Kenny Larabee photo, KLIN
Huskers Fall at Home to Georgia Southern
The Huskers dropped to 1-2 after a 45-42 defeat to the Georgia Southern Eagles. The Huskers lost another one-possession game, the 10th straight in the Scott Frost era. The shootout with the Sun Belt Conference team marked the first time in Nebraska football history that the Cornhuskers scored 35 points in Memorial Stadium and lost. Until tonight, NU was 214-0.
Georgia Southern scored first on a 13-play, 74-yard drive.
The Eagles held a 7-0 lead until The Huskers answered with a touchdown drive that ended with an impressive 8-yard touchdown run by Casey Thompson.
Georgia Southern regained its seven-point lead with a rapid eight-play drive, putting the Eagles up 14-7.
The Huskers tied up the game at 14 on their next drive on a 21-yard touchdown pass from Casey Thompson to Brody Belt.
Marques Buford Jr picked up his first interception of the year off an errant throw from Eagles QB Kyle Vantrease. NU capitalized when Anthony Grant punched the ball in from the 4, putting Nebraska up 21-14.
Georgia Southern quickly tied up the game at 21 after Eagles running back Gerald Green busted a 67-yard run to the NU 3-yard line and scored two plays later.
The Huskers punted on their next drive. Green gashed another run for the Eagles, this time for 47 yards and a touchdown, giving Georgia Southern a 28-21 lead with four minutes to go in the half.
Casey Thompson continued to roll in the first half and tallied a second rushing touchdown to tie the game at 28.
Georgia Southern got the ball back and marched to Nebraska’s three-yard line but did not score any points after committing a snap infraction, which ended the half.
Both offenses were hot in the first half. Casey Thompson started the half 10-fot-11 on throws and ended the half with 202 yards and three total touchdowns. Georgia Southern found major success on the ground and totaled 171 first-half rushing yards.
Georgia Southern started the second half with the ball and marched down to score in under three minutes. Vantrease completed six of eight passes, ending with a 10-yard touchdown pass that gave the Eagles a 35-28 lead.
Nebraska then went three and out, but the Blackshirts stepped up and got the ball back for the Huskers.
Starting on its own 16, Nebraska drove 84 yards and tied the game at 35 after an Ajay Allen rushing touchdown.
The Eagles drove 77 yards down the field but settled for a field goal after a goal-line stand by the Nebraska defense.
The Cornhusker’s first drive of the fourth quarter was a three-and-out. Georgia Southern, up 38-35, marched down to the Husker 28.
The Eagles looked moments away from closing the door on Nebraska until Marques Buford grabbed his second interception of the game on the Husker 2-yard line.
Nebraska drove 98 yards down the field and took a 42-38 lead with three minutes left in the game. Thompson tallied his third rushing touchdown.
The Eagles would not go away quietly. Georgia Southern converted on a fourth down in its own territory and later scored the game-winning touchdown on Vantrease's 8-yard run.
The Huskers got the ball back and gave kicker Timmy Bleekrode an opportunity to send the game to overtime, but he missed the 52-yard field goal.
Nebraska’s offense looked the best it has all season. Thompson ended the game with four total touchdowns and 318 passing yards, completing 23 of 34 passing attempts. Anthony Grant had his third straight 100-plus-yard rushing game, totaling 138.
The Nebraska defense gave up 642 total yards of offense, most of which came from Vantrease, who totaled 409 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. The Blackshirts also allowed 233 rushing yards. Three rushes alone accounted for 140 yards.
Buford was one of the only bright spots for the Husker defense, grabbing two interceptions, both of which turned into points for NU.
“That one hurt," Nebraska coach Scott Frost said at the postgame press conference. "We win as a team and lose as a team, and we got beat today."
“I think we got out schemed; we really didn’t have an answer.”
Frost said at the end of the press conference: "I just appreciate it. It’s fun being here, and I’m blessed to be the coach here. I love this state and this program. I’m fighting with everything I have, and so is the rest of the coaching staff.”
After the loss, the future is unknown for Frost at Nebraska. But the decision to keep or get rid of him is in the hands of one man, athletic director Trev Alberts. Alberts has many things to ponder over the next couple of days, the most notable being that Frost’s buyout will be cut in half from $15 million to $7.5 million on Oct. 1. There are interesting days ahead in Lincoln, Nebraska.
- More coverage & commentary: HuskerMax game page
