STATESBORO, GA. – Georgia Southern rallied from a 14-point deficit; then withstood a late two-point conversion attempt to defeat Campbell 27-26 Saturday at Paulson Stadium.
The FCS member Camels led 20-6 early in the third quarter before the FBS Eagles scored three unanswered touchdowns and survived a late CU rally.
Hajj-Malik Williams connected with
Jalen Kelsey on a 20-yard scoring pass with 14 seconds remaining to bring the Camels within 27-26. Head coach
Mike Minter elected to go for the lead, but Williams' pass to
Julian Hill on the ensuing two-point conversion was incomplete.
Saturday's contest was the fifth all-time for the Camels against a FBS member, and Williams threw for 237 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 73 yards and another score. A sophomore from Atlanta, Williams completed 17-of-27 passes while averaging 6.6 yards on 11 rushing attempts.
Kelsey finished with six receptions for 66 yards, including the late TD and
Jai Williams hauled in four catches for 72 yards and another score.
Georgia Southern quarterback Shai Werts ran for 155 yards and completed 7-of-13 passes for 53 more and another as the Eagles escaped Campbell's upset bid.
Campbell outgained Georgia Southern 369-346, including a 237-62 edge in the air. CU finished 3-of-3 in red zone opportunities against the Eagles, who extended their home win streak against non-conference opponents to 25 games.
Alex Santiago forced a fumble on the second half kickoff and
Josh McNeely recovered to give the Camels a first down on the GSU 26. Four plays later, Williams ran in from eight yards and
Robert Brown's PAT extended Campbell's lead to 20-6.
Werts had runs of 32 and 20 yards in a 75-yard drive he capped by finding D.J. Butler for a 1-yard TD catch on fourth down to cap a 10-play, 75-yard drive that cut the Camel lead to 20-13 with 7:32 remaining in the third quarter.
A mishandled punt snap gave Georgia Southern first-and-goal at the Campbell nine and J.D. King ran in from four yards out with 13:50 remaining. Alex Raynor's PAT tied the game at 20.
Werts capped a 6-play, 95-yard drive with a 41-yard scamper to give the Eagles their first lead (27-20) with 6:42 left.
The Camels led 13-6 at the break after out-gaining Georgia Southern 211-141 in the opening half. Williams completed 8-of-11 passes for 133 yards. CU held the Eagle option rushing attack to just 89 first-half yards.
Campbell drove 75 yards after the opening kickoff to take an early 7-0 lead. After Williams hooked up with tight end
Julian Hill for a 30-yard gain to the GSU 10,
Bryant Barr covered the final 10 yards between the tackles. Brown's PAT put the Camels ahead just 1:57 into the game.
Williams completed 3-of-4 passes for 59 yards on the opening drive, finding Hill twice for 45 yards.
Georgia Southern responded with Raynor's 41-yard field goal to cut the gap to 7-3 with 8:37 left in the opening period.
Williams then rolled right and connected with
Jai Williams on a 40-yard scoring pass to cap a 75-yard march in just four plays. Brown's PAT missed wide right and the Camels led 13-3 with 6:01 to play in the opening quarter.
The Eagles drove inside the Camel 10, but the drive stalled and a bad snap cost Georgia Southern a chance at adding three more points on Raynor's 33-yard field goal attempt.
A roughing the punter penalty in the end zone kept a Georgia Southern drive alive and the Eagles cut the margin to 13-6 after Raynor's 39-yard field goal with 4:50 to play in the half.
Jonathan Jones led the Camels with nine tackles, including two for loss, while
Darion Slade,
Ray Miller and
Tywun Rivens made seven stops apiece.
Campbell returns to action Friday (Sept. 18) in a 7:00 p.m. kickoff at Coastal Carolina.
