The University of Maine’s unexpected run in the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs ended Saturday because of its inability to stop the run.

A week after stifling Appalachian State for just three yards on the ground, Maine’s run defense had a great deal of difficulty containing Georgia Southern’s triple option during the FCS quarterfinals. GSU rushed for yards and never trailed in a 35-23 victory at Paulson Stadium.

No. 3 Georgia Southern (11-2) advances to the semifinals, where it will continue its quest for a seventh national championship against North Dakota State. No. 13 Maine, which also lost to GSU in 2002, ends its season at 9-4 after being picked to finish ninth in the Colonial Athletic Association in the preseason.

“Our defense made some big plays,” Georgia Southern coach Jeff Monken said. “They took a lot of criticism this past week, including some from me, but they gave up only 23 points, seven of those on a kickoff return, against a really good offensive team.”

J.J. Wilcox led GSU rushers with 99 yards and two touchdowns on eight carries. Quarterback Jaybo Shaw completed seven of eight passes for 116 yards and a touchdown. Maine senior QB Warren Smith threw for 229 yards and two touchdowns to set a school record for passing yards in a single season with 3,122.

Georgia Southern dominated time of possession, 42:24 to 17:36. Yet trailing by 12 in the middle of the fourth quarter, the Black Bears, who never led, still had a shot to make it a one-possession game.

After the Eagles missed a 31-yard field goal attempt with 8:58 remaining, Maine drove to the GSU 10. On 2nd & 4, Smith had to dive on a bad snap at the 17. Following an incompletion on third down, Smith threw into the end zone on 4th & 11 for Arthur Williams, but the pass was knocked down by GSU’s Laron Scott.

The Black Bears had one last chance after forcing the only punt of the game, but Smith (15-for-29, three INTs) was picked off for the second time in the game by Jerick McKinnon with 2:29 to go and the Eagles ran out the clock.

The game started out with the feel of a possible blowout as Georgia Southern ventured into Maine territory on all four of its first-half possessions, scoring touchdowns on three. The Eagles held a gigantic 24:45 to 5:15 advantage in time of possession and ran 25 plays to Maine’s two in the first quarter.

“Although we had the ball for only nine plays we were still in it at the half,” Maine coach Jack Cosgrove said. “We never felt we were out of it until that third interception.”

GSU marched 60 yards in seven plays on the game’s opening drive. While they ran the ball on six of those plays, the key play was a 32-yard pass to Wilcox that pushed them down to the Maine 2. On the next play, Shaw scored on a QB keeper to make it 7-0.

Two plays into Maine’s initial possession, McKinnon intercepted Smith at the Eagles’ 21, setting up a 13-play, 79-yard drive capped by Wilcox’s first touchdown. His two-yard run made it 14-0 with 2:47 left in the first quarter.

Roosevelt Brown immediately cut the deficit in half on the ensuing kickoff with a 91-yard return for a touchdown, and Maine’s defense made its only stand of the half by stopping Darreion Robinson on 4th & 4 from the Maine 35.

That’s when the Black Bears started to hurt themselves with missed opportunities. Smith hooked up with Damarr Aultmann (six catches, 108 yards) on a 47-yard pass play down to the Georgia Southern 9, then called his own number for a seven yard run to the 2. Pushaun Brown got it a yard closer on second down but was dropped in the backfield for a three-yard loss by Brent Russell and the Black Bears were forced to settle for Brian Harvey’s 21-yard field goal to pull within 14-10.

The Eagles went 67 yards and burned more than five minutes off the clock on their ensuing drive, taking a 21-10 lead when Shaw ran right, drew Maine linebacker Drew Russell and, at the last moment, pitched right to Wilcox, who dove across the goal line for a 9-yard scoring run with 35 seconds left in the half.

Georgia Southern outgained Maine, 286-61, in the first half.

The offensive onslaught continued in the second half. Maine marched 73 yards on the opening series to pull within 21-17 on Smith’s 12-yard TD pass to Justin Perillo. Georgia Southern made it an 11-point game again when Shaw scored from a yard out.

Darius Eubanks intercepted Smith at the Maine 27 on the next series and Shaw found Kentrellis Showers wide open in the end zone for a 25-yard touchdown to make 35-17 midway through the third quarter.

The Black Bears pulled to within 12 on a 3-yard touchdown pass to John Ebeling, but Chris Treister’s two-point attempt on a fake PAT was stuffed, keeping the score at 35-23 with 5:17 left in the third.

Maine would not get any closer, although it had several opportunities. Its next drive stalled at the GSU 44 when Aultmann was stopped two yards short on a 4th & 4 completion from Smith. Adrian Mora’s 31-yard field goal miss gave Maine new life, but the Bears hopes to pull any closer were snuffed by Scott and McKinnon’s clutch pass defense.