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When Troy defensive back Blace Brown picked off LSU quarterback Danny Etling to ice the Trojans' 24-21 win over the Tigers in Baton Rouge on Saturday, you were as shocked as Jason Bateman's color commentator character in the classic film "Dodgeball," right?

You shouldn't have been.

"It's not like we just showed up to the scene on Saturday night and won a football game," coach Neal Brown told CBS Sports. "This was an 18-year, overnight success story. This was a long time coming."

Troy left then Division 1-AA in 2000 for the bigger time under coach Larry Blakeney. 

Sure, the program had achieved its fair share of success over the years. It topped then-No. 17 Missouri at home in 2004, throttled Oklahoma State in Troy in 2007 and beat what turned out to be a rather lousy 3-8 Mississippi State team in Starkville in 2001. But it didn't have that one, big signature win. 

"We really feel like we are one of the top Group of Five programs in the country," Brown said. "But we didn't get the same recognition that some other schools did, because we were missing a marquee road victory against what I would call a 'name-brand program.' On Saturday night, we were able to get that."

They didn't just "get it," Saturday night in Death Valley. They beat an SEC power at its own game. They owned the line of scrimmage on both sides. Jordan Chunn ran it straight into the teeth of the traditionally tenacious Tiger defense. Thirty carries and 191 yards later, Chunn and the Trojans made the Tigers quit. 

"We won playing with an SEC game plan," Brown said. "We won playing big boy ball. We played great defense, we ran the ball well, got to third and manageable, converted third downs [10 for 18] and fourth downs [2 for 2], it was a push on special teams and we were plus-two in the turnover margin. There wasn't a single trick play, there were no gimmicks on offense or defense, we didn't do anything out of the ordinary on special teams. We've got good players and the coaches did a good job preparing."

What's more, they did it with glaring mistakes that were avoidable.

"We made so many mistakes," Brown said of the LSU win. "We turned the ball over going into score. We turned the ball over inside the 5-yard line. We didn't play our best. We didn't get lined up correctly defensively in the first half. It didn't hurt us because we didn't play many plays. But we can play a lot better football."

This wasn't a surprise, it was logical progress for a proud program.

While the rise of Troy has been 18 years in the making, the more recent success of the Trojans football program can be traced back to a loss to Clemson last year. The Trojans fell 30-24 to the eventual national champions last September, and view that as an opportunity missed. Down 13-10 in the fourth quarter, the Trojans appeared to force a fumble on the goal line and return it 100 yards for a go-ahead touchdown. But officials ruled that forward progress had stopped, Deshaun Watson found defensive lineman Christian Wilkins for a touchdown pass (read: gimmick) one play later, and the Tigers went on to college football glory.

Troy did as well.

The Trojans ripped off seven straight wins to get ranked 25th in the Associated Press Top 25 before getting smoked 35-3 by Arkansas State.

"We got ranked in the Top 25 on a Sunday, and then went out the following Thursday night and were soundly beaten," Brown said. "It might have been the shortest stay in the Top 25 in history. We've got that past to lean on, and we have to make sure that we don't repeat that."

The Sun Belt schedule cranks back up on Oct. 11 in an in-state rivalry game at home against South Alabama, and the stakes have changed.

"We've got a bullseye on our backs in conference from here on out."

A bullseye that exists because of a win -- and the subsequent national recognition -- that was long overdue.

Eighteen years, to be precise.