The Panthers (1-0) certainly got more than they bargained for from Kennesaw St (0-1), but then again, that's how Georgia St usually handles these situations. Heading into Thursday's opener, they had lost two of their last three meetings with an FCS school.
They trailed the Owls heading into the fourth quarter 20-14 before adding a field goal with 10:35 to cut the lead to 20-17. Kennesaw St opted to got for it on fourth and nine from the GST 35 and nearly converted, but came up a yard short. With 2:01 left, the Panthers marched down the field.
Dan Ellington had 55 of his 187 yards come on the final drive and with 41 seconds left, he threw a touchdown to Diondre Champaigne to put GST up 24-20. The defense held for the final moments and the Panthers begin the year 1-0 for the first time since 2014 when they narrowly escaped Abilene Christian 38-37.
Up next is NCST (1-0) who had struggles of their own against FCS James Madison.
Another Thursday night struggle for a Sun Belt team against an FCS foe. The Warhawks (1-0) trailed 21-16 going into the half, but started their second half with a 79-yard connection from Caleb Evans to Marcus Green. The team teams traded field goals before the Lions (0-1) scored with 8:23 to make it a 31-26 game.
Much like Georgia State, Louisiana Monroe scored with 34 seconds left on an Evans 11-yard scamper before he also ran for a 2-point conversion to put the Warhawks on top 34-31. Unlike the Owls, the Lions nearly came back to tie in the final moments. However, the 37-yard field goal attempt was blocked and ULM held on.
They'll draw Southern Miss (1-0) next, who had no problem in their 55-7 win over FCS foe Jackson St.
11 years ago Appalachian St (0-1) then part of the FCS, pulled off the greatest upset in college football history by stunning number five Michigan at the Big House. Apparently Penn State (1-0) still felt confident inviting them to Happy Valley.
A back and forth affair that went into halftime tied at 10, it appeared the Nittany Lions had staved off the upset with 14 unanswered in the third. Then came a flurry of Mountaineer touchdowns. First a Zac Thomas pass to start the fourth, but Penn State answered with a big 46-yard pass to set up Miles Sanders from two yards out.
App St scored on its next possession, then recovered the onside kick and scored again to tie the game at 31. On their next possession the Mountaineers had to punt,but pinned Penn St deep in their own territory, then benefited from a measly 36-yard punt. It took just four plays including three Jalin Moore runs, capped by a 16-yard touchdown and the lead.
Michael Rubino gave the Nittany Lions a 52-yard kickoff return to set up Penn State inside App St territory. With 42 seconds remaining, Trace McSorely connected with KJ Hamler for the game tying 15-yard score. The Mountaineers attempted a 56-yard field goal at the end of regulation that missed and sent the game to overtime.
Sanders took over for Penn State in OT as he carried the ball four times for the 25 yards needed to find the end zone. After picking up a fourth and one, App St looked poised to tie things up, but Amani Oruwariye picked off Thomas in the end zone to avoid the upset.
The Mountaineers draw Charlotte (1-0) who upended Fordham 34-10.
The other marquee match-up for the Sun Belt came when Boise State (1-0) headed South to take on Troy (0-1) the Trojans stuck around early trailing just 14-7 in the first quarter, but the Broncos dropped 21 unanswered in the second quarter to take a 35-7 lead into the half.
The Trojans had no answer for Brett Rypien who went 20-28 for 305 yards and four touchdowns. Deondre Douglas had a big day receiving for the Trojans as he had 102 yards on seven catches and a touchdown.
Troy will welcome Florida A&M (1-0) to town next Saturday.
It's never a good sign when a team runs for more yards (263) than you have for an entire offensive output (243). That's what happened when the Gamecocks (1-0) and Chanticleers (0-1) met on Saturday. Throw in 250 yards and four touchdowns through the air from Jake Bentley and it proved to be a long day in Columbia for Coastal Carolina.
Up next is UAB (1-0) who blanked Savannah St 52-0.
Another tough Saturday for this Sun Belt team. The Bobcats (0-1) amassed just 176 total yards despite three Rutgers (1-0) interceptions. One of those was a pick six by Kordell Rogers for the only points of the day for Texas St.
Hopefully they fair better against Texas Southern (1-0) next week.
Georgia Southern 37- SCST 6The gameplan for Georgia Southern (1-0) is pretty simple, run the ball. With that being said, it was still highly effective as QB Shai Werts ran the option to perfection. Carrying the ball 22 times for 163 yards and three scores, Werts single handedly out gained SCST (0-1).
Up next is UMass (1-1) who looked impressive against Duquesne, but not so much against Boston College.
No trouble in Lafayette, Louisiana, as the Ragin' Cajuns (1-0) cruised to an early 21-3 lead and never looked back. Trey Ragas carried the ball 13 times for 142 yards and TD while Andre Nunez was an efficient 19-22 for 184 yards and two scores in the air and another rushing.
Louisiana will get an extra week to enjoy this win as they don't return for another two weeks at Mississippi St (1-0).
Justice Hansen threw for 423 yards and six touchdowns in an initially close contest, but then turned into a laugher. Arkansas St (1-0) led 21-14 going into halftime, but then dropped 27 points on Southeast Missouri St (0-1) in the third quarter.
The feeling of victory will likely be brief as they have the almighty Alabama (1-0), who is coming off a dismantling of Louisville and ESPN's Maria Taylor.
Turnovers in abundance, a late comeback attempt,the Louisiana Tech (1-0) and South Alabama (0-1) had everything jam packed near for the Bulldogs and Jaguars on Saturday.
La Tech was up by as much as 23-7 before the Jaguars mounted a comeback. Cole Garvin connected with Kawaan Baker for a 3-yard score, but a missed two-point conversion made it 23-13. Then teams fell into a coaches nightmare of punt, fumble, interception, interception, and finally an interception before the Jaguars snapped the streak with a touchdown to bring themselves within three.
The Bulldogs appeared to put things away with 2:19 left with a J'Mar Smith touchdown pass. It took USA just a minute and eight seconds to march down the field, but the PAT was blocked, forcing the Jaguars to need a touchdown instead of a field goal to tie. It never got to that point as the Bulldogs staved off the comeback.
Next up is Oklahoma St (1-0) who blitzed Missouri St.
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