Troy collapses against LSU

BATON ROUGE — What would have been the biggest victory in Troy’s history turned into the biggest heartbreak.

LSU, the defending national champions and ranked No. 20 in the country, erased a 31-3 deficit and scored 37 points in the final 17 minutes of the game to take a 40-31 win over the Trojans (6-4).

“I don’t know what happened,” Troy quarterback Levi Brown said. “We played well for three quarters and awful for one. That killed us. It hurts right now. We’ll hurt for a day and tomorrow we’ve got to get back to work. Our goals are still intact to win the conference, and we’ve got to focus on that for now.”

Troy scored quickly on its first two possessions to go up 14-3 and later went up 17-3. Safety Terence Moore’s 27-yard interception return for a score made it 24-3 and started emptying out the Tiger Stadium crowd.

It was the seventh time this season LSU quarterback Jarrett Lee had been intercepted and returned for a touchdown.

“My man went out, and out of a zone, you read the quarterback,” Moore said. “I was able to read the general direction that he was going to throw the ball and I got the interception. Honestly, we’re thinking we had it in the bag but at the same time, you know it’s not over. We said the same thing at halftime, it’s not over. We still had 30 more minutes to play.”

But Lee, who had just 11 yards passing at the half, helped lead the big rally after Troy scored on its opening possession of the third quarter to go up 31-3. He threw a 33-yard touchdown pass to Brandon LaFell that cut the lead to 31-17 early in the fourth quarter and finished with 216 yards passing on 20-of-34 attempts.

After Colt David hit a 27-yard field goal with 7:51 left, the Trojans went three passes and out on their next possession, but they forced LSU to punt at midfield with about six minutes left.

That punt hit a Troy blocker in the foot and the Tigers recovered at the 20, setting up the go-ahead score, a 4-yard touchdown run by Charles Scott.

A 17-yard gain on a pass from Levi Brown to Jerrel Jernigan would have put the Trojans at the LSU 39, but right tackle Dion Small was flagged for holding. Troy then had drops from Cornelius Williams and Jernigan, and Brown’s pass for Austin Silvoy was just out of his reach.

Scott’s 30-yard run set up the final nail in the coffin, a 1-yard run by Quinn Johnson.

The heartbreaking loss comes a week before Troy plays its biggest game, a 6 p.m. home game against UL-Lafayette, which lost to Florida Atlantic Saturday and fell into a tie for first place (4-1) in the Sun Belt with the Trojans.

“We’re a pretty emotional football team,” Blakeney said. “I know we’ve got guys that can pull the cord and get everyone back in tow.”

First quarter
9:18 Troy 7, LSU 0: Patrick Cherry 7 pass from Levi Brown (Sam Glusman PAT). 16 plays, 88 yards, 3:49. Key play: Jerrel Jernigan with a 10-yard reception on 3rd and 10 to the 7.

6:16 Troy 7, LSU 3: Colt David 52 FG. 7 plays, 27 yards, 2:55. Key play: Charles Scott with a 16-yard run on 3rd down into Troy territory.

4:00 Troy 14, LSU 3: Kennard Burton 1 run (Glusman PAT). 7 plays, 67 yards, 2:11. Key play: Austin Silvoy with a 35-yard reception on 3rd and 10 to the LSU 3.

Second quarter
10:09 Troy 17, LSU 3: Glusman 23 FG. 15 plays, 53 yards, 4:01. Key play: Offsides on LSU on third down gave Troy first down to the LSU 5.

6:46 Troy 24, LSU 3: Terence Moore 27 INT return (Glusman PAT).

Third quarter
11:13 Troy 31, LSU 3: DuJuan Harris 8 pass from Levi Brown (Glusman PAT). 10 plays, 79 yards, 3:41. Key play: Kennard Burton with a 34-yard reception on 3rd and 10.

1:26 Troy 31, LSU 10: Jordan Jefferson 3 run (David PAT). 13 plays, 66 yards, 4:58. Key play: Brandon Lafell’s 16-yard reception on 3rd and 10 to the Troy 11.

Fourth quarter
14:00 Troy 31, LSU 17: Brandon Lafell 33 pass from Jarrett Lee (David PAT). 5 plays, 86 yards, 1:18. Key play: Terrance Tolliver with a 33-yard reception to the Troy 38.

10:33 Troy 31, LSU 24: Quinn Johnson 1 run (David PAT). 7 plays, 60 yards, 2:21. Key play: A 6-yard reception and 15-yard face mask penalty against Boris Lee gave LSU the ball at the Troy 30.

7:51 Troy 31, LSU 27: David 27 FG. 4 plays, 4 yards, 1:40. Key play: Chad Jones intercepted a pass and returned it to the Troy 13.

4:50 LSU 33, Troy 31: Charles Scott 4 run (PAT missed). 3 plays, 20 yards, 1:36. Key play: A punt hit a Trojan and LSU recovered at the 20.

1:40 LSU 40, Troy 31: Johnson 1 run (David PAT). 4 plays, 34 yards, 1:55. Key play: Scott’s 30-yard run to the 4.