Unranked squad tops No. 5 Eaglessouthern conferenceFurniturestandings

STATESBORO, Ga. -- The last mistake proved to be the most devastating for Georgia Southern on Saturday night.

A holding call against offensive tackle Dane Jensen negated an apparent 17-yard touchdown run by Lynon Jefferson in the final 68 seconds, and the fifth-ranked Eagles lost to unheralded McNeese State, 23-20, in front of 20,607 fans in Paulson Stadium.

"I'm sure there's enough blame to go around for everybody," Georgia Southern coach Mike Sewak said.

There was. After the holding call, Eagles quarterback Jayson Foster was sacked for a 19-yard loss while reversing fields during a scramble , taking the team out of field-goal range.

McNeese (1-0) rallied to win when quarterback Chris Jones hooked up with Quinten Lawrence for a 40-yard touchdown pass with 10:11 left.

It was only 89 seconds after Georgia Southern had taken the lead on Jermaine Austin's bullish 18-yard touchdown run.

"If the defense gives up a big play, we have to come back and make a play," Jones said. "This is a team game."

The nonconference matchup was the return game in a two-game, home-and-home series. McNeese won the initial contest with Georgia Southern 34-15 in Lake Charles, La., in 2003.

"It was frustrating because it was such a close game to have to take a loss like this," Georgia Southern linebacker John Mohring said. "We're making way too many mistakes. We have a young team right now and a young team sometimes makes some foolish mistakes."

Georgia Southern had an edge in play in the first half until the final eight minutes.

Austin, who finished with 129 yards, fought for extra yardage at the Eagles' 43-yard line before having the ball ripped from his arms by strong safety Stephen Barrett, beginning an odd turnaround.

McNeese State, aided by two Georgia Southern personal fouls, converted the turnover into a 20-yard field goal by Blake Bercegeay to cut the Eagles' lead to 13-10 with 2:57 left.

Georgia Southern strategically bungled the final minutes as well.

After being forced to punt after three plays, Sewak called timeouts hoping to stop the Cowboys and get the ball back.

McNeese, however, picked up a first down on a third-and-10 play when wideout Carlese Franklin hauled in a 14-yard pass from Chris Jones.

Two plays later from the McNeese 47, Jones found Darrick Brown open for a 42-yard completion to the 11-yard line.

Franklin completed the drive with an 11-yard touchdown run to give McNeese a 16-13 advantage.

It was the second time in two weeks the Eagles trailed at half.