LINCOLN, Neb. — Kyle Vantrease scored on an 8-yard run with 36 seconds left after Nebraska had taken its first lead, and Georgia Southern beat the three-touchdown favorite Cornhuskers 45-42 on Saturday night.
The Huskers’ Timmy Bleekrode was wide left with a 52-yard field goal attempt as time ran out, and Georgia Southern players ran onto the field to celebrate the program’s first win in 13 games against Power Five opponents.
New Georgia Southern coach Clay Helton, who coached at Southern Cal from 2015 to 2021, is 2-0 after taking over the Eagles in the offseason. Helton was 46-24 at USC.
The loss again turns up the pressure on embattled Nebraska coach Scott Frost, who faces a home game next week against No. 7 Oklahoma.
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
The Huskers (1-2) had come into the Georgia Southern game 214-0 when scoring at least 35 points at Memorial Stadium.
The Eagles piled up 642 yards, none bigger than the 75 they moved in 11 plays for the winning touchdown.
Kyle Vantrease converted a fourth-and-2 pass and threw 27 yards to Khaleb Hood before he took off up the middle on a designed quarterback run for the go-ahead score.
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Casey Thompson moved the Huskers from their 23 to the Eagles’ 34 before Bleekrode pulled his field-goal try to the left.
Nebraska had taken the lead on Thompson’s 1-yard run with 3:05 left after Marques Buford’s second interception of the game turned back the Eagles as they tried to build on a three-point lead.
Thompson led the Huskers 98 yards in 15 plays. Thompson and Anthony Grant churned out yards on the ground and Marcus Washington made a catch at the 1 that was upheld on video review before Thompson went over the pile at the goal line.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.
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