Georgia Southern defeats Florida A&M.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)

STATESBORO, Ga. _ The law of averages will have to wait for another week, at least.

Georgia Southern stayed perfect in home playoffs games Saturday, defeating Florida A&M, 60-35, in a nearly four-hour affair at Paulson Stadium in the first round of the NCAA Division I-AA championship series.

The second-seeded Eagles (11-1) climbed out of a 21-7 hole in the first quarter to pull within one point at halftime. They then scored 36 unanswered points in the second half to run their home playoff record to 26-0.

GSU, which has now won 38 consecutive games in Statesboro, resumes its drive for a third straight I-AA championship in next Saturday's quarterfinals against Southern Conference rival Appalachian State. The Mountaineers eliminated William & Mary 40-24 in Boone, N.C.

Fullback Adrian Peterson struggled early to establish himself against FAMU's run-stacked defense. But the senior got the Eagles moving on their second series of the third quarter, breaking free for a 45-yard touchdown run that put GSU ahead to stay at 33-28 and sealed his 53rd 100-yard rushing performance in 55 college games.

"I told my guys at halftime that we knew we hadn't played as well as we could play and we were dead even (trailed 28-27)," GSU head coach Paul Johnson said. "We just had to kind of turn it up a notch and play a little better. We did in the second half, and we got some breaks, too."

The biggest break of all came later in the third quarter, with the Eagles leading 36-28. GSU safety Johnathan Woodham delivered a crushing blow to FAMU receiver Isaac Brown, jarring the ball loose. It bounced into Kevin Heard's hands, and the sophomore linebacker ran 25 yards for the touchdown to put the game out of reach.