2017 New Orleans Bowl

2017 R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl
Troy Trojans North Texas Mean Green
(10–2) (9–4)
Sun Belt C-USA
50 30
Head coach: 
Neal Brown		 Head coach: 
Seth Littrell
1234 Total
Troy 157217 50
North Texas 71337 30
Date December 16, 2017
Season 2017
Stadium Mercedes-Benz Superdome
Location New Orleans
MVP Troy QB Brandon Silvers[1]
National anthem Gregory Afek[2]
Referee David Alvarez (Mtn. West)
Halftime show Troy University "Sound of the South" marching band
Attendance 24,904
Payout US$925,000[3]
United States TV coverage
Network ESPN
ESPN Radio
Announcers Jason Benetti, Kelly Stouffer, Kris Budden

The 2017 New Orleans Bowl was a college football bowl game played on December 16, 2017, at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. The 17th edition of the New Orleans Bowl featured the Sun Belt Conference co-champion Troy Trojans against the Conference USA West Division champion North Texas Mean Green. It began at 1 P.M. EST and aired on ESPN. It was one of the 2017–18 bowl games that concluded the 2017 FBS football season. Sponsored by freight company R+L Carriers, the game was officially known as the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl.[4] Troy defeated North Texas, 50–30.

Teams

The game featured the Troy Trojans against the North Texas Mean Green. It was the eleventh all-time meeting between the schools; with Troy's victory, it now leads the series 9–2. The Trojans and Mean Green played together in the Sun Belt from 2004 until 2012, when North Texas joined Conference USA.[5]

Troy Trojans

This was the Trojans' fourth New Orleans Bowl; their record in the game is now 2–2, as they previously won the 2006 and 2010 editions of the game and lost in 2008.

North Texas Mean Green

This was the Mean Green's fifth New Orleans Bowl, moving them into a two-way tie with Southern Miss for most appearances in that game (not counting Louisiana–Lafayette's two vacated bowl wins). The Mean Green's New Orleans Bowl record is now 1–4, with their only win in the game coming in 2002 over Cincinnati. It was the Mean Green's first New Orleans Bowl as a representative of Conference USA; their four previous appearances had all been as a Sun Belt member. The Mean Green went 9–3 overall (7–1 in conference) in the regular season, losing to SMU (54–32), Iowa (31–14), and FAU (69–31). They lost again to FAU (41–17) in the C-USA title game to bring their record to 9–4 (7–2).

Game summary

On Troy's 1st drive, they faced an early third down. QB Brandon Silvers found Damion Willis for the first down. Later in the drive, Silvers found Willis for a beautiful pass-and-catch and found Sam Letton down to the North Texas 1-yard line. Senior RB Josh Anderson scored from a yard out to give Troy a 7–0 lead. On North Texas' second play from scrimage, Jamal Stadom sacked QB Mason Fine and forced a fumble which Troy recovered at the 14-yard line. It took Troy just two plays to score as Silvers found Willis for 8 yards, and Anderson scored again from 2 yards out. Troy went for a two-point conversion, and Silvers found John Johnson in the back of the end zone for a 15–0 lead. Troy forced a three-and-out and got the ball back. However, on third-and-7, Joshua Wheeler sacked Silvers and Troy had to punt to North Texas. Mason Fine led a drive in which he found Rico Bussey for a 12-yard TD. Brandon Silvers then led a drive in which he found Damion Willis for a 22–7 lead.

Scoring summary

Scoring summary
Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score
Plays Yards TOP Troy NT
1 10:55 9 80 4:05 Troy Josh Anderson 1-yard touchdown run, Tyler Sumpter kick good 7 0
1 9:21 3 14 0:47 Troy Josh Anderson 2-yard touchdown run, 2-point pass good 15 0
1 0:55 11 75 4:07 NT Rico Bussey, Jr. 12-yard touchdown reception from Mason Fine, Trevor Moore kick good 15 7
2 14:24 5 81 1:31 Troy Damion Willis 7-yard touchdown reception from Brandon Silvers, Tyler Sumpter kick good 22 7
2 5:49 NT Fumble recovery returned 56 yards for touchdown by Colton McDonald, 2-point run failed 22 13
2 0:49 6 41 1:34 NT Michael Lawrence 13-yard touchdown reception from Mason Fine, Trevor Moore kick good 22 20
3 13:33 3 27 0:48 Troy Brandon Silvers 1-yard touchdown run, Tyler Sumpter kick good 29 20
3 10:28 5 92 2:04 Troy Tevaris McCormick 59-yard touchdown reception from Brandon Silvers, Tyler Sumpter kick good 36 20
3 4:26 13 59 6:02 NT 24-yard field goal by Trevor Moore 36 23
3 2:02 2 13 0:31 Troy John Johnson 20-yard touchdown reception from Brandon Silvers, Tyler Sumpter kick good 43 23
4 4:07 4 47 1:58 Troy Damion Willis 10-yard touchdown reception from Brandon Silvers, Tyler Sumpter kick good 50 23
4 0:28 8 60 3:39 NT Turner Smiley 17-yard touchdown reception from Mason Fine, Trevor Moore kick good 50 30
"TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 50 30

Statistics

1 2 3 4 Total
Trojans 15 7 21 7 50
Mean Green 7 13 3 7 30
StatisticsTroyNT
First Downs2121
Total offense, plays - yards69–43579–295
Rushes-yards (net)38–12925–(-8)
Passing yards (net)306303
Passes, Comp-Att-Int24–31–130–54–2
Time of Possession29:3330:27
TeamCategoryPlayerStatistics
TroyPassingBrandon Silvers24/31, 305 yds, 4 TD, 1 INT
RushingJosh Anderson22 car, 113 yds, 2 TD
ReceivingDamion Willis11 rec, 135 yds, 2 TD
NTPassingMason Fine30/54, 303 yds, 3 TD, 2 INT
RushingEvan Johnson6 car, 26 yds
ReceivingMichael Lawrence6 rec, 70 yds, 1 TD

References

  1. ↑ http://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/story/sports/college/troy-university/2017/12/16/silvers-lining-troy-qb-honors-saints-legend-manning-big-game/958706001/
  2. ↑ http://wtov9.com/news/local/ohio-valley-native-sings-at-new-orleans-bowl
  3. ↑ Bowl payout
  4. ↑ "Troy University and University of North Texas Accept 2017 R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl Invitation". NewOrleansBowl.org. Retrieved 2017-12-03.
  5. ↑ Troy Trojans vs. North Texas Mean Green series history
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