Samford 27, Georgia Southern 17

1234T
SAM (5-4)0146727
GASO (5-5)1007017

Final

12:00 PM ET, November 8, 2008
Paulson Stadium
STATESBORO, GA

Samford 27, Georgia Southern 17

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Team Stat Comparison
 
1st Downs1222
Total Yards317330
Passing166239
Rushing15191
Penalties9-779-68
3rd Down Conversions5-149-17
4th Down Conversions1-10-3
Turnovers13
Possession30:0829:52
Air/Ground Leaders
Samford Passing
 C/ATTYDSTDINT
Taliaferro14/1716620
Georgia Southern Passing
 C/ATTYDSTDINT
Henton27/4420221
Collins1/33701
Samford Rushing
 CARYDSTDLG
Evans28142131
Taliaferro611117
Georgia Southern Rushing
 CARYDSTDLG
Henton2069016
Rozier61107
Samford Receiving
 RECYDSTDLG
Lowery279173
Covington246143
Georgia Southern Receiving
 RECYDSTDLG
Andrews10114137
Camp655019
Scoring Summary
FIRST QUARTERSAMGASO
FG09:32Adrian Mora 26 Yd 03
TD03:42Raja Andrews 20 Yd Pass From Antonio Henton (Adrian Mora Kick) 010
SECOND QUARTERSAMGASO
TD05:12Jonathan Lowery 73 Yd Pass From Dustin Taliaferro (Bob Hooper Kick) 710
TD00:44DeMarcus Covington 43 Yd Pass From Dustin Taliaferro (Bob Hooper Kick) 1410
THIRD QUARTERSAMGASO
TD10:46Chris Evans 31 Yd Run (Pat Blocked) 2010
TD02:00Michael McIntosh 16 Yd Pass From Antonio Henton (Adrian Mora Kick) 2017
FOURTH QUARTERSAMGASO
TD09:08Dustin Taliaferro 9 Yd Run (Bob Hooper Kick) 2717
Associated Press

STATESBORO, Ga. -- Samford survived a sluggish start and got strong performances from Chris Evans and Dustin Taliaferro to beat Georgia Southern 27-17 Saturday.

Evans, the leading rusher in the Southern Conference, ran for 142 yards, and Taliaferro was 14 of 17 for 166 yards and two touchdowns to spark the Bulldogs who trailed 10-0 after the first quarter.

"There was no panic on the sidelines," Samford defensive back Kyle Morton said. "Coach (Pat) Sullivan came over to the defense and told us to take a deep breath and keep playing hard."

Georgia Southern (5-5, 3-4 Southern Conference) had hoped a victory over the Bulldogs (5-4, 3-3) and a win at Furman next week would propel it into the Football Championship Series playoffs.

"I think this may be the most disappointing loss I've ever had as a coach," Georgia Southern coach Chris Hatcher said. "We had opportunities to put it away early and didn't take advantage of them."

The Eagles got a 26-yard field goal from Adrian Mora less than three minutes into the game, and made it 10-0 when Antonio Henton completed a 20-yard touchdown pass to Raja Andrews with 3:42 left in the first half.

Taliaferro got the Bulldogs on the scoreboard when he connected on a 73-yard pass to Jonathan Lowery. With 44 seconds left before halftime, he hit DeMarcus Covington on a 44-yard touchdown pass.

Evans scored on a 31-yard run for a 20-10 lead with 10:46 left in the third quarter.

Georgia Southern scored with two minutes left in the third quarter, but Taliaferro put it away when he ran 9 yards with 9:08 to play.

Antonio Henton passed for 202 yards and two touchdowns, and ran for 69 yards for Georgia Southern. Raja Andrews caught 10 passes for 114 yards, tying the school's single game record.

Henton owns Georgia Southern records for most completions in a season (155), passing yards (1,842), touchdown passes (15), offensive plays (437) and 200-yard passing games (five).

College Football Scores

Other Scores:

Saturday, November 8th
Samford 27 Final
Georgia Southern 17
Western Carolina 14 Final
Elon 33
Appalachian State 49 Final
Chattanooga 7
Citadel 28 Final
Wofford 33