GAMEDAY College Football
Sun Belt Conference Championship: Troy 45, Coastal Carolina 26
By JOHN ZENOR
AP Sports Writer
TROY, Ala. - Gunnar Watson passed for 318 yards and three long touchdowns to lead Troy to a 45-26 victory over Coastal Carolina in the Sun Belt Conference championship game.
The Trojans (11-2) raced ahead 31-0 in the first half en route to their Sun Belt-record seventh league title and 10th consecutive win under first-year coach Jon Sumrall. It was Troy's first league title since 2017 and fans celebrated by storming the field and bringing down a goal post.
By the time three-time Sun Belt player of the year Grayson McCall got the offense going for Coastal Carolina (9-3), it was all but over. McCall started at quarterback after missing the past two games with a foot injury.
Watson completed 12 of 17 passes, including touchdowns of 67 yards and 36 yards to Rajae' Johnson and a 65-yarder to Deshon Stoudemire. Watson was hit as he was throwing the 67-yarder with Johnson stretching out to grab it.
Johnson then snagged the ball one-handed to answer the Chanticleers' second touchdown. DK Billingsley ran for three touchdowns, including a 33-yarder, for the Trojans.
Troy rebounded from a 1-2 start to the season, including losing to Appalachian State on a Hail Mary.
McCall overcame a rough start to complete 29 of 41 passes for 319 yards and three touchdowns with a late interception. He also ran for an 8-yard touchdown.
McCall led touchdown drives heading into and coming out of halftime after his team started out getting outgained 316-22.
The momentum didn't last.
T.J. Jackson then had a strip sack and fumble recovery inside Coastal Carolina's 10 to set up a touchdown.
The stats evened out but the score never got too uncomfortable for Troy. Coastal Carolina actually ended with a 432-411 edge in total yards.
Coastal Carolina has lost two straight lopsided games, including a 47-7 defeat to James Madison. Coach Jamey Chadwell is reportedly a candidate to replace Hugh Freeze at Liberty.
TAKEAWAY
Coastal Carolina: McCall and the offense took too long to get going for the Chanticleers to have a chance, but the defense struggled to bring down both Troy's running backs and receivers in the first half. Still, the Chanticleers have won 31 games over the last three seasons.
Troy: Might have earned its second Top 25 ranking and first since 2016. The Trojans have their longest win streak since winning 11 in a row in 1995. Their six Sun Belt titles had been tied with Arkansas State.
SLOW DRIVE
The fumble recovery set up a drive that didn't go far but took nearly four minutes. Troy finally scored after the eight-play, 7-yard drive was kept alive by a personal foul on a field goal.
December 3, 2022
| Scoring Summary | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First Quarter | CoastC | Troy | |||
| Troy | FG | 11:07 | Brooks Buce 35 yard field goal | 0 | 3 |
| Troy | TD | 9:28 | Deshon Stoudemire 65 yard TD pass from Gunnar Watson (Brooks Buce Extra Point) | 0 | 10 |
| Troy | TD | 4:09 | DK Billingsley 8 yard TD run (Brooks Buce Extra Point) | 0 | 17 |
| Second Quarter | CoastC | Troy | |||
| Troy | TD | 12:36 | DK Billingsley 33 yard TD run (Brooks Buce Extra Point) | 0 | 24 |
| Troy | TD | 9:47 | RaJae' Johnson 67 yard TD pass from Gunnar Watson (Brooks Buce Extra Point) | 0 | 31 |
| CoastC | TD | 0:29 | Grayson McCall 8 yard TD run (Kade Hensley Extra Point) | 7 | 31 |
| Third Quarter | CoastC | Troy | |||
| CoastC | TD | 12:08 | Jared Brown 30 yard TD pass from Grayson McCall (Aaron Bedgood 2pt conversion attempt is NO GOOD) | 13 | 31 |
| Troy | TD | 8:42 | RaJae' Johnson 36 yard TD pass from Gunnar Watson (Brooks Buce Extra Point) | 13 | 38 |
| Troy | TD | 4:49 | DK Billingsley 3 yard TD run (Brooks Buce Extra Point) | 13 | 45 |
| Fourth Quarter | CoastC | Troy | |||
| CoastC | TD | 14:55 | Sam Pinckney 11 yard TD pass from Grayson McCall (Xavier Gravette 2pt conversion attempt is NO GOOD) | 19 | 45 |
| CoastC | TD | 6:09 | Tyson Mobley 21 yard TD pass from Grayson McCall (Kade Hensley Extra Point) | 26 | 45 |
| Team Stats | ||
|---|---|---|
| Coastal Carolina | Troy | |
| First downs | 27 | 14 |
| Rushing | 7 | 4 |
| Passing | 18 | 10 |
| Penalty | 2 | 0 |
| 3rd Down Efficiency | 4-13, 31% | 5-11, 45% |
| 4th down efficiency | 2-4, 50% | 0-0, -% |
| Rushes-Yards | 31-113 | 36-93 |
| Passing Yards | 319 | 318 |
| Return Yards | 26 | 30 |
| Completions-Attempts-Int | 29-41-1 | 12-17-0 |
| Sacks-Yards Lost | 2-18 | 4-23 |
| Punts | 4 | 4 |
| Fumbles Lost | 2-1 | 1-0 |
| Penalties - Yards | 6-40 | 6-65 |
| Coastal Carolina Passing | |||||
| Player | Cmp | Att | Yds | TDs | Int |
| G. McCall | 29 | 41 | 319 | 3 | 1 |
| Troy Passing | |||||
| Player | Cmp | Att | Yds | TDs | Int |
| G. Watson | 12 | 17 | 318 | 3 | 0 |
| Coastal Carolina Rushing | ||||
| Player | Carries | Yds | Avg | TDs |
| R. White | 8 | 44 | 5.5 | 0 |
| B. Bennett | 5 | 33 | 6.6 | 0 |
| C. Beasley | 6 | 32 | 5.3 | 0 |
| G. McCall | 11 | 18 | 1.6 | 1 |
| Troy Rushing | ||||
| Player | Carries | Yds | Avg | TDs |
| D. Billingsley | 9 | 57 | 6.3 | 3 |
| K. Vidal | 20 | 53 | 2.7 | 0 |
| G. Watson | 5 | -15 | -3.0 | 0 |
| Coastal Carolina Receiving | ||||
| Player | Rec | Yds | Avg | TDs |
| T. Mobley | 7 | 109 | 15.6 | 1 |
| S. Pinckney | 11 | 81 | 7.4 | 1 |
| J. Brown | 5 | 73 | 14.6 | 1 |
| X. Gravette | 3 | 24 | 8.0 | 0 |
| C. Beasley | 2 | 24 | 12.0 | 0 |
| B. Bennett | 1 | 8 | 8.0 | 0 |
| Troy Receiving | ||||
| Player | Rec | Yds | Avg | TDs |
| R. Johnson | 4 | 134 | 33.5 | 2 |
| D. Stoudemire | 3 | 99 | 33.0 | 1 |
| T. Johnson | 3 | 59 | 19.7 | 0 |
| D. Lewis | 1 | 21 | 21.0 | 0 |
| K. Vidal | 1 | 5 | 5.0 | 0 |
| Coastal Carolina Interceptions | ||
| Player | Int | Yards |
| Troy Interceptions | ||
| Player | Int | Yards |
| T. Harris | 1 | 5 |
| Coastal Carolina Punting | |||
| Player | Punts | Yards | Avg |
| E. Crenshaw | 4 | 151 | 37.8 |
| Troy Punting | |||
| Player | Punts | Yards | Avg |
| M. Rivers | 4 | 145 | 36.3 |
| Coastal Carolina Punt Returns | |||
| Player | Ret | Yards | Average |
| T. Mobley | 1 | 7 | 7.0 |
| Troy Punt Returns | |||
| Player | Ret | Yards | Average |
| T. Johnson | 1 | 10 | 10.0 |
| Coastal Carolina Kick Returns | |||
| Player | Ret | Yards | Average |
| M. McDoom | 1 | 19 | 19.0 |
| Troy Kick Returns | |||
| Player | Ret | Yards | Average |
| P. Higgins | 1 | -1 | -1.0 |
| J. Williams | 1 | 16 | 16.0 |
| Coastal Carolina Missed FG | |
| Player | Length |
| Troy Missed FG | |
| Player | Length |
