DALLAS -- Grambling State once again saw late opportunity evaporate into a loss Saturday as Prairie View A&M topped the Tigers 31-23 at the State Fair Classic in the Cotton Bowl.

After being tied at 17-17 in the fourth quarter, Prairie View ignited for a pair of touchdowns to build a 31-17 advantage.

But the Tigers, who were quarterbacked by Frank Rivers in the contest, weren't finished yet, D.J. Williams was a game day decision because of a case of turf toe Williams has been suffering through, giving Rivers his first career start.

Rivers fired a 40-yard scoring pass to Mario Louis late in the fourth, but a bad snap on the point after tried left kicker Zolton Riazzo throwing an incomplete pass to cut the Panther lead to 31-23. Rivers hit on 10-of-21 passes for 195 yards, including an earlier 23-yard scoring strike to Louis.

Grambling tried for the onside kick but were called for a penalty for touching the ball before it traveled 10 yards. Prairie View then ran out the clock to secure the win.

The contest was tied at 3-3 at halftime with Riazzo tying things up with a 33-yard field goal at the 8:23 mark of the second quarter. Both teams picked up the pace after intermission, but Prairie View used its high octane offense, utilizing a lot of play action and screen passes, kept Grambling's defense on the field for much of the second half and gradually wore the Tigers down.

Dawrence Roberts added a 74-yard third-quarter rushing touchdown for the Tigers, now 1-4 overall and 1-3 in the Southwestern Athletic Conference. Prairie View moved to 3-2 overall and 3-1 in the SWAC. Roberts finished with 175 rushing yards on 27 carries.

Louis led the Tigers with seven catches for 184 yards while Bruna' Foster was GSU's defensive leader with 10 tackles.

Grambling State is off next week before playing host to Concordia on Oct. 15.