MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) _ Second-half touchdowns by Wayne Thomas and Brock Nutter helped lead Troy State to a 27-20 victory over Alabama St. Saturday night.

The Trojans (2-0) won for the eighth straight year in the series despite trailing at halftime. Alabama State (0-3) led 13-10 going into the half, even though they were without quarterback Darnell Kennedy. The Hornets found out this week that a broken foot is expected to be sideline him for about a month.

Troy State scored first with Lenny Lucas' 19-yard touchdown pass. The Hornets answered with linebacker Chris Daniels returning a fumble 36 yards to the ASU 1 and Larry Bias' 1-yard score on the next play to make it 7-6 to end the first quarter.

Lawrence Tynes, who kicked 29- and 30-yard field goals for the Trojans, gave Troy State a 10-7 lead with 13:38 left in the second quarter. Alabama State came back with a 13-10 halftime lead when Antonio Jackson, starting his first game since the 1997 season opener, threw a 27-yard touchdown pass to Damon Hodge.

Thomas and Nutter's second-half TDs brought the final score. Jackson, who finished 19-of-35 passing for 238 yards, scored a final time for the Hornets on a 7-yard touchdown run in the final minutes.

Troy is coming off last week's win over Div. 1A Cincinnati, which upset No. 9 Wisconsin Saturday.