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HATTIESBURG, Miss. (AP) Gunnar Watson had two scoring passes, wide receiver Chris Lewis threw for a touchdown and Troy beat Southern Miss 35-17 on Saturday to earn the right to host the Sun Belt Conference championship game.
The Trojans (10-2, 7-1) have won nine straight with seven of the nine victories coming by 18 or more points. Troy has allowed just two rushing touchdowns in its last seven games.
Troy's Kimani Vidal ran for a 2-yard score with 5:30 left in the first quarter for the game's first score. Southern Miss held Troy to a punt and three plays later, Frank Gore Jr. sprinted for a 57-yard touchdown for a 10-7 lead. The lead was short lived when Troy went on a five-play, 75-yard drive that ended with Watson throwing a 13-yard scoring pass to Lewis.
The Trojans sealed it in the third when Watson threw a 2-yard score to Ethan Conner with 9:23 left in the third. Four minutes later, Chris Rodgers returned a fumble 40 yards for a touchdown to make it 28-10. Troy closed the scoring when wideout Lewis took a lateral and threw to an open Clayton Ollendieck for a 30-yard score.
Ethan Crawford threw for 132 yards and a touchdown for the Eagles (3-9, 2-6). Gore ran for 95 yards.
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