Troy wins battle in the trenches, WKU loses 34-27

Austin Reed finished the game completing 39-of-56 pass attempts for 406 yards and three touchdowns, but Western Kentucky fell short at home to Troy by a final score of 34-27.

Western Kentucky head coach Tyson Helton loved the touchdown drive on their first possession and he believes that fast starts will translate to more success.

"It was great," Helton noted. "It's what I wanted to have, we executed great and it was pretty flawless."

Even after the fast start, Troy had all the answers and quickly got back into the game with a 21-yard touchdown run from DK Billingsley, who had himself a day with 24 rushes for 122 yards and a field goal that would give them a 10-7 lead in the first.

The Hilltoppers fired back with some good drives of their own that allowed them to score 10 of the last 13 points in the second quarter. WKU was able to convert on a 43-yard field goal and they followed that up with a touchdown pass just before half.

Reed threw a quick pass to Michael Mathison and he did the rest, taking it down the field for 34 yards and the score to give WKU a 17-13 lead at halftime.

Troy received the ball first in the third quarter and they scored a touchdown right out the half. They ran a play similar to the iconic "Philly Special" and it was executed to perfection, as their quarterback Gunnar Watson caught an easy seven yard touchdown.

WKU struggled offensively this entire quarter, because Troy's front seven was working hard to get to Reed. Troy pressured Reed the entire second half and that made in tough for him to sustain drives and move the ball downfield. The Hilltoppers only came away with three points that quarter to tie the game at 20-20.

Gunnar Watson left this game due to injury, and that allowed backup quarterback Jarret Doege to come in and get a chance to get a road win over his former team. Doege did just that, leading Troy to back-to-back touchdown drives to extend their lead to 34-20.

WKU wouldn't go without a fight though, as Austin Reed lead a touchdown drive that cut their deficit to just seven points.

As the time ticked away more and more, WKU was finally able to get a stop and a chance to tie this game. After what looked to be a promising drive, the Troy pressure was too much and they made Reed fumble the ball at Troy's 37-yard line, which essentially ended the game.

Western Kentucky drops to 3-2 on the season. The Hilltoppers will return to Conference USA play next week at UTSA

1. Finally, an opening drive touchdown! The Hilltoppers have been getting off to a slow start in each game and it's been a focal point of the offense to start fast since the beginning of the season. Before today, WKU didn't have any touchdowns on their opening drives, but today was different as Austin Reed led a crisp drive down the field that was capped off by a touchdown catch from Joshua Simon.

2. Quick game was effective all night. Troy was keeping everything in front of them the entire game, which takes away the big plays downfield, but it also allowed Austin Reed to complete short and quick throws that went for chunks of yards. One of those includes a 34-yard touchdown pass to Michael Mathison that swung the momentum back into the Hilltoppers favor.

3. Austin Reed is a gunslinger. In just one half of action, Reed completed 23 of 30 pass attempts for 245 yards and two passing touchdowns. It seemed like every time Reed had time in the pocket something positive would follow. He's played great since the season opener against Austin Peay and he's been a perfect fit in this pass heavy offense.

4. Not enough QB pressures. Troy had a lot of success throwing the football, especially in the second half. This was largely due to little to no quarterback pressure from the WKU defensive line and Troy took full advantage. They were able to get a few sacks throughout the game but Troy worked with a clean pocket for most of the game, unlike WKU. Gunnar Watson was taken out of the game due to injury and his backup and former WKU player Jarret Doege came in and still had all the time in the world it seemed. If WKU wants to get more stops on defense, they'll have to get to the quarterback more often than they did this evening.

5. Daewood Davis continues to impress. Daewood Davis is having a great year for the Hilltoppers and he's continued to make plays week in and week out. Davis recorded 12 receptions for 122 yards and one touchdown this evening, following another good performance in last weeks blowout victory where he recorded eight receptions for 85 yards and one touchdown. With him complimenting guys like Malachi Corley, Michael Mathison, and Jaylen Hall, this is one of the best receiving units in all of C-USA.

6. Great intensity shown from both squads. This game was a dogfight from start to finish and both teams played with an edge tonight. WKU set the tone with a quick touchdown drive on their first possession, but after that everything was tough and scrappy. Both defenses had players flying around to make big hits and tackles, even on special teams. From the jump you could tell both teams wanted to win and that they'd have to fight to do so.

****

Talk about it on RED TOWEL TALK.

SUBSCRIBE TO OUR YOUTUBE CHANNEL.

Follow us on Twitter: @WKU_Rivals, @SeanW_Rivals, @robholmesiv, @TheCaseyWarner, @HanaLei91, @DBo83

Like us on FACEBOOK.