Harris leads Troy to win over MTSU

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — All the talk was about new offensive coordinator Neal Brown and new quarterback Jamie Hampton, but Troy’s new running back stole the show.

Sophomore DuJuan Harris made the most of his first career start, running for 148 yards on nine carries and two scores. He added a receiving touchdown as Troy held on for a 31-17 win over rival Middle Tennessee Thursday night in both teams’ season opener.

The win came in front of 22,307 fans, the sixth-largest in MTSU history. It ensured that the Palladium trophy stayed in head coach Larry Blakeney’s office, as it was Troy’s third straight win in the series.

Harris scored on a 5-yard pass reception in the second quarter from Hampton to give Troy a 14-3 lead. His 33-yard touchdown run in the third gave Troy a 24-3 lead, and after MTSU scored twice in the fourth quarter to cut the lead to seven, Harris ran for a 13-yard score for the game’s final margin.

The little guy wasn’t just running around people. Harris, listed at 5-foot-7 and 190 pounds, ran through MTSU’s defense as well.

“I say it all the time, it’s a job,” Harris said. “You can’t listen to what the media says. You’ve got to play the game.”

Harris’ only blemish was a fourth-quarter fumble, which led to an MTSU touchdown. With 6:44 left, Troy took over up just seven, but the Trojans’ fast-paced offense ran off 4:12, culminating with Harris’ 13-yard touchdown run.

“It’s the nature of the beast,” Blakeney said. “If you’re going to be in an offense like we’re in, it’s hard to go sit on it. You’ve got to let them play and so far, it hasn’t reared its ugly head to where we lost a game.”

Troy was far from perfect. Troy’s offense and special teams bent a little, but the only thing the Trojan defense broke was Middle Tennessee’s spirit for much of the game.

MTSU missed on four fourth down conversions, twice near the goal line.

The first goal-line miss came when Troy’s Cameron Sheffield forced a fumble that Steve McClendon, a 290-pound defensive tackle, picked up and ran 67 yards.

That set up Sam Glusman’s 35-yard field goal near the end of the first half.

The second came late in the third quarter, when linebacker Bear Woods, who had 14 tackles, stuffed MTSU quarterback Joe Craddock on 4th and goal from the 1.

“Our coach tells us that when they get down in the red zone, just dive at their legs,” McClendon said. “I told the linebackers that when we dive at their legs, just stop them over the top.

“Everybody executed the plan.”

Troy’s first score was easy, as Boris Lee intercepted a pass and returned it to the 4. Hampton then scored on a 4-yard run.

Hampton went 17-of-28 for 136 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Harris lost a fumble, Jerrel Jernigan lost a fumble on a punt return and punter Will Goggans lost a fumble when he couldn’t handle a wobbly snap from snapper Derick Thomas.

Still, Troy didn’t wilt, and with the Sun Belt win, the Trojans have a leg up on the conference race for the early part of the year.

Troy outgained MTSU in yards 300-284, but 124 of MTSU’s yards as well as two quick touchdowns came in the fourth quarter.

Jernigan led Troy receivers with six catches for 43 yards. MTSU quarterback Joe Craddock went 20-for-32 for 200 yards with a touchdown and an interception.

But as for Harris, perhaps the story of the game, now the secret is out. And he knows it.

“Teams probably will know about me,” Harris said. “I’ve just got to get better now.”

Said Blakeney, “He’s a powerful little guy that can run. He’s very much a competitor.”
First quarter
9:42 Troy 7, Middle Tennessee 0: Jamie Hampton 4 run (Sam Glusman PAT). 1 play, 4 yards, 0:04. Key play: Linebacker Boris Lee intercepted Joe Craddock’s pass over the middle on third-and-12 at the MTSU 18. He returned it to the 4 before Craddock made the tackle.

3:43 Troy 7, MTSU 3: Alan Gendreau 22 field goal. 15 plays, 75 yards, 5:59. Key play: Phillip Tanner, who earlier on he drive had an 18-yard gain, took a handoff out of the shotgun and burst up the middle for 15 yards on first-and-16 from the 28. Middle got the first down settled for the easy field goal.

Second quarter
11:40 Troy 14, MTSU 3: DuJuan Harris 5 pass from Jamie Hampton (Glusman PAT). 9 plays, 70 yards, 3:07. Key play: One play after Middle Tennessee’s Chris McCoy dropped an interception with nothing but field turf in front of him, Hampton lofted a touch pass down the left sidelines to Kennard Burton for a 30-yard gain and a first down at MTSU’s 40-yard line.

0:59 Troy 17, MTSU 3: Glusman 35 field goal. 4 plays, 3 yards, 1:06. Key play: A stunning turnaround saw Troy defensive end Cameron Sheffield sack MTSU quarterback Dwight Dasher, who fumbled on the hit, which came on fourth-and-goal at the Troy 3. The Trojans’ Steve McLendon scooped it up at the 12 and raced 67 yards to the MTSU 21.

Third quarter
13:11 Troy 24, MTSU 3: Harris 33 run (Glusman PAT). 6 plays, 79 yards, 1:49. Key play: Hampton threw a strike to Jerrel Jernigan on a deep slant between two defenders. The play covered 21 yards and moved the ball to the MTSU 34. Three plays later, Harris ran up the middle and scored on third-and-nine.

Fourth quarter
9:04 Troy 24, MTSU 10: Malcolm Beyah 46 pass from Joe Craddock (Gendreau PAT). 1 play, 46 yards, 0:07. Key play: Craddock’s bomb hit Beyah in stride on play after Will Goggans’ rugby-style punt hit a Troy player racing downfield to cover it.

6:44 Troy 24, MTSU 17: Phillip Tanner 3 run (Gendreau PAT). 6 plays, 36 yards, 1:54. Key play: The Blue Raiders pounced on a fumble by Harris at the Troy 36.

2:32 Troy 31, MTSU 17: Harris 13 run (Glusman PAT). 11 plays, 79 yards, 4:12. Key plays: Two crucial third-down conversions — an 8-yard pass to Jernigan and a 7-yard strike to Burton — kept alive a long game-clinching march for the Trojans.