Top-Ranked Appalachian State Falls at Georgia Southern

he Southern Conference race just got a lot more interesting.

Things came full circle for top-ranked Appalachian State Saturday afternoon, with the Mountaineers’ trip to Statesboro, GA, take on an unranked, but battle-tested Georgia Southern club.

Prior to kickoff, the Eagles, who had lost three of their last four games coming into their showdown with the Black and Gold, stood as the last team to have defeated the Mountaineers in Southern Conference play, ending ASU's 30-game winning streak with a 38-35 win in Boone (Oct. 20, 2007).

Saturday, the Eagles ended another impressive ASU Streak with 21-14 win over the Mountaineers that snapped ASU's 26-game winning streak, which ranked second to only West Virginia’s 30-game winning streak in league play, established from 1952-59.

ASU now needs to beat first-place Wofford next Saturday at The Rock to claim a share of a sixth-straight SoCon title.

Interestingly enough, the Eagles are the only team in league history to have claimed six-straight titles, completing the league record feat from 1997-2002.

Now, ASU will have their consecutive league titles streak and home-field advantage for the upcoming postseason on the line next Saturday when ASU hosts a Wofford team, who remained unbeaten in league play with a hard-fought 10-3 win at Samford on Saturday.

If there’s a positive to be taken from Saturday’s loss for the Mountaineers, it’s that the last time the Black and Gold lost a conference game also happened to be the same season ASU claimed its third of three-straight national titles.

GSU may have kept some glimmer of hope for the FCS postseason themselves with Saturday’s win over the Black and Gold, needing to win out to finish 7-4 and have an opportunity to claim one of those 10 at-large bids.

Now, ASU, who lost two league games only to share the league title with Wofford during that ‘07 season, must face the other "last opponent" to defeat the Mountaineers in league play when the Terriers travel to Boone on Saturday.

Wofford was able to claim a 42-31 victory in Spartanburg back in ‘07, but haven’t come away from Boone victorious since a 26-19 on a homecoming afternoon at The Rock back in ‘02.

The Mountaineers appeared to have gotten off to a strong start in front of a capacity crowd of 20,073 at Paulson Stadium, as ASU took a 14-0 lead on DeAndre Presley’s 3-yard scoring run late in the first quarter.

Early in the second quarter, the Mountaineers looked as if they were going to put the game away when Devon Moore scampered to the end zone after breaking a couple of tackles for an apparent 20-0 ASU lead. However, the play came back, as the Apps were flagged for holding.

Three plays later, Presley threw his first of two INTs on the day, as All-SoCon cornerback LaRon Scott picked off his pass. Presley, who didn’t thrown an INT through the first seven games this season, has now thrown three in two weeks.

Sparked by this turn of events, GSU quarterback Jaybo Shaw and the Georgia Southern offense would flex its muscles, scoring 21-unanswered points in the remaining three quarters and overtime to claim their second win over a ranked opponent this season (38-21 win over No. 10 Elon on Sept. 25).

The second and third quarters were dominated by GSU’s ball-control flexbone offense, which resembled the time-consuming and demoralized defenses during the Erk Russell and Tim Stowers eras at GSU.

GSU got on the board for the first time on Saturday with a 14-play, 56-yard drive, allowing the Eagles to get to the locker room possessing the momentum after Shaw’s 1-yard plunge with five seconds remaining.

GSU made even better use of the opening drive of the second half, mounting a 16-play, 76-yard drive, which chewed up well over half of the third quarter. The Eagles consumed 9:27 of the third quarter clock, capped by Darreion Robinson’s 2-yard scoring run to tie the game, 14-14.

Early in the fourth quarter, it looked as if the ASU offense might re-assert its control of the game, after struggling against GSU’s stingy defensive unit in the second and third quarters.

However, facing a 3rd-and-7 at the GSU 14, Presley threw his second red zone interception of the afternoon, as linebacker Michael Butler stepped in front of the junior signal-caller’s pass, which was intended for CoCo Hillary at the one, and returned it 22 yards to the GSU 23.

From that point, it was the GSU defense that was able to set the tone for the remainder of the day. With the score tied 14-14 at the end of regulation, GSU would get the ball first in the extra session, and the Eagles made the most of that possession.

It didn’t appear that it would be that way, as the Eagles faced a crucial 3rd-and-5 play from the ASU 20, but Shaw made perhaps his biggest play of the afternoon, as he rushed up the middle for 16 yards to give the Eagles a first down at the ASU four.

True freshman running back Robert Brown provided the winning points one play later, as he found his way to GSU pay dirt on a 4-yard scamper. Adrian Mora added the extra point, giving the Eagles a 21-14 lead.

ASU's first possession of overtime would turn out to be the last possession of the afternoon. The Black and Gold got maybe its best consecutive rushing efforts from preseason Walter Payton Award candidate running back Devon Moore this season, as he gained 18 yards on two running plays to get the Mountaineers within seven yards of tying the contest.

However, Presley was tackled for a loss of four yards on the ensuing play, and GSU forced ASU into its second red zone turnover of the day on the very next play, as Presley scrambled for a yard.

But GSU defensive back forced a fumble, and Eagle linebacker Josh Rowe recovered the ball at the 10 to end the game and set off raucous celebrations at Allen E. Paulson Stadium.

The win marked GSU’s first win over a No.1-ranked foe since defeating No. 1 Furman (27-24) on Nov. 5, 2005. 

Presley totaled 277 yards of total offense (211 pass yds, 66 rush yds, 1 rush TD). In all, Presley completed 14-of-27 passes, recording his sixth 200-yard passing effort of the 2010 season. 

The Mountaineers, who out-gained GSU 325-301 in total offensive yards, were held to their lowest point total since a 33-13 setback to Richmond in the 2008 FCS quarterfinals.

The 325 yards by the ASU offense also marks a season low. ASU’s Brian Quick led the receiving efforts for the Black and Gold with four catches for 79 yards, while B.J. Frazier turned in his best effort of the season with six grabs for 62 yards.

It marked the third-straight week the ASU offense has been held to less than 400 yards of total offense.

ASU’s defense, which held Georgia Southern to 38 yards beneath its season average coming into the contest, was led by Buck Buchanan Award candidate D.J. Smith’s 16 stops.

GSU was able to control the time of possession, holding nearly a 10-minute (34:52-25:08) advantage in that category. Shaw turned in one of his best efforts of the season for the Eagles, as he connected on 9-of-21 passes for 106 yards, with an INT, while rushing for 86 yards and a score on 12 attempts, to lead a balanced ground game for the Eagles.

Mitch Williford caught four passes for 34 yards, while slot back J.J. Wilcox hauled in three passes for 35 yards.

The Georgia Southern defense got excellent play from its defensive line, led by defensive end Roderick Tinsley’s five tackles, three of them for lost yardage, while also forcing a fumble.

GSU’s Buck Buchanan Award candidate sophomore defensive tackle Brent Russell, recorded six tackles, 2.5 TFLs and half-a-sack.

Georgia Southern heads to Cullowhee, N.C., next week to lock horns with Western Carolina with kickoff scheduled for 3 p.m., while Appalachian State hosts Wofford for the de facto Southern Conference title game. Kickoff for that contest is set for 3 p.m.  

SATURDAY’S OTHER SOCON ACTION

—Led by sophomore quarterback Dakota Derrick’s 193 yards (122 passing, 71 rushing) of total offense and two TD passes in his first-career start, Furman was able to overcome a 17-14 halftime deficit and claim a 31-17 win at Paladin Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

The Paladins held an opponent scoreless in the second half for the third time this season, allowing the Catamounts a meager 55 yards of total offense after the break en route to claiming its fifth victory of the 2010 season.

Furman rolled up 253 yards on the ground, which is the most since 289 yards on the ground in a 56-14 rout of Howard in mid-October. Furman claimed 352-289 advantage in total yardage.

—Seventh-ranked Wofford gutted out a 10-3 win at Samford, claiming the overall lead in the SoCon title chase, as the Terriers won their eighth-consecutive game of the 2010 season, improving to 8-1 overall and 6-0 in league play.

The Terriers used a stifling defensive effort to limit the Bulldogs to just 262 yards of total offense, with 155 of those yards coming through the air. The Wofford offense, meanwhile, was challenged as much as any game this season, as the Bulldogs limited the Terriers to 386 yards of total offense, with 360 of those yards coming on the ground.

Trailing 3-0 at the intermission, Eric Breitenstein’s 58-yard scamper to open the second half set up Christian Reed’s 32-yard game-tying field goal. Late in the third quarter, the Terriers got the football back at their own 2-yard line, and proceeded to mount one of their most impressive drives of the season, with quarterback Mitch Allen completing the drive with a 5-yard scamper with 12:20 remaining in the game.

Despite the offensive struggles, Breitenstein had little trouble rushing the football, gaining 227 yards, bested only by his 230 yards rushing in a 38-17 win over Furman back on Oct. 2. The win all but locked up a third playoff berth in four seasons for the Terriers and fourth postseason bid since becoming eligible for a postseason appearance in 2001.

—Heisman Trophy candidate Cam Newton connected on 15-of-21 throws for 317 yards and a four TDs in just one half of play, helping lead NCAA FBS second-ranked Auburn to a 62-24 win over Chattanooga on Saturday afternoon at Jordan-Hare Stadium, as the Tigers remained unbeaten and improved to 10-0 on the 2010 campaign.

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.

— 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 squad's record to 4-5 overall and 3-3 in SoCon play. The Citadel fell to 2-8, 0-7.

Now 0-7 in league play, the Bulldogs will look to avoid going winless in league play for the first time since 1995, when the Bulldogs travel to Samford in two weeks. Playing without preseason SoCon Player of the Year Scott Riddle at quarterback, Elon got a nice effort from backup signal-caller Thomas Wilson, who connected on 15-of-21 throws for 145 yards.

Brandon Newsome was a major part of a ground attack that amassed 127 yards, as he finished the day with 80 yards and two TDs on 19 carries.