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The Troy Trojans (3-7, 2-4) won their second straight game of the season after beating the Georgia Southern Eagles (6-4, 4-2) by a score of 21-20 on the road Saturday.

The win marks the third for Troy under head coach Gerad Parker and the second straight win of the season, the first winning streak for Troy under its new head coach. The win also marked the 100th Sun Belt Conference win in Troy history.

“It doesn’t get any better than this,” Parker said after the win. “I hold back tears – and everyone can call me soft – but this is an emotional game. We’ve been through the depths of hell this season and when you visit a place like that, there is only one choice you have and that’s to get your team out of it. Our staff and players are unbelievable and how resilient they’ve been tells you a lot about how great college football still is.”

Troy started the game off with a 14-play drive that bled more than seven minutes of game clock but ended in no points as the Trojans missed a 24-yard attempt. Georgia Southern answered with an 11-play drive of its own, capped off with a 4-yard run to put the Eagles up 7-0 with 1:56 left in the first quarter.

The Trojans started off the second quarter by tying things up after a 6-yard touchdown pass from Matthew Caldwell to Brody Dalton. The Eagles managed to take a lead into halftime after converting a 21-yard field goal with 27 seconds left in the second quarter to go up 10-7.

Troy opened up the third quarter with an 11-play drive that Caldwell finished off with a 4-yard touchdown pass to Devonte Ross, his 10th of the year. Georgia Southern answered right back, however, as Daleville native Jalen White scored on a 1-yard run to give Georgia Southern a 17-14 lead with 2:34 left in the third quarter.

Troy then proceeded to march right back down the field with Matt Caldwell scoring on a 2-yard run to retake the lead for Troy 21-17 with 13:34 left in the game. Georgia Southern cut the lead to 21-20 with 10:43 left on a 45-yard field goal.

Troy then marched on a methodical 16-play drive that ate up more than eight minutes of the clock. Caldwell scored on a 2-yard run to extend the Trojan lead to 28-20 with 2:32 left. Just two plays later, Troy safety Justin Powe intercepted a Georgia Southern pass. Troy needed just one more first down to seal the win and run out the clock. On third-and-seven, Caldwell threw a 23-yard pass – on a bootleg – to Dalton for the game-sealing first down.

Troy compiled 441 yards of offense and held Georgia Southern to just 246 total yards and 76 yards rushing. The Trojans were penalized 10 times for 74 yards, while the Eagles were flagged just four times for 33 yards. More importantly, Troy did not turn the ball over and forced one of its own.

Caldwell had a career night, throwing for 288 yards and two touchdowns on 26-of-32 passing along with two rushing touchdowns. Damien Taylor rushed for 92 yards on 18 carries and Gerald Green rushed for 41 yards on five carries against his former team. Devonte Ross caught 10 passes for 95 yards and one touchdown.

Jordan Stringer led the Troy defense with seven tackles, one tackle-for-loss and one sack, while Ian Conerly-Goodly recorded seven tackles and one pass breakup. Justin Powe earned five tackles and an interception.

Troy remains on the road next Saturday, Nov. 23, at Louisiana at 4 p.m.