Silvers lifts Troy to win over Mean Green in New Orleans Bowl
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — When Troy quarterback Brandon Silvers glanced around the Superdome, his eyes would stop on the name of Archie Manning, who has become one of his mentors, or on spots in the stands where he's sat during games he attended as a fan.
During his next visit, he'll be able to look at spots on the field where he threw four touchdown passes, as well as the end zone where he ran for a short score, to help the Trojans beat North Texas 50-30 in the New Orleans Bowl on Saturday.
"Just being on that field today is going to be one of my great memories for a long time," Silvers said.
Silvers, a former counselor at Manning's football camp, threw for 305 yards, completing 24 of 31 passes. The Orange Beach, Alabama, native was intercepted once on a deep throw, but that hardly mattered in a game controlled by Troy's defense, which produced five North Texas turnovers.
"Our ability to get pressure on quarterback was probably the difference," said Troy coach Neal Brown, who has presided over 21 victories in the past two seasons.
Josh Anderson, filling in for injured starter Jordan Chunn, rushed for 113 yards and two touchdowns for Troy (11-2).
Two of Silvers' TD passes went to Damion Willis, whom Silvers targeted more than usual because of an early injury to receiver Deondre Douglas. Willis had 136 yards on a New Orleans Bowl-record-tying 11 catches.
"I hated that Deandre went down, but like coach said, you can't flinch," Willis said. "I didn't flinch today."
Mason Fine passed for 303 yards and three touchdowns for North Texas (9-5), but was intercepted twice and fumbled twice. He finished with Mean Green single-season records of 4,052 yards and 31 TDs passing.
"Their font seven— that defensive line — gave me fits all day," Fine said. "We never got in a rhythm. We never got comfortable."
The Trojans were threatening to take a three-touchdown lead in the second quarter when a bad snap sailed over Silvers' head and linebacker Colton McDonald scooped it for a 56-yard fumble return to make it 22-13. Fine later found Michael Lawrence for a 13-yard TD on a diving catch near the sideline, making it 22-20.
But early in the third quarter, Fine's short pass was deflected back to linebacker Hunter Reese, whose interception set up Silvers' keeper to make it 29-20.
Troy widened the lead when Silvers rifled a 59-yard TD pass down the middle to Tevaris McCormick, who had 107 yards on five catches.
Troy raced to a 15-0 lead, starting with Anderson's 1-yard run before converting Fine's first fumble — forced by defensive tackle Jamal Stadom — into Anderson's 2-yard touchdown.