Upshaw’s four TDs lift Georgia South over BGSU in rout

Associated Press

MOBILE, ALA.

Favian Upshaw ran for 199 yards and four touchdowns to help Georgia Southern beat Bowling Green 58-27 in the GoDaddy Bowl on Wednesday night.

Georgia Southern (9-4) won the first bowl game in school history in the first year it was eligible to go to the postseason. The program transitioned to the Football Bowl Subdivision in 2014.

The Eagles won thanks to their trademark running game. They had 452 yards rushing to top their nation-best season average of 355.6 yards.

Bowling Green (10-4) led 27-23 at halftime, but Georgia Southern scored the final 35 points.

Bowling Green was undone by a brutal stretch in the third quarter that included two fumbles by quarterback Matt Johnson deep in the Falcons’ own territory.

It helped Georgia Southern score three touchdowns — including two by Upshaw — in three minutes and turned a 30-27 games into a blowout.

The game was tight for much of the evening, but Georgia Southern started to pull away late in the third quarter when Upshaw’s 80-yard touchdown run gave the Eagles a 37-27 lead.

Then Bowling Green — specifically Johnson — fumbled away any chance at a comeback on a rain-soaked evening at Ladd-Peebles Stadium.

Johnson fumbled on Bowling Green’s 14 when he lost the ball as he winding up to make a pass. Georgia Southern scored two plays later when Matt Breida ran for a 1-yard touchdown to push the advantage to 44-27.

On the ensuing drive, Johnson fumbled again when trying to make a handoff at the Bowling Green 10. Two players later, Upshaw ran for the 8-yard touchdown and the rout was essentially complete.