Georgia Southern 21, #1 Appalachian State 14 (OT)
STATESBORO, Ga. - Appalachian State University football's 26-game Southern Conference winning streak came to an end with a 21-14 overtime loss to Georgia Southern on Saturday afternoon at Paulson Stadium.
Appalachian jumped out to a 14-0 lead just 10:31 into Saturday's game but Georgia Southern (5-4, 3-3 SoCon) scored the game's final 21 points to pull out the upset. ASU was plagued by three turnovers, all of which occurred in the red zone, including a fumble by quarterback DeAndre Presley on the final play of the game.
The turning point of the game occurred early in the second quarter when the Mountaineers, already leading 14-0, appeared to extend the lead to three touchdowns when Devon Moore shed several tacklers on his way to the end zone from 22 yards out. However, ASU was flagged for a hold on the touchdown run and three plays later, Presley was intercepted in the end zone by GSU's Laron Scott to end the scoring threat.
Georgia Southern knotted the score at 14-14 with back-to-back touchdown drives that sandwiched halftime - the first capped by a one-yard touchdown run by quarterback Jaybo Shaw with five seconds to go in the first half and the second which milked 9:27 off the clock to begin the second half.
Appalachian's best scoring opportunity in the second half came on its first possession of the fourth quarter when, sparked by back-to-back completions of 25 and 42 yards to CoCo Hillary and Brian Quick, ASU had the ball at the GSU 14 yard line. However, the Mountaineers didn't come away with any points when GSU's Michael Butler intercepted Presley at the goal line.
The teams traded scoreless possessions for the rest of regulation and the Eagles got the ball first in overtime. They took a 21-14 lead when Robert Brown scored from four yards out.
Needing a touchdown to force another extra period, Moore ran for 14 yards on Appalachian's first overtime play. However, on third-and-10 from the 11, Presley was sacked by GSU's Darius Eubanks, fumbled and the loose ball was recovered by Josh Rowe to end the game and set off a long-awaited celebration among the GSU faithful.
The Mountaineers out-gained the Eagles, 325-301, but couldn't overcome the three turnovers or Georgia Southern's sterling 10 conversions of 20 third-down opportunities. GSU had the ball for nearly 10 minutes more than ASU (34:52-25:08).
Despite the three turnovers, Presley had another impressive showing with 277 yards of total offense (211 passing, 66 rushing). Filling in for injured starter Matt Cline, B.J. Frazier was Presley's favorite target, catching a game-high six passes for 62 yards. Quick racked up a game-high 79 receiving yards on four receptions.
Defensively, the Mountaineers limited GSU to 80 fewer rushing yards, 63 fewer total yards and 14 fewer points in regulation than its season averages coming in. D.J. Smith led the defensive charge with a game-high 16 tackles.
The loss was Appalachian's first in a SoCon game since it also fell to Georgia Southern, 38-35, on Oct. 20, 2007 (1,112 days ago). That setback also snapped a monumental winning streak for the Mountaineers - a string of 30-consecutive home victories.
Despite the setback, Appalachian (8-1, 6-1 SoCon) will play for its sixth-straight SoCon championship and the league's automatic berth in the NCAA Division I Football Championship next Saturday against No. 7 Wofford (8-1, 6-0 SoCon). The de facto conference title game - the second for ASU in as many years - is set for 3 p.m. at Kidd Brewer Stadium.
#7 Wofford 10, Samford 3
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - In a game dominated by defense, the Wofford football team picked up a 10-3 win over Samford on Saturday afternoon at Seibert Stadium. Down 3-0 at the half, the Terriers scored ten points in the second half for the win and are in first place in the Southern Conference.
The Terriers, ranked seventh in the nation, are 8-1 on the season and 6-0 in the conference and the Bulldogs are 4-5 overall and 2-4 in the SoCon. The Terriers were led by Eric Breitenstein with 227 rushing yards, his second-highest total this season. Mitch Allen added 40 yards and a touchdown, plus three completions for 26 yards. The Bulldogs were led by Chris Evans with 106 rushing yards. Dustin Taliaferro was 14-of-23 for 155 yards.
The Bulldogs had the ball to open the game and gained one first down before punting. Wofford was able to move the ball deep into Samford territory before a fumble gave the ball back to the Bulldogs at the 21-yard line. The Wofford defense was then able to force a three-and-out. The Terriers gained on first down before a pass by Mitch Allen was intercepted by Justin Sly.
After the interception, the Wofford defense forced another three-and-out. The Terriers then picked up three first downs, but a sack on third down resulted in a punt. Samford gained one first down before punting it back to Wofford, but the Terriers went three-and-out. The Bulldogs then used a 20-yard run by Chris Evans to set-up a 30-yard field goal attempt by Cameron Yaw, but it was wide right with 2:23 left in the half.
Wofford went three-and-out and a short punt gave the Bulldogs the ball at the 48-yard line. A 27-yard pass from Dustin Taliaferro to Jeff Ogren got the ball to the 21-yard line and set up a 36-yard field goal by Cameron Yaw. He missed the first try, but Wofford had called a time out prior to the kick. After two more timeouts by Wofford, the field goal was good and the Bulldogs had a 3-0 lead at the half.
To open the first half, Eric Breitenstein ran up the middle for 58-yards on the first play from scrimmage. The drive ended with a 32-yard field goal by Christian Reed to tie the game with 12:33 left in the third quarter. The Bulldogs gained a first down before punting back to Wofford. With the ball back, Breitenstein gained 40-yards on a run however the drive stalled and Wofford punted.
Samford gained two first downs before punting to the two-yard line. Wofford then was able to put together a 98-yard drive that was capped by a five-yard touchdown run by Mitch Allen to take a 10-3 lead with 12:20 to go in the fourth quarter.
The Bulldogs gained two passing first downs, including a 30-yard reception, but on fourth-and-six the pass by Taliaferro was incomplete and the ball went back to the Terriers. A reverse by Devin Reed gained 28-yards on the drive for Wofford, but a 27-yard field goal by Christian Reed was wide left with 2:53 left in the game. The Bulldogs were able to move the ball late, but on fourth-and-thirty after a sack and an offensive pass interference call, Mike Niam intercepted Dustin Taliaferro at the nine-yard line. Wofford took a knee twice to end the game.
The Terriers had 386 total yards, with 360 on the ground. Samford had 262 yards, 155 of which were passing. Wofford had the time of possession advantage, but Samford was +2 on turnovers. Wofford was 3-of-11 on third downs. Samford was 5-of-15 on third down.
Next weekend Wofford will travel to Boone, N.C. to face Appalachian State. The Mountaineeers are 8-1 overall and 6-1 in the SoCon after falling 21-14 in overtime at Georgia Southern.
Elon 27, The Citadel 16
CHARLESTON, S.C. - After trailing 10-7, the Elon Phoenix found the end zone on its next three possessions on its way to a 27-16 Southern Conference football victory over the home-standing Bulldogs of The Citadel on Saturday afternoon. Elon's victory gave the Phoenix a three-game winning streak against the Bulldogs and improved the squads record to 4-5 overall and 3-3 in SoCon play. The Citadel fell to 2-8, 0-7.
Trailing 10-7, the Phoenix faced second-and-10 from its own 37 when Brandon Newsome provided the Elon offense with a spark, rushing for 25 yards into Bulldogs territory at the 38. Elon would convert a second-and-two with a 14-yard completion from Thomas Wilson to Sean Jeffcoat to the Bulldog 16. After a three-yard completion to Lance Camp and a four-yard rush by Newsome, Elon faced a third-and-three from the nine before Newsome bowled his way to the three and a Phoenix first down. Newsome carried it to the one on the next play before Wilson dove it in from a yard out for the second time on the day. The drive covered 63 yards in 3:58 as Elon regained the lead at 14-10 with 4:26 left in the third quarter.
Keith Gamble returned the ensuing kickoff 87 yards to the Elon seven and was only denied a touchdown thanks to a Jonathan Conner tackle. Terrell Dallas took the handoff on the first play of the drive and quickly put The Citadel back in front. The PAT was blocked and the Bulldogs held a 16-14 lead.
Camp's 27-yard kickoff return gave the Phoenix the ball at its own 37 to begin the next drive. Elon would face a third-and-seven from the 40 before Wilson hit Jeffcoat for a 19-yard completion at the Bulldogs' 41. Wilson would find Jeffcoat for another 14 yards on a second-and-eight as the Phoenix drove to the 25. On third-and-five Wilson scrambled for a gain of six and a first down at the 14-yard line. On third-and-one from the five Newsome was handed the ball and capped a 13-play, 63-yard drive with a touchdown run. Leading 20-16 with 13:15 to play, Elon went for two, but was unsuccessful.
Ben Dupree was chased out of the pocket and the quarterback raced for 12 yards on third-and-10 to keep a Bulldog drive alive at midfield. The Citadel moved to the Elon 35 on a 12-yard rush by Christian Robertson. Elon would force The Citadel into fourth-and-four at the 29 and the Phoenix stuffed the pitch play as Blake Thompson and Brandon Wiggins made the stop for no gain.
Elon faced a third-and-eight from its own 45 before Wilson's screen pass to A.J. Harris went for 35 yards and gave the Phoenix a first down at the Bulldog 20. Three plays later The Citadel was flagged for pass interference, setting up a first-and-goal for Elon at the two. Newsome then carried across the goal line for his second rushing touchdown as Elon built a 27-16 advantage.
Elon took the opening kickoff and methodically chewed up 7:16 of game in thanks partially to eight rushes for 31 yards by Harris. The Phoenix marched the ball to the one-yard line before Wilson plunged in for the game's first score to cap Elon's most time-consuming drive of the season. The score was the second rushing TD of Wilson's career. The longest play of the drive was a 12-yard Harris rush.
After taking possession at the Elon 46 early in the second quarter, The Citadel moved inside the Elon 20 after a 10-yard pick-up by Rickey Anderson and a three-yard rush by Terrell Dallas. Facing a third-and-nine from the 20, Elon stuffed the run and the Bulldogs lined up for a 35-yard field goal attempt. Alexander Wall took the snap and the Bulldogs executed the fake field goal with an 11-yard pass to Travis Ruff that gave The Citadel a first-and-goal at the Elon seven. The Phoenix defense would force a fourth-and-goal at the 10-yard line before the Bulldogs' Ryan Sellers' 27-yard field goal attempt was blocked by Travis Greene and recovered by Elon's Terell Wilson to give the Phoenix the ball at its own 14.
The Citadel faced a third-and-six at the Elon 37 before quarterback Dupree was flushed from the pocket and scrambled for a 14-yard gain and a first down at the 23-yard line. The Bulldogs earned another first-down at the 12 before losing three yards to the 15. Dupree was then chased out of the pocket again and made it to the three-yard line before he was stopped by Zach Henderson and Greene. The Bulldogs lost two yards on third down play and lined up for a 23-yard field goal. Sellers' attempt split the uprights to get The Citadel on the board with 19.6 seconds remaining in the first half.
The Bulldogs got the ball at their own 25 to start the second half of play and quickly moved across midfield thanks to a 12-yard run by Anderson and a 17-yard gain by Terrance Martin. On third-and-six from the Elon 42, Anderson took a pitch and went around the left end for a gain of eight and a first down. Elon would force The Citadel into another third down, this one a third-and-nine from the 33. Elon allowed just a yard before the Bulldogs converted a fourth down with a 26-yard pass from Dupree to Luke Caldwell. Yet another third down arose, this one coming at the seven. The Citadel would find the end zone when Dupree pitched to Robertson who ran around the left end for an eight-yard score as the Bulldogs took a 10-3 lead with 8:24 remaining in the third period.
Newsome and Harris combined to carry 30 times for 115 yards. Newsome finished with 19 carries for 76 yards and two scores while Harris carried 11 times for 39 yards. Wilson attempted 21 passes, completing 15 for 145 yards. Jeffcoat led Elon's receiving corps with four grabs for 53 yards.
Wiggins led all players with 16 total tackles, including nine solo stops, to move into fourth place on Elon's all-time tackles chart. The senior now has 334 career tackles. Thompson and Joshua Jones each finished the day with 11 stops.
For The Citadel, Tolu Akindele totaled 13 tackles. Offensively, Dupree carried 23 times for 85 yards and completed three of his six passes for another 48 yards.
Furman 31, Western Carolina 17
GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Dakota Derrick passed for 122 yards and a pair of touchdowns and added 71 yards rushing to power Furman past Western Carolina, 31-17, in Southern Conference football action Saturday afternoon at Paladin Stadium.
Making his first collegiate start, Derrick, a sophomore from Conway, S.C., completed 12-of-23 passes and tossed touchdown passes of 18 and 6 yards in helping the Paladins (5-4, 3-3 SoCon) to their fifth consecutive victory and 12th triumph in the last 13 games with the Catamounts (2-7, 1-5 SoCon).
Western Carolina used a pair of second quarter touchdown run to erase a 14-3 first half deficit and grab a 17-14 halftime lead, but the Catamounts were shut out and managed only 55 total yards over the final two quarters.
Trailing 17-14 at intermission, the Paladins used a pair of nine-play, 63-yard drives in the third quarter to net a pair of scores and take control. Tersoo Uhaa's 6-yard run four minutes into the third quarter put Furman up 21-17, and a 26-yard Ray Early field goal made it 24-17 with 5:41 to go in the period.
A fumble by Western Carolina quarterback Zach Brindise at the 50 was scooped up by Furman defensive end Josh Lynn, who returned it 41 yards to the Catamount 6. On the next play Derrick connected with Uhaa on 6-yard touchdown strike to complete the 17-point quarter for the Paladins.
Furman claimed a 352-289 advantage in total offense for its highest tally since since rolling up 442 yards in a 56-14 victory over Howard on Oct. 6. Jerry Williams paced the Paladins' ground attack with 87 yards, on 15 carries, and Uhaa finished with 14 rushes for 62 yards and two touchdowns.
Western Carolina's Deja Alexander caught four passes for 106 yards, including receptions of 37 and 41 yards in the second quarter, to set up an 11-yard touchdown run by Michael Johnson and 8-yard scoring run by Nate Harris that gave the Catamounts a 17-14 halftime lead.
Furman plays at Elon next Saturday in a 1:30 p.m. game.
Auburn 62, Chattanooga 24
AUBURN, Ala. --- The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga's football team faced a Goliath-like test on Saturday afternoon falling 62-24 at BCS No. 2 Auburn on Homecoming Saturday afternoon. The talented Tigers jumped out quickly on Chattanooga's scrappy squad at Jordan-Hare Stadium.
Auburn scored on its first six possessions in running away with the game. Heisman Trophy candidate Cameron Newton was as advertised completing 15-for-21 pass attempts for 317 yards and four scores in one half of action. He also gained 24 yards on the ground in eight carries.
Mocs quarterback B.J. Coleman played three quarters throwing for 210 yards on 20-39 with one touchdown. After a rocky start, he engineered scoring drives of 70 and 80 yards and led an offense that held the ball for 37:02 of clock time.
Sophomore wideout Brian Sutherland electrified the Mocs faithful on the trip with a 98-yard kickoff return for Chattanooga's first score. It is the second longest return in school history and first since Ebriham Therani against Vanderbilt in 2003.
Sutherland posted new career highs with 10 catches for 97 yards. He had 256 all-purpose yards which is fifth-highest total in school history.
The Tigers amassed 628 yards of total offense with a balanced attack. They recorded 303 on the ground and 325 in the air. The Mocs countered with 334 yards total, 101 rushing and 233 passing.
Newton's arm got Auburn on the board quickly to open the game. He hit Darvin Adams (30 yards) and Emory Blake (20 yards) for a 14-0 lead. The third score came by foot with a one yard plunge to go up 21-0.
Newton went back to the air for two more scores of 39 and 80 yards to Adams and Terrell Zachery, respectively, making it 34-0 with a missed PAT in the equation. The 80-yard scoring strike was the longest play from scrimmage against the Mocs this season.
Sutherland answered on the ensuing kickoff. Starting left, he darted through the middle of the Tigers' defense for the 98-yard score. It was his first return for touchdown in his career.
Auburn answered quickly with a return out to the Chattanooga 49. On the first play of the drive, Onterio McCalebb raced 49 yards marking the fifth different Auburn player to score.
Later in the half, the Mocs' offense got in gear. Coleman led an impressive march. On third-and-five on the Auburn, Coleman found a slanting Marlon Anthony (Acworth, Ga.) for six yards and a first down. The drive appeared stalled at the Auburn 23 when the Mocs' went for it on fourth-and-six with Coleman threading the needle on a scoring strike to tight end Garrett Hughes.
While the game was out of reach, UTC continued to battle. Freshman Keon Williams capped off a nine-play, 80-yard drive with a one-yard touchdown run. Jeff Veres hit a career-long 37 yard field goal to end Chattanooga's scoring.
Williams, Errol Wynn and Chris Awuah combined for 94 yards on 20 carries. Junior wide receiver Joel Bradford had four receptions for 38 yards which sets a new single season school record for receiving yards. Bradford now has 1,065 eclipsing Alonzo Nix's 1,060 in 2003.
The defense was led Buster Skrine's (Woodstock, Ga.) six tackles. Ryan Consiglio, J.D. Dothard each had a sack, while Chris Donald and Joshua Williams shared one. The three sacks are the most against the elusive Newton this year.
Mario Fannin led all rushers with 96 yards in just eight totes with two second-half scores. Zachery had seven catches for 148 yards, while Adams added 106 yards on four receptions with two TDs.
Eltoro Freeman had eight tackles to lead the Tigers defense. Dee Ford added three stops and had the lone sack on Coleman.
Chattanooga returns to Southern Conference play and the friendly confines of Finley Stadium hosting its regular season home finale against Samford at 2 p.m.