For the second straight week, a heavy underdog rolled into Memorial Stadium ready to give Nebraska everything it could handle.
For the second straight week, Nebraska trailed for stretches before taking a late lead.
But, this time the result was different. Even a go-ahead touchdown with three minutes left couldn’t lift the Huskers to victory as Kyle Vantrease scored the game-winning touchdown run with 36 seconds left in the contest.
Georgia Southern walked out of Memorial Stadium with a 45-42 win built on a whopping 642 yards of total offense, the most Nebraska had allowed to any opponent in a decade.
Making his second career start at Memorial Stadium, Georgia Southern’s Vantrease played a composed first half where he went 19-of-26 for 185 yards.
The Eagles did most of their damage on the ground, though, as four of their first five drives of the half ended in a rushing touchdown.
People are also reading…
First, a 13-play, 74-yard drive ended in a Jalen White 2-yard rushing score for a 7-0 lead midway through the first quarter. White also scored Georgia Southern’s second touchdown, a 26-yard score where White only had to juke past one defender on his way to the end zone.
White was no slouch in the first half with 50 yards and a pair of scores to his name, but fellow running back Gerald Green had an even better start to the game. On Green’s first touch of the contest, he rumbled for a 67-yard carry that turned into a 1-yard rushing touchdown two plays later.
Green also scored the Eagles’ fourth touchdown on the half on a 47-yard run where he accelerated past Myles Farmer. Georgia Southern averaged 11.9 yards per carry in the first half and put up 364 yards of total offense as NU’s only stop of the half came on a Marques Buford Jr. interception.
At the same time, the Nebraska offense was doing its best to keep the Huskers in the game.
After a game-opening three-and-out, Thompson responded with a 75-yard touchdown drive that he capped off with a 2-yard rushing touchdown. NU trailed 14-7 when Thompson floated a 21-yard touchdown pass over the middle of the field to Brody Belt, a grab that marked Belt’s first touchdown as a Husker.
Nebraska’s sole lead of the first half came after Buford’s interception, when a run-heavy drive ended in a 2-yard rushing score for Anthony Grant and a 21-14 lead.
It didn’t last for long as Green’s two touchdown runs came in the span of four in-game minutes, and Nebraska trailed 28-21 once again.
Thompson had some first-half magic left in him as he completed passes to Alante Brown, Trey Palmer and Marcus Washington in quick succession before scoring another 2-yard rushing touchdown. Thompson went 13-of-16 for 202 yards in the air during the first half, and he accounted for three of Nebraska’s touchdowns.
Georgia Southern very nearly took a seven-point or three-point lead into the halftime locker room, but a penalty with two seconds left on the clock resulted in a 10-second runoff and one of the biggest cheers of the game from the Husker faithful.
There was no immediate second-half turnaround out of the locker room, either, as Georgia Southern marched 75 yards in under three minutes to open the second half with a touchdown. Vantrease’s 10-yard touchdown to Amare Jones put Georgia Southern up 35-28, and it meant NU would need a response from its offense once again.
The Huskers got just that, in the form of a 13-play, 84-yard drive that chewed up five minutes of game action. Grant ran the ball six times on the drive, but it was his backup, Ajay Allen, that punched in the 7-yard touchdown to tie the game at 35-35.
Third downs had cost the Nebraska defense all game long as Georgia Southern went seven for its first seven its third-down tries, but the Husker defense produced a big stop on the first play of the fourth quarter. Ty Robinson and Ochaun Mathis swallowed up the 1-yard carry right in front of the goal line, forcing Georgia Southern into a field goal which the Eagles converted for a 38-35 lead.
As Georgia Southern marched down the field again with under nine minutes left to play, it felt as though a turnover might be the only way the Husker defense could get off the field without allowing points.
A well-timed hit from Garrett Nelson right as Vantrease released a pass allowed Buford to come down with his second interception of the night deep inside Nebraska territory.
Still, it’s no small feat to march 98 yards down the field with the game on line.
The Huskers did just that in a drive that included a near-fumble and near-touchdown before Thompson punched in the 1-yard score that marked his third rushing score of the night.
NU’s 42-38 lead was its first since midway through the second quarter, but three minutes left on the clock meant the Huskers still needed a stop from their defense.
A fourth down near midfield was their best chance, but Georgia Southern converted in and marched down the field for a go-ahead touchdown of its own with 0:36 left in the game. Thompson quickly led NU down the field for a 51-yard field goal attempt that sailed wide left, sinking NU to a loss and 1-2 record coming out of nonconference play.