2004 Silicon Valley Bowl

2004

TROY TROJANS MAKE FIRST D1 BOWL APPEARANCE

SAN JOSE, Calif. - The Trojans started their first appearance in a bowl game with a bang, jumping to a 14-0 first quarter lead over Northern Illinois in the Fifth Annual Silicon Valley Football Classic, but the Huskies proved to be better in the mud, battling back to down the Trojans 34-21.

The Trojans wasted little time getting on the scoreboard, taking the opening drive 78 yards in nine plays to take a 7-0 lead. Freshman quarterback D.T. McDowell found a diving Jason Samples on a 45-yard completion to the Huskies’ one-yard line, setting up a keeper over senior left guard Junior Louissaint for the score.

After the Huskies went three and out on their first possession, the Trojans put another drive together. This time it was a 73-yard possession that spanned eight plays and culminated with a 23-yard screen pass to senior Jermaine Richardson from McDowell with 6:05 to play in the opening quarter.

McDowell scored his second touchdown on the night on a four-yard run with 10:50 remaining in the game to snap a string of 34 unanswered NIU points. The Northern Illinois run of points began when Garrett Wolfe scored a 50-yard touchdown scamper in the first quarter to trim the lead to 14-7.

Trojans senior DeWhitt Betterson was named the game’s offensive MVP after rushing for 150 yards on 25 carries. He also had an apparent 85-yard third quarter touchdown run called back after a fan on the Northern Illinois sideline blew a whistle.

Scoring Summary

TROY - McDowell 1-yard run (Whibbs kick), 10:41, 1st 7-0 TROY - Richardson 23-yard pass from McDowell (Whibbs kick), 6:05, 1st 14-0 NIU - Wolfe 50-yard run (Nendick kick), 4:46, 1st 14-7 NIU - Haldi 1-yard run (Nendick kick), 1:15, 1st 14-14 NIU - Nendick 30-yard FG, 9:49, 2nd 14-17 NIU - Haldi 1-yard run (Nendick kick), 0:34, 2nd 14-24 NIU - Nendick 39-yard FG, 7:50, 3rd 14-27 NIU - Harris 3-yard run (Nendick kick), 14:30, 4th 14-34 TROY - McDowell 4-yard run (Whibbs kick), 10:50, 4th 21-34

Team Statistics

First Downs Rushes-Yards Passing Yards Passes Att-Comp-Int Total Offense Plays-Yards

TROY

13 41-170 122 22-6-1 63-292

NIU 17 44-213 146 24-8-0 68-359

RUSHING - (TROY) Betterson 25-150, McDowell 13-29 (2 TD), Richardson 2-3, Dawkins 1-(-1); (NIU) Harris 23-120 (TD), Wolfe 15-84 (TD), Haldi 5-11 (2 TD)

PASSING - (TROY) McDowell 6-20-1-122 (TD), Samples 0-2-0-0; (NIU) Haldi 8-24-0-146

RECEIVING - (TROY) Samples 3-87, Richardson 1-23 (TD), Banks 1-6, Dawkins 1-6; (NIU) Cieslak 2-35, Perez 2-31, Powers 1-47, Sheldon 1-17, Nordin 1-9, Hurd 1-7