Troy’s 37-31 win over the University of Southern Mississippi is more than just a “big win” for the Trojans.

“It was the biggest win that we have had in my two years here,” said head coach Neal Brown “Southern Miss is a very good football team.”

After a half hour rain delay and only 15-minutes to warm up, the Trojans rose to the challenge. “I was really proud of our guys’ effort,” Brown said. “We put the ball down and played. I thought they handled that and never blinked.”

Junior running back Jordan Chunn rushed for a team high 181 yards on 36 carries, one of which was a 39-yard touchdown run to put Troy up by 10 midway through the third quarter.

“He stepped up,” Brown said. “He has carried us. He carried us last week. I don’t necessarily want to give him 36 carries again, but I thought he got better as he went.”

Chunn has rushed for 381 yards so far, the most by a Troy player in the first three games of a season in school history. Chunn also boosted an offense that struggled through the air.

Junior quarterback Brandon Silvers completed 10 of his 27 passes for 123 yards and three touchdowns and one interception that was returned for a touchdown.

“His issues were fundamental,” Brown said. “He has to be more sound than that. We have had conversations and he understands he didn’t play his best.”

The difference maker according to Brown was the play of the special teams. Kicker Ryan Kay connected on three field goals and had a punt of 40 yards, all of which earned him Sun Belt Special Teams Player of the Week and Lou Groza Player of the Week honors.

“It was pretty cool,” Kay said. “I always dreamed about being special teams player of the week in the Sun Belt. It’s my third year starting, and I have never got the chance. The surprise was really the Lou Groza. That one really caught me by surprise.”

“I thought special teams was the difference in the game,” Brown said. “We preached about that all week. Anytime you play against that quality of defense, you are going to need some plays on special teams and we got that.”

Trojans allowed 421 total yards, with 263 coming through the air. The lack of a pass rush hurt the Trojans at times.

“We have a lot of anxiety regarding that,” said Troy defensive coordinator Vic Koenning. “We have got to get more pressure. We’re going down the middle of people too much. We haven’t been able to transition from run to pass very well. Even when we’re in passing downs, nobody is beating anybody.”

With conference play gearing up, the Trojans (2-1) are playing with confidence.

“I think we are playing with a lot of confidence after the last two weeks,” Brown said. “As a coaching staff we have more confidence because we know what to expect now. Our guys have answered the bell sort of speak. We are confident we just have to make sure that physically we are ready to play.”

The Trojans will open up conference play Saturday against New Mexico State. Kickoff is 7 p.m. at Veterans Memorial Stadium.