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n another matchup between teams from Southern Conference and the Southland Conference, No. 4 seed Texas State charged back from a 35-16 deficit late in the third quarter to score 34 unanswered points and win 50-35.
Barrick Nealy completed 23-of-32 passes for 400 yards and ran 12 times for 126 yards to almost single-handedly dominate Georgia Southern. It was the second year in a row that the Eagles had let a big lead slip away in a first-round playoff game.
GSU quarterback Jayson Foster carried 21 times for 151 yards and hit 3-of-5 passes for 135 yards and two TDs, but his numbers were dwarfed by Nealy, who also fired four scoring strikes.
Texas State, which was playing in its first-ever I-AA playoff game against the preeminent program in I-AA (Georgia Southern has six I-AA national championships), will host an even more surprising winner, Cal Poly.
The Mustangs looked like a team that could challenge for the national championship behind an awesome defense and an improving offense until a mid-season loss at Montana. Not only did Lex Hilliard run for more than 200 yards that day on the vaunted Cal Poly defense, but quarterback Anthony Garnett suffered a season-ending knee injury in the final seconds of the game.
But Cal Poly had a chance at redemption Saturday at Washington-Grizzly Stadium and the Mustangs didn't let a second opportunity slip away, winning 35-21. Cal Poly kept Hilliard in check with 94 yards on 20 carries and the Montana passing attack couldn't take up the slack.
Chris Gocong, the likely Buchanan Award winner, had three of seven Cal Poly sacks as the Mustangs held freshman quarterback Cole Bergquist to 13-of-24 passing for 167 yards. James Noble was the offensive hero for the Mustang, gaining 186 yards rushing and scoring four times on an eye-popping 41 carries.
Barrick Nealy completed 23-of-32 passes for 400 yards and ran 12 times for 126 yards to almost single-handedly dominate Georgia Southern. It was the second year in a row that the Eagles had let a big lead slip away in a first-round playoff game.
GSU quarterback Jayson Foster carried 21 times for 151 yards and hit 3-of-5 passes for 135 yards and two TDs, but his numbers were dwarfed by Nealy, who also fired four scoring strikes.
Texas State, which was playing in its first-ever I-AA playoff game against the preeminent program in I-AA (Georgia Southern has six I-AA national championships), will host an even more surprising winner, Cal Poly.
The Mustangs looked like a team that could challenge for the national championship behind an awesome defense and an improving offense until a mid-season loss at Montana. Not only did Lex Hilliard run for more than 200 yards that day on the vaunted Cal Poly defense, but quarterback Anthony Garnett suffered a season-ending knee injury in the final seconds of the game.
But Cal Poly had a chance at redemption Saturday at Washington-Grizzly Stadium and the Mustangs didn't let a second opportunity slip away, winning 35-21. Cal Poly kept Hilliard in check with 94 yards on 20 carries and the Montana passing attack couldn't take up the slack.
Chris Gocong, the likely Buchanan Award winner, had three of seven Cal Poly sacks as the Mustangs held freshman quarterback Cole Bergquist to 13-of-24 passing for 167 yards. James Noble was the offensive hero for the Mustang, gaining 186 yards rushing and scoring four times on an eye-popping 41 carries.
