Georgia Southern keeps Idaho winless

Kevin Ellison ran for two touchdowns and threw for another as the Georgia Southern Eagles cruised past the winless Idaho Vandals 47-24 on Saturday night in Statesboro, Georgia.

Ellison was 7-of-11 passing for 96 yards for the Eagles. Matt Breida ran for 155 yards on 19 carries and Alfred Ramsby added 98 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries.

Two early TDs by Ellison and one by backup quarterback Favian Upshaw gave Georgia Southern a 20-10 halftime lead.

In the third quarter, a 14-yard TD run by Ellison and a 3-yard score by Ramsby extended the lead to 33-10 before a pair of touchdown runs by the Vandals’ Elijhaa Penny closed the gap to nine. Penny finished with 21 carries for 75 yards.

A 26-yard interception return by Matt Dobson early in the fourth and Ean Days’ running score with 12 seconds left sealed Idaho’s fate.

Matt Linehan completed 19 of 31 passes for 230 yards for the Vandals, who finished with 365 yards of total offense.

Joshua McCain led Idaho with six catches for 97 yards, while Richard Montgomery hauled in six passes for 63 yards.

Russell Siavil paced the Vandals defense with 11 tackles; Irving Steele and Quinton Bradley notched 10 apiece.

The Vandals took a 3-0 lead at the 10-minute mark of the first period when Austin Rehkow connected for a 35-yard field goal after a 75-yard drive.

The Eagles answered with an eight-play 86-yard drive that ended with 6-yard touchdown run by Ellison.

Georgia Southern never looked back.

Idaho drove into Eagles territory on its second drive, but the Vandals fell short when they went for it on fourth-and-6 at the Eagles’ 24-yard line when Linehan misfired on a pass.

Idaho had the ball and the momentum after cutting a 23-point deficit to nine early in the fourth quarter. On first down from his own 16-yard line, Linehan scrambled and tried to shovel a pass to Deon Watson, but the ball sailed over Watson’s head and Matt Dobson was there to pick it off his shoe tops and run 26 yards unencumbered for a touchdown.

“I was just happy to make a play for the team,” said Dobson. “The coaches had a great call on, the ball got tipped to me and I did the easy part and ran it in.”

Arkansas State 52, Georgia State 10: Quarterback Fredi Knighten accounted for four TDs and Michael Gordon ran for 188 yards and two scores as the Red Wolves rolled past the Panthers in Atlanta.

Knighten was 20 of 26 for 215 yards with three touchdowns and also rushed for 93 yards and a score.

Kentucky 48, Louisiana-Monroe 14: Patrick Towles threw three TD passes and Kentucky returned two interceptions for scores as the Wildcats (5-1) overcame a 14-3 deficit with 45 unanswered points for a victory over the Warhawks in Lexington, Kentucky.

Troy 41, New Mexico State 24: Chandler Worthy returned a kickoff for a TD, caught a pass for another and the Trojans forced four turnovers to beat the Aggies in Troy, Alabama, for their first win of the season.

Liberty 55, Appalachian State 48 (OT): Josh Woodrum threw for 356 yards and three TDs – including the game-winner in overtime – and ran for another score as the Flames (4-3) edged the Mountaineers in Boone, North Carolina.