How can a team can play so well in the fourth quarter — three-straight stuffs on a goal-line stand, a playbook taken out of a back yard in Brooklyn, execution on both sides of the football and poise under pressure by not one, but two quarterbacks — and then have a complete meltdown in overtime?

And scoring the touchdown after the Wofford Terriers went up 38-31 wasn’t the problem for the Georgia Southern Eagles, either. Adam Urbano’s fake reverse took care of that. The problem was the extra point.

It’s hard to figure out how a team can put forth such a masterful comeback, against the defending Southern Conference champions no less, and then look like 11 chickens with their heads cut off when it comes down to executing the PAT.

So they sent out the field-goal unit. Okay so far. Then they decide they want to go for the win — and after letting things get out of hand early and needing every play in the book just to get back into it — why not let it all come down to one play? Fair enough. So they called a timeout.

Send ’em in with a play and let’s end it now. I get it. But with no timeouts, you’d better have a good one called, because if the quarterback sees something he doesn’t like, there’s nothing he can do about it.

Lee Chapple tried to call a timeout, but it doesn’t work when you’ve used the only one you get.

The problem I have with the situation is that Wofford was in the GSU backfield the entire game.

I’m not sure if it was the personnel on the field at the time or what, but the fact of the matter is, Chapple had been sacked five times to Antonio Henton’s one. Granted Henton had a lot of close calls back there, but if you go by the numbers, the Terriers had Chapple’s number.

I like a gutsy playcall. You can debate for hours, but when it comes down to it, some guys like to play for the win and some guys like to play to give themselves another chance.

Historically, each philosophy has worked and each has failed. I say there’s nothing wrong with playing to win.

The only problem on that two-point conversion play was that, let’s face it, Georgia Southern just doesn’t have a reliable enough offensive line. I don’t care who you are, but when you’re inside the 5-yard line, you need an o-line that can step up and push some folks around.

When push came to shove, Chapple didn’t even have a chance.

All you can do when you’re 2-3 and winless through two Southern Conference games is look at the positives. The Eagles have won two games they easily could have lost, and they lost two games they easily could have won. Any way you slice it, Georgia Southern is a 2-3 team right now.

Those Eagles have gotten better every week, and they showed it in the second half (what is the deal with them not playing for four quarters?) against the Terriers. Wofford did not score in the last two quarters of regulation, Chapple showed what he can add to the equation, GSU showed it’s got a ton of tricks up its sleeve and showed it with a 17-point comeback that featured a halfback pass (thanks to high-school-quarterback-turned-GSU-running-back Leander Barney), a triple reverse and another fake reverse.

They just couldn’t seal the deal. Again.

This season ain’t over yet, but Georgia Southern can’t lose again if they want to have any shot at a playoff berth. The Eagles showed against both Elon and Wofford that they can beat every team on their schedule. They’ve battled through adversity and played with precision, aggression and heart (at times).

But with Furman, Appalachian State, The Citadel and a Chattanooga team that has somehow beaten the Eagles twice in a row still left on the schedule, the Eagles can forget about trying to play for four quarters.

They may just have to learn to play for five.

Matt Yogus can be reached at (912) 489-9404.