Dexter Williams II comes on late to spark a 21-point rally; Georgia Southern beat Marshall 24-23

Associated Press

STATESBORO, Ga. (AP) — Backup quarterback Dexter Williams II came off the bench in the fourth quarter and led three touchdown drives to help Georgia Southern erase a 20-point deficit and beat Marshall 24-23 on Saturday night .

Rece Verhoff hit field goals of 36, 51 and 42 yards in the first half, Braylon Braxton threw touchdown passes of 3 yards in the second quarter and 11 yards with 7:05 left in the third quarter to Toby Payne Marshall (3-3 ). 1-1 Sun Belt) with a 23-3 lead.

Cam Williams pressured quarterback Stone Earle in the end zone, forcing him to throw the ball away for an intentional grounding penalty that resulted in a safety. Four scrimmage plays later, JC French gained a 12-yard gain on fourth-and-10 before taking a hard hit and being replaced by Williams, who immediately hit LV Bunkley-Shelton for a 34-yard gain and then ran a 1 -yard TD that cut Georgia Southern's deficit to 23-11 with 6:31 to play.

Marques Watson-Trent forced a fumble that was recovered by Deontre Morris near midfield, ultimately setting up David Mbadinga's 3-yard TD run with 2:15 left. Watson-Trent forced another fumble, this time recovered by Latrell Bullard at the Eagles' 34 with 1:55 left. Williams hit Bunkley-Shelton for a 19-yard gain on a fourth-and-17 and then, two plays later, connected with Derwin Burgess Jr. for a 34-yard touchdown, leading Georgia Southern (4-2, 2- 0) gave. a 24-23 lead when the 2-point conversion pass was incomplete with a minute to play.

Braxton completed 9 of 12 passes for 97 yards for Marshall. AJ Turner added 14 carries for 97 yards.

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