Troy had a chance to clinch a share of the Sun Belt title Saturday, but could not get the job done.

The Trojans were upset 28-24 by Georgia Southern, largely because of a four-touchdown effort by Eagles quarterback Kevin Ellison. Ellison rushed for touchdowns of 24 and 54 yards early in the third quarter to flip a 10-7 deficit into a 21-10 Georgia Southern lead.

Troy reclaimed the lead by scoring twice in a five-minute span, but the Eagles responded with the game-winning touchdown when Ellison found B.J. Johnson for a 64-yard touchdown, his second of the game, with 9:46 left in regulation. The pass was delivered to Johnson downfield in heavy traffic, but Johnson fought through double coverage and broke a few tackles en route to the end zone.

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Troy’s offense had two shots to retake the lead after the Ellison-to-Johnson touchdown. The Trojans went three-and-out the first time, but moved deep into Georgia Southern territory in the final minutes.

After converting a fourth-and-one at the Southern 36 with 1:19 to play, the Trojans moved inside the 10. From there, the Trojans had four shots to score, but came up empty. With the clock rolling down toward zero, Troy barely got the snap off on the game’s final play. When it did, Brandon Silvers looked toward Tevaris McCormick at the goal line, but the pass fell incomplete.

A win would have clinched Troy’s sixth Sun Belt title and its first since 2010. Instead, Appalachian State (9-3, 7-1 Sun Belt) and Arkansas State (7-5, 7-1) will share the Sun Belt title. Arkansas State joined the Mountaineers by knocking off Texas State 36-14 on the road Saturday night.

After the Red Wolves opened the game up 13-0, Texas State took a 14-13 lead early in the third quarter. But from there it was all Arkansas State. The Red Wolves reclaimed the lead, 16-14, with a field goal with 6:01 left in the third before tacking on three fourth quarter touchdowns to put the game out of reach.

Red Wolves quarterback Justice Hansen finished with 179 yards and two touchdowns while running back Warren Wand added 135 yards and a score. Arkansas State rebounded from an 0-4 start to win seven of its final eight games. For the Red Wolves, it’s their fifth Sun Belt title in the past six seasons.

Troy finished the regular season with a 9-3 overall record, but a 6-2 mark in conference play. Georgia Southern snapped a four-game losing streak with the win over Troy to finish the season with a 5-7 (4-4 Sun Belt) record.

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Sam Cooper is a writer for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!

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