J.C. French threw two touchdown passes and Georgia Southern's defense stood up in the fourth quarter to edge Nevada, 20-17, on Saturday in Reno, Nev.
Georgia Southern (1-1) hosts South Carolina State next weekend with kickoff set for 6 p.m. at Paulson Stadium.
With Nevada (1-2) trailing 20-17 and driving deep into the red zone, the Eagles’ Marques Watson-Trent forced a fumble at the 3-yard line, and Chance Gamble pounced on the ball in the end zone to end the 11-play drive.
The turnover was the first for Nevada this season.
Nevada got the ball back on its 25 and drove to the Eagles 41 before being stopped on fourth-and-1 with 2:35 left. The final Wolf Pack drive started at its 3-yard line with a minute to go. A Hail Mary on the final play of the game from the Nevada 33 was caught by Jaden Smith at the 6 where he was brought down.
Just before the end of the first half, French hit Dalen Cobb for a 24-yard score and a 17-14 lead. Gavin Stewart's 48-yard field goal made it 20-14 in the third.
Nevada outgained Georgia Southern 493-285 and held the Eagles to 42 yards on the ground.
French completed 23 of 37 passes for 243 yards.
Trailing 7-0 after one drive, French led the Eagles down the field and connected with Joshua Thompson on a 35-yard touchdown pass halfway through the first quarter.
The Wolf Pack scored on their second drive, and Gavin Stewart cut into the lead with a 30-yard field goal early in the second quarter.
Trailing by four, French led the Eagles on an eight-play, 80-yard scoring drive in just 1:48 that was capped by a 24-yard touchdown pass to Dalen Cobb with three seconds left in the half.
The Eagles increased their lead to six midway through the third quarter when Stewart drilled a career-long 48-yard field goal.
Late in the fourth quarter, the Georgia Southern defense made a big stop on fourth down to get the ball back and then held off a Hail Mary play at the final horn to seal the victory.
Cobb had seven catches for 81 yards and a score. Defensively, Watson-Trent led the defense with 14 tackles.
