When Troy needed its defense the most, one of the best units in the country stepped up as it had done all season and stuffed UTSA four times from the 5-yard line as No. 23 Troy defeated No. 22 UTSA, 18-12, in the Duluth Trading Cure Bowl on Saturday at Experia Stadium.
Troy (12-2) took the six-point lead on a Brooks Buce 27-yard field goal with just over nine minutes to play in the game, but UTSA (11-3) found itself on the Trojan 5-yard line just four plays later following a 53-yard run by Kevorian Barnes.
The Trojans held Barnes to two yards on first down, and the Troy defense forced three straight incompletions from C-USA MVP Frank Harris to turn the Roadrunners over on downs. Troy's offense milked more than four minutes off the clock on the ensuing possession, and the Trojan defense yielded just one first down before again forcing UTSA to turn the ball over on downs and end the game.
Richard Jibunor forced a pair of turnovers, and game MVP KJ Robertson returned an interception 61 yards to pace a Troy defense that forced five UTSA turnovers in the game and shut down one of the nation's most prolific offenses.
The win was Troy's 11th straight dating back to a Hail Mary loss at App State in week three, while the Trojans' 12th win of the season is a new FBS record for the program and ties the school record set by the NCAA Division II National Champion team in 1987 and the 1993 FCS squad.
The 12 points scored by the Roadrunners were their fewest since Oct. 2020, and the loss snapped UTSA's 10-game winning streak. It was Troy's first win over a ranked opponent since defeating No. 22 LSU in 2017.
UTSA scored the game's first 12 points on a safety, a 2-yard touchdown pass and a 42-yard field goal within the first 21 minutes. From that point on, Troy's defense held the Roadrunners scoreless and forced the five turnovers.
Kimani Vidal put the Trojans on the board with a 2-yard run in the final seconds of an opening half that saw Troy muster just 66 yards of total offense, mainly due to poor starting field position; the Trojans started four drives inside their own 8-yard line.
Robertson turned the game on a dime with his fourth career interception. Leading by five and driving late in the third quarter, UTSA faced a 3rd-and-8 from the Troy 9-yard line when Robertson picked off Harris and returned it 61 yards to the UTSA 37-yard line and an unsportsmanlike penalty moved the ball to the 22-yard line.
Five plays later, Gunnar Watson connected with RaJae' Johnson on a 12-yard strike to put the Trojans in front 13-12; Watson followed with a successful 2-point conversion pass to Clayton Ollendieck extending the Troy lead out to three with 2:34 to play in the third quarter.
The game marked the final one for All-American Carlton Martial in a Troy uniform, and he went out in style. One day after receiving a Senior Bowl invite, Martial posted a game-high 14 tackles as he set the Troy career record with 577 tackles; Martial had previously set the NCAA FBS and Sun Belt career records.
