In the three years Clay Helton has been at Georgia Southern they are 2-10 in games played after Oct. 31. Saturday the post-Halloween horror show continued for the Eagles as they dropped a 28-20 decision to the Troy Trojans who came into the game having won only one conference game this year.

The Eagles were outgained 441 to 246 yards of total offense. The Trojans came in giving up over 370 yards of offense per game and 27 points per contest and held the Eagles to just two touchdowns.

“I thought this was a great college football game,” Helton said. “I thought Troy did a great job with execution.  I thought both teams played their hearts out but one team did a better job on third downs. We went three for eight and they were 11-14. That allows drives to continue and you look up and you only have 48 plays of offense. We have to get our execution piece fixed especially on those crucial third downs, and be ready for Coastal Carolina.”

Offensively J.C. French was held to just 171 yards and had one interception and no touchdowns. The Eagle running game was non-existent as they managed just 75 yards on 20 carries. On the flip side Matthew Caldwell passed for 288 yards and a pair of touchdowns while Damien Taylor led the rushing attack with 92 of the Trojans 153 yards on the ground. Former Eagle Gerald Green added 41 yards on only five carries.

“This was one of those games where the clock was being eaten up,” Helton said. “They moved the ball and kept the ball away from our offense. There were about five to six plays that were the difference in winning and losing, and they made the five to six plays tonight.”

Georgia Southern started the scoring on a four-yard touchdown run by receiver Josh Dallas for a 7-0 lead. Troy answered early in the second with a six-yard touchdown pass from Matthew Caldwell to Brody Dalton tying the game at 7-7.

The Eagles got the ball at the Troy 10-yard line with just over a minute to play in the half. O.J. Arnold got the ball to the three with a seven-yard run. Two straight incomplete passes from French left Helton with a decision and he chose to kick a 21-yard field goal from Gavin Stewart for a 10-7 halftime lead.

"We tried a couple shots at the end zone,” Helton said. “We kicked the field goal after a nice drive knowing we were getting the ball to start the second half.”

Troy came back in the third to take a 14-10 lead on a short touchdown pass from Caldwell to Devonte Ross. The Eagles answered late in the third with a one-yard score by O.J. Arnold to grab a 17-14 lead. 

In the fourth Caldwell scored on a two-yard sneak for a 21-17 Trojan lead. The Eagles added a 45-yard Stewart field goal to cut the lead to 21-20. Troy answered again with another Caldwell sneak to go up 28-20.

The Eagles got the ball back with 2:32 to go, but on second and seven French was intercepted at the 48-yard line by Justin Powe. Troy was then able to run out the clock after getting a 23-yard first down pass from Caldwell to Dalton on third and seven with just over a minute to play.

Former Statesboro Blue Devil Jordan Lovett caught three passes for Troy for 23 yards while Brendan Jackson had four tackles from his linebacker position.

The loss drops the Eagles to 6-4 overall and 4-2 in conference play. They still have an outside chance at winning the conference title but with Marshall currently 5-1 they will need some help and will have to shake off the loss and rebound Saturday at Coastal Carolina.