FIU Fall Short Against Troy, 38-37

TROY, Ala. (AP) — Will Scott's 42-yard field goal with 11 seconds left gave Troy a 38-37 comeback win over Florida International on Saturday.

"I'm still beyond words," said Troy coach Larry Blakeney. "The kick was not textbook. It was into the wind and he hit it pretty good. It went through barely, just enough."

Enough for Troy (4-3, 3-2 Sun Belt) to complete an improbable comeback. The Trojans drove 69 yards for the game-winning kick after starting at their 6-yard line with 1:08 remaining. Troy had trailed 37-21 in the third quarter after Justin Haley's 62-yard fumble return for an FIU touchdown.

Deon Anthony, starting in place of injured quarterback Corey Robinson, threw three touchdown passes — the last an 11-yarder to Eric Thomas in the third quarter. Anthony scored his second rushing touchdown, a 13-yarder, in the fourth quarter.

Anthony, whose 115 rushing yards are the most by a Troy quarterback since 1989, completed 29 of 41 for 245 yards in Robinson's stead. Troy's all-time leading passer, who suffered a concussion last week, had started 31 straight games.

On the decisive drive, Anthony was 3-for-3 passing for 48 yards. The last of those completions went for 13 yards to Shawn Southward, who stepped out of bounds at the 25-yard line to stop the clock and set up Scott.

"The team had confidence in me and I had confidence in them," Anthony said. "All I was thinking that last play was, 'Don't take a sack.' I knew we didn't have any timeouts. We had to make a play."

Jake Medlock was 18-of-29 passing for 316 yards and three touchdowns for FIU (1-7, 0-4). Kedrick Rhodes rushed for 83 yards for the Golden Panthers, who have lost two straight games on last-minute scores.

"He hit it and made the play," FIU coach Mario Cristobal said of Scott's game-winning field goal. "They made their plays at the end there, and we didn't."

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