Troy rolls past ULM 45-14 for 7th straight win

Troy rolls past ULM 45-14 for 7th straight win

Gunnar Watson threw four touchdown passes as Troy rolled past Louisiana-Monroe 45-14 on Saturday for its seventh straight win.

Watson connected on touchdown of 1 yard to Damien Taylor, 5 yards to Jabre Barber, 4 yards to Devonte Ross and 5 yards to Ethan Conner as the Trojans improved to 8-2 overall, 5-1 in the Sun Belt Conference. Troy can clinch its second straight Sun Belt Conference West Division title and a berth in the conference championship game if Arkansas State and Coastal Carolina both lose on Saturday (and both trailed as of 5:30 p.m.).

Troy led throughout on Saturday, taking a 21-0 halftime advantage despite being outgained by ULM (2-8, 0-7). The Warhawks pulled within 21-7 in the third quarter on Jiya Wright’s 45-yard touchdown pass to Tyrone Howell, but the Trojans scored 10 straight points to go up 31-7 and were never seriously threatened in the fourth quarter.

Javon Solomon and Richard Jibunor combined for 7.5 of Troy’s nine sacks, four of them by Solomon. Jibunor also forced a fumble and had three tackles for loss.

Watson completed 24 of 39 passes and was not intercepted for the fifth straight game. He has a string of 163 consecutive passes without being picked off dating back to a 28-7 win over Georgia State on Sept. 30.

Troy ran for just 82 yards, including 50 yards on 15 carries by Kimani Vidal. Barber led all receivers with 73 yards on eight catches.

Scott Taylor Renfroe also added a 32-yard field goal for Troy, which subbed heavily in the fourth quarter. Back-up quarterback Goose Crowder threw a 9-yard touchdown pass to Asa Martin, then Tae Meadows ran for a 5-yard touchdown to close out the scoring.

Wright threw for 246 yards and two touchdowns for ULM, including a 3-yarder to Bud Tolbert in the fourth quarter. The Warhawks have lost eight straight games after beginning the season 2-0.

Troy hosts Louisiana at 2:30 p.m. next Saturday. That game will be televised live by NFL Network.