Conference USA Championship time. The Troy Trojans vs. The UTEP Miners. You all know what happened last time Troy played UTEP, but if you don't ---> (UTEP Game Recap)
Well this was championship game time. The Trojans were dead set on not letting this team have their way again and go to overtime. #2 Troy was was ready for this game!
If you have looked at the stats in the past blogs, you can see that just like Troy, UTEP has a top offense in college football too.
Just look at how Troy compares to UTEP in every stat. We both rank in the top 4 in every single offensive stat except rush offense. How crazy is that? Even both of our defenses are ranked in the top 14 of the nation. We are both almost equal in every single way. It is so easy to see now at the end of the year why we went to double over time back in week 4.
I remember back when I was a student a Troy University and taking the coaching basketball class with Troy basketball coach Don Maestri, that he told us when he was a high school coach he coached a game with a team that was going to be playing in the Super Dome. To make sure his team was not caught up in the moment and overwhelmed by the big arena, he took them though the dome the day before the big game in order to see it and get all the ohhhs and awwws all out of their system.
I took his advice to heart and have done that with my Trojans every time we get to this game. Due to the success of Conference USA, their championship game was held at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas. One of the biggest and most awe-inspiring stadiums in the world today. More than 100,000 fans have the chance at any given day to pack this stadium.
This will be my 6th time coaching a game in this stadium, but for many of these Trojan players, it will be their first time playing in this massive stadium. Troy holds a 4-1 record all time in Cowboys stadium and we have achieved that record using the Coach Maestri method. I took the team on a tour of the stadium the day before the championship game so they could see it and get all the excitement out of their systems.
It was Saturday at noon. Game time. #2 Troy vs. #19 UTEP with a shot at the National Championship on the line. I don't think that I mentioned this before, but you know Oklahoma Sooner head coach Bob Stoops? In 2027 he is the head coach of UTEP.
Things got going pretty slow for both teams as both defenses played tough. Troy broke though first in the first quarter when running back Bryan Rhoden completed a long Troy drive with a three yard touchdown run.
Two minutes later, Troy quarterback Alonzo Roberts drilled receiver Chad Gordon in the back of the end zone for a 16 yard touchdown pass. 14-0 Troy.
When we last played UTEP earlier this season, it was the Miners that got off to a quick start and forced our offense to fight back in the fourth quarter in order to take it to overtime. This time around, a quick start is what I preached to my team, and they listened.
It was all defense in the second quarter up until the final minute...then it all broke loose. Roberts hit receiver Kyle Kidd on a short slant rout that he would break all the way to the end zone. It was a 62 yard touchdown for Roberts. 21-0 Troy.
55 seconds later, UTEP would finally get points on the board when Miner quarterback Corey Conception hit Andrew Dean on a 66 yard touchdown pass.
It was now 21-7 in favor of the Trojans with just six seconds left on the second quarter clock. My philosophy as a coach has always been if there is time left on the clock, take a smart shot. 97% of the time this results in zero points, 2% of the time this results in an interception and 1% of the time good things happen. UTEP kicked the ball into the end zone and I told my kick returner, no matter where you are on that field, fair catch the football, DO NOT RETURN IT. Returner Chad Gordon listened.
We had the ball at our own 20 yard line with six seconds left of the clock. Hail Mary time. Well won't you believe who won the pony? It was us. That 1% happened in the Conference USA Championship game as Roberts threw the football up into a crowd of cardinal, silver, black, blue and orange. Trojan receiver Adam Rodgers came up with the football and scampered the rest of the way into the end zone to complete an 80 yard touchdown pass. 28-7 Troy at the half.
I told this team in the locker room they better not give up on this UTEP team and I continued to pound the double overtime game into their heads. It must have worked.
We received the football to begin the third quarter and scored in just 24 seconds. Gordon scored on a 45 yard touchdown pass from Roberts. 35-7 Troy.
Later in the quarter, Gordon brought in his third touchdown pass of the football game, this one from six yards out. 42-7 Troy.
We flat out dominated the Minors in this rematch. No one could have predicted this blowout following the double overtime game in the Sun Bowl earlier this season. Not even me.
59 seconds into the fourth quarter Roberts found the end zone for the sixth time when he hit Kidd from 12 yards out. Kidd and Roberts both broke NCAA passing and receiving records on this day, and we will get into more details of the broken records at the end of the season.
I never thought I would say this against #19 UTEP and Coach Bob Stoops, but it was time to take the starters out of the game and run down the clock.
Some of the Troy students that made the trip to Arlington for the big game.
The numbers say it all for Alonzo Roberts. What a time for this big time player to step up.
For the fifth time in my seven year coaching career at Troy, we were Conference USA Champions! Sitting on the shelf next to the two Sun Belt titles I won as offensive coordinator at FAU. (History of Coach Burck)
Check out what our defense did to one of the top offensive units in the country. Pure domination.
A look at the school passing records that Roberts has broken. 73 passing touchdowns and 5,918 passing yards.
All of the career Troy records that have been broken this year. The crazy thing about the career record that Kyle Kidd broke...he is only a Junior! Imagine what kind of damage he can do in 2028 if he does not go to the NFL early.
Here is a look at the all time NCAA Passing and receiving records that fell in the UTEP game. What a special season this has been.
To finish out this blog, a look at where our individual Trojans rank among all other college football players this season. Make note of all the UTEP players on these lists.
Here is how everyone finished up in Conference Championship week:
Troy - Conference USA Champions
WKU - Sun Belt Champions
North Carolina - ACC Champions
Navy - Big East Champions
Alabama - SEC Champions
Air Force - Pac 12 Champions
Wisconsin - B1G Champions
Central Michigan - MAC Champions
Fresno State and Oregon State each shared the Mountain West Championship with 5-2 conference records.
Utah State won the WAC Championship in 2027 with a 5-1 Conference record.
And last...but not least, #1 TCU finished their season a perfect 12-0 to win the Big XII Championship.
Two Trojans named NCAA Conference Championship week players of the week. More then well deserved!
Up next for the 2027 Trojans is the season end awards and the ESPN Bowl Selection show. Will we be heading to the BCS National Championship game for the second time in three years to take on TCU in the Super Dome? Only one way to find out...tune into the next blog!!
#2 Troy Trojans 2027 Season - (13-0), (10-0)
W - vs MTSU - 72 -6
W - vs Rice* - 51-24
W - at Tulane*- 42-13
W - at UTEP*- 44-41 (OT 2)
W - vs Houston* - 50-18
W - at Memphis* - 59-31
W - vs Southern Miss* - 24-19
W - at ECU* - 49-28
W - vs UCF* - 45-28
W - vs Notre Dame - 66-13
W - vs FAU* - 59-10
W - at #13 Florida - 38-24
Week 14 - BYE
W- Conference USA Championship Game vs. #19 UTEP - 56-7
Week 16 - Bowl Season
Week 16 - Bowl Season
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