Former Notre Dame OC Drops Heartbreaker in Head Coaching Debut

All was great for Gerad Parker and Troy on Saturday - until it wasn't

Sep 23, 2023; South Bend, Indiana, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish offensive coordinator Gerad Parker watches warmups before the game against the Ohio State Buckeyes at Notre Dame Stadium. / matt cashore-usa today sports

Former Notre Dame assistant coach and offensive coordinator Gerad Parker made his head coaching debut Saturday for Troy against Nevada.

Nevada is coming off a most non-competitive 2-10 season last year but has shown significant improvement through two games. After taking nationally ranked SMU to the final seconds in Week 0, Nevada went to Troy, a program that went 11-3 last year, and snatched a victory.

Parker, who was hired in mid-December as Troy's head coach, got the Trojans out to a14-0 lead late in the second quarter. A touchdown by Nevada in the closing seconds of the half however changed the tide of the evening.

After starting the game with three possessions that resulted in just 49 total yards, Nevada came alive with drives of 51 and 57 yards to end the half. Three of Nevada's four true possessions in the second half resulted in touchdowns in what wound up a 28-26 final score.

Parker and Troy have no easy task this week as a trip to Group of Five power Memphis awaits.

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