Gunnar Watson and Jarret Doege both threw touchdown passes as Troy held off Texas State 17-14 on Saturday at Veterans Memorial Stadium.

The victory was the Trojans’ fourth straight and lifted them to 5-2 overall and 3-1 in the Sun Belt Conference. Troy has a quick turnaround to Thursday’s “Battle for the Belt” at South Alabama, which entered Saturday night’s game with Louisiana-Monroe unbeaten in conference play.

Texas State (3-4, 1-2) was up 14-10 after three quarters, but Troy took the lead for good on Doege’s 23-yard touchdown pass to Rajaé Johnson with 11:45 remaining. The Bobcats punted on their final five possessions, the last one with 5:28 to play.

Troy then ran out the clock, with DK Billingsley twice converting on third-and-1 with short gains. Billingsley ran for 70 yards on 16 carries.

After a scoreless first quarter, Troy got on the board on Watson’s 74-yard touchdown for a 7-0 lead with 13:56 left in the second. Brooks Buce added a 24-yard field goal with 2:48 remaining, but that would be the Trojans’ final points until the fourth.

Lincoln Pare scored both of Texas State’s touchdowns, a 3-yard run just before the half to make it 10-7 and a 64-yard reception from Layne Hatcher to put the Bobcats up 14-10 early in the third. Pare finished the day with 64 yards rushing on 18 carries and three receptions for 71 yards.

Watson was 12-for-22 for 240 yards with a touchdown and an interception before Doege took over late in the third quarter. Doege, who came off the bench to spark a 34-27 win at Western Kentucky on Oct. 1 and went the distance in a 27-10 victory over Southern Miss last week, was 4-for-6 for 59 yards and the score.

Carlton Martial led the Troy defense with 11 tackles, extending his Sun Belt career record to 505. He is now 40 behind the all-time FBS mark of 545 held by former Northwestern linebacker Tim McGarigle.

Kickoff for the Troy-South Alabama game is set for 6:30 p.m. Thursday at Hancock Whitney Stadium in Mobile. The game will be televised live by ESPNU.