CHARLESTON, S.C. - Charleston Southern quarterback Collin Drafts connected on four touchdown passes to Maurice Price and the Buccaneers won their second straight game, defeating visiting Savannah State, 48-28, at Buccaneer Field on Saturday.

CSU improves to 4-4 overall on the season with an open date next weekend while the Tigers of Savannah State falls to 0-7 on the season.

Drafts completed 16-of-23 passes for 241 yards while Price caught seven passes for 144 yards, including a career-long 68-yard reception. Redshirt freshman Andre Copeland followed his 226-yard performance of last week with 84 yards rushing and a touchdown.

Savannah State used big plays to stay in the game, rolling up more than 500 yards in offense as quarterback Garrett Williams completed 19-of-37 passes for 332 yards. Clyde Tullis caught four passes for 126 yards and two touchdowns.

"It's a good win heading into our off week because we know that our final three games are going to be tremendous challenges," said CSU head coach Jay Mills. "Our football team continues to make progress and continues to work very hard."

CSU opened the game with a 10-play, 50-yard drive culminating in a one-yard run by Drafts with 7:03 remaining in the first quarter. Savannah State answered with a touchdown drive of their own with Williams connecting with Clyde Tullis on a 13-yard scoring pass with 1:48 left in the quarter. The extra point was missed, leaving CSU with a 7-6 lead.

On the ensuing kickoff, Tavares Shorter broke off an 85-yard return for a touchdown and a 14-6 CSU lead. The lead extended to 21-6 after a six-play, 72-yard drive with Andre Copeland scoring on a 15-yard run with 9:43 left in the second quarter.

Drafts and Price combined on their first scoring pass of the day, an 11-yarder with 5:11 left in the second for a 28-6 CSU advantage. Savannah State answered seconds later when Chadrick Cone scored on an 81-yard run with 4:24 left. The two-point attempt failed and CSU led 28-12.

With 2:13 left in the quarter, Drafts hit Price on a slant pattern for 21 yards and a touchdown, giving the Buccaneers a 34-12 halftime advantage.

Savannah State's Dalibor Brnada connected on a 25-yard field goal on the first possession of the third, cutting the lead to 34-15, but the Buccaneers answered quickly with Drafts hitting Price on a 68-yard touchdown pass down the middle of the field for a 41-15 lead.

The Tigers struck again with the big play late in the third quarter when Williams hit Tullis with a 59-yard scoring pass with 1:06 left, cutting the lead to 41-21.

Charleston Southern added a touchdown with 8:27 left in the fourth quarter as Drafts and Price hooked up on a nine-yard pass for a 48-21 Buccaneer lead. The Tigers, however, used less than a minute to score again on CSU's second-team defense as May scored on a three-yard run with 7:32 remaining, giving CSU a 48-28 lead.

"The offensive line continues to get better and better and our ability to have a running game is opening up a lot of things for us offensively," said Mills. "Defensively we gave up some big plays but we were able to play a lot of young guys on defense today and that's going to be beneficial for us down the stretch."

CSU linebacker Jada Ross continued his assault on the single-season record for tackles with 15 more hits on Saturday. Ross needs 18 tackles over the final three games to set the school record. Linebacker Josh Mitchell intercepted a pass and recovered a fumble as well for the defense.

Charleston Southern returns to action on November 5 at Gardner-Webb.