Georgia Southern’s game-winning play over Scott Frost, Nebraska caps stellar day for Sun Belt

The Sun Belt had itself a day.

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.

It was the end of what proved to be a huge day for the Sun Belt Conference.

Earlier in the day, Notre Dame paid Marshall $1.25 million to travel to South Bend, and all the Thundering Herd did was beat the No. 8 team Saturday 26-21.

Meanwhile, Appalachian State stunned No. 6 Texas A&M 17-14 at Kyle Field in College Station, Texas. The win resulted in students turning the campus into a block party and made coach Shawn Clark choke up.

South Alabama’s 38-24 victory at Central Michigan on Saturday might have been the most-dominant on the road in program history.

But back to Georgia Southern.

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.

The loss again turns up the pressure on embattled Nebraska coach Scott Frost, who now faces a home game next week against No. 7 Oklahoma.

The Huskers (1-2) had come into the Georgia Southern game 214-0 when scoring at least 35 points at Memorial Stadium.

The Eagles (2-0) 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.

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 victory comes in only the second game for Georgia Southern coach Clay Helton, and it came almost a year to the day that Southern California fired him two games into his seventh season.

Vantrease, who was quarterback for Buffalo when it lost at Nebraska last year, was 37 of 56 for 409 yards. Gerald Green ran for 132 yards and two touchdowns and Jalen Allen had 85 yards and two scores.

Thompson ran for three touchdowns and was 23 of 34 for 318 yards and a score. Grant carried 27 times for 138 yards and a score.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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