”

Moments earlier, Glusman’s practice boots into the net were louder than the bass drums beating from the stands.

Between regulation and overtime, teammates were chatting with Glusman. By the time USM had taken the lead and the Trojans took over for their possession, the kicker was a man on an island.

No one looked his way, let alone talk with him. He might as well have been pitching a perfect game.

But when the Trojans’ promising possession stalled on the 11-yard line, Glusman was lining up the 28-yarder.

A night with so many positives ended with the cheers coming from the other side of the Superdome.

Troy adjusted to Southern Mississippi’s outstanding third-down efficiency and actually squeezed the Golden Eagles in the second half.

Lee, who finished with 13 tackles and two sacks, said he was getting hit too often by USM linemen in the first half. As a result, the Golden Eagles were a sporty 4-of-5 on first down in the first quarter and 5-for-8 in the first half.

It wasn’t just Troy. USM came into the game averaging 44 percent on third-down conversions, an impressive number.
“We figured out the plan that they were trying to do,” Lee said.

“When they wanted the tackles to come after the linebackers, we had to show them a gap first. Once we figured that out, it kind of helped our defense. Once that happened we got going pretty good.”

In the second half, USM was just 1-for-7 on third down. Their overtime possession was a three-and-kick.

Lee said he still enjoyed the experience of representing the Sun Belt Conference.

“I enjoyed it. We had a great crowd,” he said. “Both sides had a large crowd. It was amazing. Coming out and seeing both crowds up for it, it was just like a rivalry game. ... It was a great game with great opponents.”

The Trojans’ just couldn’t protect a 10-point lead in the fourth quarter.