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'The Future' helps lead Southern to 38-35 upset over App State
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    BOONE, N.C. — Georgia Southern fans got a glimpse of the future Saturday afternoon at Appalachian State where freshman quarterback Billy Lowe gave new life to the Eagle offense.
    Lowe saw more playing time than he has all season, teaming with starting signal caller Jayson Foster to keep the Mountaineers guessing. Throughout the game, Lowe rotated in at quarterback while Foster slid over to running back or receiver.
    The tactic worked for the Eagles, who amassed 435 yards of total offense behind the duo and pulled off a 38-35 upset of the fifth-ranked Mountaineers.         GSU coach Chris Hatcher said he’s been looking to get Lowe move involved but wanted to give the freshman more time to develop. The coach has been pleased with Lowe’s performance in practice.
    Hatcher also thought the new wrinkle to the offense was necessary with GSU’s top three running backs playing through injuries.
    “People have really been keying on Jayson,” Hatcher said. “They’ve been daring us to run the ball up the middle and putting more guys on the perimeter on (Foster) and stacking the box. So we had to find a way to get (Foster) the ball. Running back is an easy way to do that.”
    Lowe is a Lakeland, Fla., native who transferred from Northern Illinois this summer with four years of eligibility remaining. He’s seen very limited action in three games this season heading into Saturday when he completed 8 of 11 passes for a career-high 145 yards and one touchdown.
    “Jayson is a great player, and I knew with Jayson out there with me that it was going to take a lot of attention off me,” Lowe said. “The offensive line did a great job, and that just made me calm. Every time I looked over, (the defenders) were all keyed on Jayson, and it kind of gave me a little bit more time.”

Wide-open SoCon
    GSU wasn’t the only Southern Conference team to stun a higher-ranked opponent Saturday. Elon shocked the league by knocking off Wofford, 24-13, in Spartanburg, S.C. Heading into the game, the Terriers were the only unbeaten team in the SoCon. Now Elon, Wofford and The Citadel are knotted a top the conference standings with one league loss apiece. Georgia Southern, Chattanooga, Appalachian and Furman all have two losses in SoCon play.


This and That
    GSU cornerback Brandon Jackson recorded his first-career sack late in the third quarter…Lamar Lewis’ two touchdowns tied a career-high…ASU quarterback Armanti Edwards finished with 220 rushing yards. Georgia Southern hasn’t allowed a 200-yard rusher since the 2005 South Dakota State game….Carson Hill’s first-quarter interception returned for a score marked his first career touchdown and third pick in three games…The all-time series between GSU and ASU is now tied at 11-11-1…Georgia Southern is the only SoCon school Appalachian coach Jerry Moore has a losing record against. He is 7-9 in games with the Eagles.
    

Alex Pellegrino can be reached at (912) 489-9413.