Georgia Southern vs. Bowling Green: Score and Reaction for 2015 GoDaddy Bowl

College football teams typically get better by studying film and learning from their mistakes. The Bowling Green Falcons may just want to forget about that step and burn the film from the 2015 GoDaddy Bowl in Mobile, Alabama.

The Georgia Southern Eagles steamrolled their way to a 58-27 victory over the Falcons on Wednesday and did so with an overpowering rushing attack. In all, Georgia Southern ran for 452 of its 534 total yards and demoralized the helpless Bowling Green defense in the second half.   

Quarterback Favian Upshaw led the way with 199 rushing yards and four touchdowns on a mere 12 carries. Wesley Fields, Matt Breida and L.A. Ramsby all scored on the ground, and wide receiver Montay Crockett caught a touchdown pass from Kevin Ellison. The Eagles only threw the ball eight times compared to 68 runs, but the Falcons didn't find a way to slow them down.

Quarterback Matt Johnson did throw three touchdowns for Bowling Green, but he turned it over twice.

Perhaps most incredibly, Johnson and Company actually established a 27-23 lead at halftime and looked like the better team. Alas, the Falcons didn't score a single point in the second half and had no chance to stop Upshaw when he ran the option attack.

Pat Forde of Yahoo Sports summarized the proceedings:

Georgia Southern led the nation in total rushing yards, and it kept the ball on the ground on its opening drive and seized a 7-0 lead. Ramsby punched it in from a yard out, but Bowling Green answered with a score of its own when Johnson found wide receiver Roger Lewis for a 45-yard score on 4th-and-1.

Johnson recovered from a poor snap, improvised in the backfield to buy himself time and found Lewis wide-open downfield. Johnson earned some praise from Forde in the process:

However, Georgia Southern blocked the ensuing extra point and ran it back for a score to open up a 9-6 advantage. ESPN CollegeFootball weighed in on the momentum shift:

The lead didn't last long because Johnson directed two more first-half touchdown drives through the air. He found Ronnie Moore from 15 yards out and Gehrig Dieter from 51 yards out to give his team a 20-9 lead and put the Eagles in a difficult situation considering how much they prefer to run the ball. Bowling Green also noted Johnson made some program history with the strike to Moore: 

The clock isn't an issue for a running game if it picks up large chunks, and that is exactly what Fields did when he scored from 26 yards out to trim the lead to 20-16. The Eagles kept the momentum rolling right before the end of the half with a 12-play, 92-yard scoring drive to take a 23-20 lead.

Ellison found Crockett for a 31-yard score on fourth down after he evaded a number of pass-rushers on what looked like a hopeless play. It was similar to Bowling Green's first touchdown and elicited this reaction from Robby Kalland of CBS Sports:

Bowling Green took a whole 51 seconds to answer with a touchdown when running back Travis Greene scored from five yards out to give his team a 27-23 lead at the half after 50 combined points in the initial 30 minutes.

The theme of no defense continued in the second half when Georgia Southern used more than half the third quarter to take the 30-27 lead after Upshaw scored from three yards out to cap off a 14-play drive. John Wagner of the Toledo Blade commented on the effort from the Falcons:

Georgia Southern reacted to the touchdown:

The Falcons responded with a lengthy possession, but they were stopped on 4th-and-9 just outside the red zone on a questionable draw call. SB Nation pointed to an alarming statistic after the failed play:

Georgia Southern was happy to minimize its time of possession on the ensuing drive when it scored on one big play. Upshaw exploded through the line of scrimmage for 80 yards, and SB Nation commented on the rapid turnaround:

From there, Johnson fumbled the ball away inside Bowling Green's 20 and gave Georgia Southern the opportunity to create serious breathing room late in the third quarter. ESPN college football analyst Dustin Fox summed things up for the Falcons: 

The Eagles scored again when Breida ran it in from a yard out to extend the lead to 44-27. Jesse Spector of Sporting News had an interesting theory about how the game was developing:

Johnson fumbled yet again on Bowling Green's next possession, and Forde commented on his implosion: 

Upshaw ran it in again to make it 51-27 as the demoralized Bowling Green defense was completely overmatched every time Georgia Southern kept the ball on the ground. ESPN CollegeFootball put things in perspective with a look at the drive chart:

Things continued to spiral downhill for the Falcons when they dropped two would-be touchdowns early in the fourth quarter. It's safe to say the MAC did not have a memorable day considering Northern Illinois lost 55-7 to Boise State right before Bowling Green collapsed, and the conference reacted:

Just for good measure, Upshaw embarrassed the Bowling Green defense one more time with a 42-yard score to make it 58-27. Fox commented on the backbreaking play:

Upshaw was fast enough to run from the Bowling Green defenders throughout the four quarters and finish out the 58-27 victory in overwhelming fashion.

Postgame Reaction

The story of the game was Upshaw’s performance, and interim coach Dell McGee praised his quarterback, per GSEagles.com:

"

Favian did a great job reading the zone option; his reads were great. The offensive line blocked really well, and the guys did a great job squeezing the ball - we didn't have any turnovers. It was one of the best performances we've played all year. Our players, coaches and staff wanted to make sure our seniors go out winners. They all bought in, and it culminated in our performance tonight.

"

Upshaw led a dominant 21-0 showing in the third quarter. Johnson weighed in on it from the other side, per Wagner: “It was the third quarter from Hell.”

The Falcons didn’t score in the second half, and Georgia Southern defensive back Matt Dobson said it was “the best secondary performance I’ve ever seen,” per Nathan Deen of the Savannah Morning News.

Upshaw discussed what it meant for the entire team to finish the season on a high note, per GSEagles.com: “This meant a lot to us. We just wanted to band together and do what we did the whole season and just play for each other.”

The Eagles played for each other and now they get to celebrate before looking ahead to the 2016 campaign.