Troy pulled away in the second half for a 35-17 victory over Southern Miss on Saturday, locking up hosting duties for the Sun Belt Conference championship game.

The Trojans (10-2, 7-1 Sun Belt) won their ninth straight game overall and secured a second consecutive double-digit-win season. Troy will host either Coastal Carolina or Appalachian State for the Sun Belt title at 3 p.m. next Saturday at Veterans Memorial Stadium, with television coverage on ESPN.

Troy led just 14-10 at halftime, but essentially put the game away with back-to-back touchdowns in the third quarter. The Trojans took the second-half kickoff and drove for Gunnar Watson’s 2-yard TD pass to Ethan Conner for a 21-10 lead at the 9:23 mark, then got a defensive score to go up by 18.

Southern Miss running back Frank Gore was on the verge of being stopped for a short loss on a screen pass, but turned and tried to lateral the ball back to quarterback Ethan Crawford. The toss fell short and Troy safety Chris Rodgers picked up the ball on a bounce and rambled 40 yards for a touchdown and a 28-10 lead with 5:37 left in the third.

The Golden Eagles (3-9, 2-6) got back within 28-17 on Crawford’s 18-yard touchdown pass to Tie Mims late in the third quarter, but got no closer. Troy held Southern Miss to just 73 yards in the second half, minus-5 in the fourth quarter.

Troy scored its final touchdown on a trick play with 11:20 remaining. Chris Lewis hauled in Watson’s lateral pass in the left flat, then threw 30 yards to a wide-open Clayton Ollendieck for the TD and a 35-17 lead.

Troy went up 7-0 with 5:30 left in the opening quarter on Kimani Vidal’s 2-yard run. Andrew Stein’s 19-yard field goal for Southern Miss made it a 7-3 game with 13:21 left in the second.

The Golden Eagles jumped on top at 10-7 with Gore’s 57-yard touchdown at the 10:41 mark of the second, but the Trojans answered immediately. Watson threw 37 yards to Lewis down the sideline, then found him again for a 13-yard touchdown to put Troy up 14-10 with 9:03 left in the half.

Watson was intercepted by Jay Jones on a Hail Mary attempt on the final play of the half, snapping a string of 218 consecutive passes without being picked off. The sixth-year senior finished the day 21-for-34 passing for 289 yards and two touchdowns with an interception.

Vidal ran for 69 yards on 16 carries in the victory, giving him a Troy single-season record 1,349 yards in 2023. Arrid Gregory previously held the mark with 1,337 yards for the Trojans in 1996.

Gore ran for 95 yards on 13 carries and caught five passes for 59 yards in a losing effort for Southern Miss. Troy sacked Crawford six times, also totaling 10 tackles for loss and three quarterback hurries.

Troy also hosted the Sun Belt championship game last season, beating Coastal Carolina 45-26 for the title. The Trojans finished 12-2 after knocking off Texas-San Antonio 18-12 in the Cure Bowl.