TROY, Ala. – Facing their second straight Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) opponent on the road, Alabama A&M (0-2, 0-0 SWAC) hung with Troy (1-1, 0-0 SBC) for a half before falling 38-17 behind a second half offensive barrage in an NCAA Division I football game on Saturday, September 10.
 
Due to severe technical issues in the second half of the game full and complete statistics are not available. The release on www.AAMUSports.com will be updated once they are available.
 
THE STATS - ALABAMA A&M
Full Statistics Unavailable (On-Site Technical Difficulties)
 
THE GAME
In a sharp contrast from the opener at Alabama-Birmingham when they surrendered 28 first quarter points, it would be the Bulldogs that would do the scoring in the opening frame – although it would take a bit.
 
A&M would pick up a first down on their second play of the game as junior quarterback Xavier Lankford (Pelham, Ala.) connected with sophomore wideout Keenan Hambrick (Athens, Ala.) on a nine-yard grab before the drive petered out three plays later. The Trojans, however, would not even get that much as they went three-and-out on their first possession.
 
The Bulldogs would then put together a sustained drive, covering 71 yards in 10 plays before seeing a throw from the Troy 12-yard line end up in the hands of Taiyon Palmer, who promptly returned it 23 yards. Once again, however, they wouldn't do anything with it as they picked up just four yards before sending it back downfield to A&M.
 
Lankford and Alabama A&M would capitalize this time as he would connect with Hambrick again, this time on the third play of the drive for a whopping 47 yards down to the Troy 29-yard line. A pair of incompletions and a two-yard loss then setup a 47-yard field attempt for freshman kicker Zach Alvarez (Hialeah, Fla.), who proceeded to bang it through the uprights for a 3-0 lead with 3:37 on the clock.
 
The Trojans would turn around and move the ball for a first down on their next possession – only to see their first down pass go straight to the mitts of sophomore safety Moses Douglas (Springfield, Ohio) at the A&M 20-yard line.
 
That would put the ball back in the hands of Lankford, who almost immediately hit senior running back Gary Quarles (Tuscaloosa, Ala.) for 18 yards on a second down play. That drive would stall at the Troy 48-yard line with 13:29 to play in the second, however, and would then see both teams with fruit less possessions.
 
Troy would get the ball back with 11:37 in the second and use eight plays to go 71 yards down to the A&M nine-yard line, converting a 4^th and 2 on a rush by Kimani Vidal. Setup and ready to punch it in, a funny thing happened on the way to the endzone as junior linebacker Thomas Douglass (Milledgeville, Ga.) strip sacked Gunnar Watson six yards in the backfield and senior defensive tackle Jamal Irby (Mobile, Ala.) fell on it for the recovery.
 
Even with the ensuing three-and-out, that play likely saved A&M points and preserved their narrow three-point advantage with just over nine minutes left in the half. The Trojans' next possession wouldn't go any better as they drove 29 yards down to the Bulldogs 16-yard line. With fourth down rolling up they would line up for a would-be tying field goal attempt only to see a botched snap and a loss of nine yards as sophomore safety Charles Bell VI (Germantown, Md.) brought down punter Mike Rivers deep in the backfield.
 
Following another lead saving play, it was followed by a drive that went just four yards and handed the ball back to TU – an opportunity they would finally take advantage of. Taking over with 1:30 on the clock, Watson got things going with a 31-yard bullet to Michael Vice on a march down to the A&M 12-yard line. From there he connected with RaJae' Johnson for the TD to go up 7-3 with 38 seconds remaining. The teams would then take that margin to the break.
 
Coming out of half the Trojans received the ball and stomped on the gas hard, looking to expunge a first half that saw them held to just 173 yards of total offense and seven points. That would take the form of a 40-yard strike by Watson to Deyunkrea Lewis to cap a drive that covered 75 yards in just 1:29 to make it 14-3.
 
Following a seven-play drive that went only 31 yards, Troy took over on their own 41-yard line but wouldn't stay in that vicinity long. It would be a one-play drive as Watson hit Jabre Barber 13-yards downfield and watched him take it the rest of what would be a 59-yard touchdown, extending to a commanding 21-3 score by the 10:34 mark.
 
Both team's next possessions would then end in completions – but to the wrong color jersey – as Terry Thomas picked off Lankford while freshman safety Avian Rice (Fort Myers, Fla.) snagged his first career interception on a Watson pass. A&M would not be able to move the ball after getting back but Troy would when they got it back.
 
Taking over at their own 18-yard line, the Trojans went 69 yards behind four passes of at least 13 yards, the last of which found Deshon Stoudemire in the endzone to stretch to a 28-3 advantage by the 1:47 mark. They would then tack on a 30-yard field goal from Brooks Buce at the 12:19 mark of the fourth quarter before the Bulldogs would scratch the scoreboard again.
 
That would come in the form of Quarles and redshirt-junior tailback Harold Jemison (Nashville, Tenn.) both finding paydirt in the final frame to pull to within 38-17 but would get no closer as Troy closed out the 21-point victory minutes later.
 
THE STATS – TROY
Full Statistics Unavailable (On-Site Technical Difficulties)
 
UP NEXT
The Bulldogs will return home to the friendly confines of Louis Crews Stadium on Saturday, September 17 for their home opener against Austin Peay. That game is set for 2 p.m. and will also honor the man the stadium is named after with the Louis Crews Classic.