Austin's running helps Eagles to a tough win

BROOKLINE, Mass. - They never had a doubt.

At least that's what the Georgia Southern Eagles said after they were able to take a deep breath on an 80-degree, sunny Saturday afternoon in New England.

Five times the Eagles fell behind, and five times they fought back to tie before Jonathan Dudley nailed a 24-yard field goal for a wild 41-38 overtime victory over Northeastern at Parsons Field.

"I was positive we were going to win this game," said Georgia Southern coach Mike Sewak about the school's first season-opening win on the road since 1996.

Sewak had reason to feel good. First of all, it was his birthday. And if the 47-year-old coach's one wish was fulfilled, it might have come on a fourth-down, 15-yard touchdown pass from Darius Smiley to Reggie McCutchen that knotted the game at 38-38 with 57 seconds left.

Georgia Southern's defense, gouged for 405 yards, stopped the Huskies first in overtime with a little help. Northeastern coach Rocky Hager said his offensive coordinator Eddie Davis, thinking it was second down, called a running play on third-down and 12 yards to go.

Quarterback Anthony Orio came up 8 yards short, and the ensuing 40-yard field goal attempt by Miro Kesic was wide left.

It was only the second overtime game in the Eagles' history. They beat Maine in 1987, 31-28 in the first round of the Division I-AA playoffs.

Georgia Southern entered its 2005 opener with several question marks on offense. The defense was expected to be the team's stabilizer.

Those expectations will have to be reevaluated. Led by senior fullback Jermaine Austin (199 yards), the Eagles produced 520 offensive yards.

Austin moved into second place in Georgia Southern's career rushing yardage with 4,064 yards, passing Joe Ross. Only Adrian Peterson (6,559 yards) has rushed for more yards.

Meanhile, the Huskies' Orio was one tough cookie. The redshirt freshman looked unflappable most of the afternoon, completing 13 of 19 passes for 221 yards and two touchdowns.

But Georgia Southern's defense tightened in the second half by moving a safety up to the line of scrimmage to combat Northeastern's cut-back runs. The Huskies scored only one offensive touchdown after halftime.