Troy gets into win column with 34-12 victory over Florida A&M

Another game-breaking performance by Devonte Ross and a dominant second half gave Troy a 34-12 victory over Florida A&M on Saturday night at Veterans Memorial Stadium.

Ross caught 11 passes for 229 yards and three touchdowns — including a 98-yarder in the fourth quarter — and totaled 279 all-purpose yards as the Trojans (1-3) won for the first time under rookie head coach Gerad Parker and snapped a four-game losing streak overall. Troy outscored FAMU 20-3 in the second half after leading just 14-9 at the break.

"We have so much to clean up, but there's no such thing as an ugly or a bad win," Parker said in his post-game comments on ESPN+. "This football team needed a win."

Quarterback Goose Crowder returned to the lineup after missing last week's loss at Iowa with a shoulder injury and completed 18 of 25 passes for 295 yards and four touchdowns without an interception. Three of those touchdowns went to Ross, a 20-yarder in the second quarter to put the Trojans up eight, a 44-yarder in the third to give them a 12-point lead and the 98-yarder that put the game away with 8:36 remaining.

It was the second straight huge game for Ross, who totaled 219 all-purpose yards and scored all three of Troy's touchdowns in last week's 38-21 loss to Iowa. In that game, the sophomore from Cartersville, Ga., caught touchdown passes of 63 and 62 yards and also returned a punt 77 yards for a score.

Damien Taylor scored Troy's other two touchdowns on a 40-yard run in the first quarter and a 7-yard reception from Crowder early in the fourth. Taylor ran for 109 of Troy's 212 rushing yards in the game.

FAMU (2-2) got all of its points on field goals by Cameron Gillis, who hit from 29, 22, 31 and 43 yards. The third of Gillis' kicks made it a five-point game at the half.

Rattlers quarterback Daniel Richardson passed for 288 yards, 141 of that on 10 receptions by Jamari Gassett. Troy controlled the second half, however, limiting Florida A&M to just 120 yards of total offense.

There was quite a bit of chippiness late, with the two teams combining for 25 penalties for 235 yards. Troy was penalized 12 times for 125 yards.

"Some of that was provoked, but we've got to be able to step up and play a little cleaner," Parker said. "But I'm proud of guys, certainly how we came out of the locker room (in the second half) and the things we did to finish the football game."

The victory was Troy's first since Dec. 2, 2023, when it beat Appalachian State 49-23 to win its second straight Sun Belt Conference championship. The Trojans then lost 17-10 to Duke in the Birmingham Bowl and then its first three games this season.

Parker had not only been 0-3 as Troy's head coach, but 0-9 including a six-game stint as Purdue's interim coach at the end of the 2016 season. He said Saturday he was happier for his players and coaching staff than he was for himself.

"To be honest with you, you do this long enough, you don't think about anything else besides what you've got to fix for next week," Parker said. "But I'm going to try and take a breath and say 'you know, that was all right.' I'm going to remember this day for a long time."

Troy begins Sun Belt Conference play at home next Saturday vs. Louisiana-Monroe. The Warhawks are 2-1 after losing 51-3 on Saturday at top-ranked Texas.

Kickoff for Troy-ULM is set for 6 p.m., with live-streaming on ESPN+.