By JOHN ZENOR
AP Sports Writer

TROY, Ala.(AP) -- The Troy Trojans made an early statement in the
Sun Belt Conference, beating up on a rival that had two notable
nonconference upsets.

Levi Brown passed for 191 yards, and Dantavious Parker ran for
two touchdowns out of the Wildcat formation to lead the Trojans
to a 31-7 victory over Middle Tennessee on Tuesday night.

"Any time we beat Middle Tennessee, it's a big win," Troy coach
Larry Blakeney said. "They are a good team, and they will have
something to say about the league championship. It won't be in
this game, though."

The Trojans (3-2, 2-0) have won four straight over their league
rival, retaining the Palladium Trophy awarded to the winner
since 2004.

The Blue Raiders (3-2, 1-1) had looked like potential
challengers to the three-time defending league champions after
upsets over Memphis and Maryland, but an offense directed by
former Troy and Auburn coordinator Tony Franklin couldn't
sustain drives.

"I think it's a big one," said Brown, who was 18-of-30 passing
and had a 52-yard touchdown throw to Chip Reeves late in the
first half. "They were 3-1, with a win over an ACC team and a
Conference USA team."

Parker gained 83 yards on six carries off direct snaps.

Middle Tennessee's workhorse quarterback Dwight Dasher got going
late, and had 245 yards passing and 53 rushing.

Dasher, who leads the nation in offensive touches, was 6-of-21
passing in the first half. He finished 24 of 44 through the air
and had 18 carries.

"We did a good job of getting to him early," Blakeney said.
"Dasher is a guy that scares you to death. It was just a great
defensive effort."

Troy racked up 455 yards, including 264 on the ground. Maurice
Greer, a former University of Colorado signee who overcame
testicular cancer, rushed for 80 yards on Troy's final drive. It
was halted when the Trojans let the clock run down. He had only
24 yards in the first four games.

Parker put the Trojans up 21-0 with a 1-yard touchdown run off a
direct snap to cap the opening drive of the second half. He also
raced 46 yards to the Middle Tennessee 2 to set up the score.

Parker scored on a 28-yard scamper on the opening play of the
fourth quarter, as he predicted.

"He called it," Brown said. "Before he went in the game he said,
'Levi, you're not even going to have to come back out here this
drive. I'm scoring this play.' And he did it."

Middle Tennessee's first big drive ended when Dasher was swarmed
for no gain on fourth-and-goal from the 2, stopping the 13-play,
86-yard drive.

The Blue Raiders followed that with Dasher's 35-yard touchdown
pass to Tavarres Jefferson late in the third quarter for their
only points.

"Our whole offense is about getting into a rhythm," Jefferson
said. "All night we couldn't get into a rhythm. The whole thing
was frustrating."

The onside kick attempt failed, ending any chance of a comeback.
Parker answered a minute later.

Franklin's offense was 4-of-17 on third-down attempts and
0-for-2 on fourth down. Middle Tennessee punted 11 times.

The Trojans took a 14-0 lead into halftime with a big pass and a
career milestone.

Brown hit a wide-open Reeves streaking down the left sideline
with 20 seconds left in the half to cap an 80-yard drive that
began with 2:38 remaining.

"That was huge," Brown said. "It gave us all the momentum going
into the half. We had kind of struggled a little bit on offense
and that gave us a boost."

Troy freshman Shawn Southward had scored his first career
touchdown on a 7-yard run in the first quarter.

Middle Tennessee's best scoring chance of the half ended with a
hook-and-ladder on the final play down to the Troy 20.

"If you take all the missed plays in the first half, then there
are a lot of yards," Blue Raiders coach Rick Stockstill said.
"We just had to make some plays."