Box Score
• Final
Statistics
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Photo by Geoff
Anderson
Running
back Rashod Smith raced for 135 yards
on 20 carries, Saturday, making him
the Golden Panthers all-time single-season
rusher. With three games remaining on
the year, Smith now has 845 running
yards. |
No. 6-ranked Georgia Southern (9-2) scored
28 unanswered points to begin the second half
and came from behind to beat FIU, 53-32, Saturday
afternoon at FIU Stadium.
GSU quarterback Chaz Williams
led the way with three rushing touchdowns
and throwing for another, while running back
Jermaine Austin rushed the
ball 24 times for 147 yards. Overall, GSU
had nine runners rush for 494 net yards and
amassed 589 total yards on the afternoon.
Williams, who came in as the national leader
in touchdown runs, now has 23 scores on the
season, as the Eagles look to claim a bid
to the NCAA Division I-AA Tournament that
begins in two weeks.
The loss spoiled an FIU Homecoming performance
by Rashod Smith, who became
the school's all-time leading rusher for a
season. Smith, who carried the ball 20 times
for 135 yards and a pair of touchdowns, now
has 845 yards on the year and is in striking
distance of becoming the first Golden Panther
ever to rush for 1,000 yards in a season.
FIU lost for the fourth-straight time and
fell to 2-5 on the campaign. More alarming
is the fact that the Golden Panthers defense
has allowed an average of nearly 37 points
per game during the tailspin.
Josh Padrick completed 27
of 37 passes for FIU and two touchdowns, but
had two interceptions, one that was run back
for a 73-yard touchdown with 1:27 to play
in the game, that accounted for the final
score.
As has been the case all too often this season,
FIU jumped out to an early lead but couldn't
protect it. With Georgia Southern up, 10-3,
late in the first quarter, the Golden Panthers
rallied and led at the half, 25-17. But GSU
dominated the second half, racking up 292
combined yards and outscoring FIU, 36-7, over
the final 30 minutes of play.
"It seems like we've been here before,"
said FIU head coach Don Strock.
"In the second half we had opportunities,
again. But didn't get it done, period. We
knew they were going to score points; we knew
we needed to score points; and we came up
short."
Kicker Adam Moss connected on field goals
of 41 and 42 yards, but with the scored tied
at 25 with 7:14 to play in the third quarter,
his 29-yard attempt sailed wide right, snapping
a streak of 11 straight field goals.
That seemed to take the wind out of the FIU
sails. Georgia Southern scored on its next
two possessions of the third quarter and on
its first possession of the fourth, gaining
a 46-25 lead.
The Golden Panthers tried to come back and
closed to within 46-32, when Padrick engineered
a five-play, 76-yard drive that culminated
with a seven-yard touchdown pass to Samuel
Smith with 8:13 to play in the game.
But the Golden Panthers next possession ended
with an A.J. Bryant interception
and touchdown, erasing any hopes for a comeback.
The Golden Panthers are back in action next
week, and it doesn't get any easier. FIU hosts
No. 5-ranked Western Kentucky next Saturday,
Nov. 20 in a 4:00 p.m. contest at FIU Stadium.
For tickets and information, call the Golden
Panthers Ticket Office at (866) FIU-GAME.
