A long defensive battle eventually saw Troy victorious over their intrastate rivals, South Alabama, with a 10-6 win from Hancock Whitney Stadium Thursday night.

The victory marks the fifth straight time the Trojans have beaten South Alabama, with Troy now in sole possession of the first place in the Sun Belt West Division.
 
Troy linebacker Carlton Martial registered eight tackles to move into sole possession of fourth place all-time among FBS players and is now 32 tackles away from setting the all-time leader in FBS history.  

Troy (6-2, 4-1 SBC) now moves to 8-3 over the Jaguars (5-2, 2-1) all-time, including 5-1 in Mobile. With the win, the Trojans have won five straight games and become bowl eligible for the first time since 2018.
 
The game's only touchdown came from DK Billingsley after a five-yard scamper into the endzone in the second quarter. Billingsley led the Trojan rushing attack after totaling 86 yards. Kimani Vidal followed with 64 yards to give troy over 100 yards rushing on the evening.
 
Tez Johnson led the Trojans in the receiving department with 57 yards as Jarret Dodge, and Gunnar Watson saw game action totaling 138 yards through the air. Watson entered the game in the second half and was perfect 4-4 for 54 yards.
 
"We got grit," head coach Jon Sumrall said. "We sure got grit and toughness. These kids have, over and over again, found a way to answer the bell and get themselves off the mat to play really hard each week. I could not tell you how proud I am of this bunch for continuing to fight. Some people run. Some people hide. But Troy Trojans fight. And now, we're bringing the belt back to Troy, where it belongs."
 
With a 7-6 lead and 7:35 left in the game, Brooks Buce, who had missed from 38 yards just three drives before, came on and drilled a career-long 51-yard FG to extend the Trojan lead to 10-7, where the game would finish.
 
The Trojan defense stood tall all night long, once again holding their opponent to less than 100 yards rushing, with South Alabama finishing with 31 on the night.
 
Taking up over seven minutes on the clock, South Alabama was driving into Trojan territory before Reddy Steward came away with his first interception of the season to give the ball back to Troy. The only points of the first half for South Alabama came from a 41-yard field goal as the clock expired just before halftime.
 
The Trojans got the ball back with four minutes remaining in the fourth quarter and used a nine-play drive to kill the clock and leave South Alabama with no timeouts before putting the ball with only 12 seconds left in the game where the defense made one last stop to seal the victory.

Notes

• Troy has held its opponents to seven points or less in the first half in four of its eight games to start the season.
• The six points allowed to South Alabama was the fewest Troy had allowed since the 2021 season opener when they allowed three to Southern University on Sept. 4. Troy won that game 55-3.
• The Trojans used two different quarterbacks in the game for the fifth time this season. Troy is now 4-1 in those games.
• DK Billingsley's second-quarter touchdown marked the second time the Trojans opened the scoring this season via a rushing touchdown. The other instance was also a rushing score from Billingsley against App State.
•  With the win, Troy will make its ninth bowl appearance and the first since 2018; then, the Trojans played in the Dollar General Bowl, a 42-32 win over Buffalo.

Up Next
The Trojans will get a much-needed week off as they enter the bye week and won't retake the field until they travel to Lafayette, La. to take on the Ragin' Cajuns on Nov. 5.