ATLANTA - A dominating offensive performance led the Georgia Southern football squad to a big 38-21 victory over in-state rival Georgia State Saturday afternoon at Center Parc Stadium in the inaugural Georgia Grown Bowl.
The Eagle offense piled up 261 yards and four touchdowns on the ground and racked up 498 yards of total offense while the defense recorded three interceptions to spark the win, the second straight over the Panthers.
After the two teams traded punts to start the game, the Eagles (3-2, 1-0) drove the field's length on an 11-play drive that culminated with JC French connecting with Josh Dallas on a 1-yard touchdown pass. For Dallas, it was his first career score. The Panthers wasted little time in responding, hitting a 76-yard touchdown pass two plays later to tie it back up. On the next drive, OJ Arnold popped free for a 32-yard scoring run to put the Eagles back up.
Early in the second quarter, Gavin Stewart launched a career-long 53-yard field goal to make it 17-7. It was the first GS field goal of 50 yards or longer since Tyler Bass connected on a 50-yarder against Eastern Michigan in the 2018 Camellia Bowl. French led the Eagles on a 98-yard touchdown drive, the longest touchdown drive in the FBS era for Southern as Arnold punched it in from 1-yard out to make it 24-7.
The Panthers (2-2, 0-1) used an Eagle turnover inside the 5-yard line to score early in the third quarter to make it 24-14. After the Eagles went three and out, Georgia State hit a 58-yard touchdown pass down the middle of the field to make it a three-point game. After another Eagle turnover, this time on special teams, the defense stiffened to force a field goal that was pushed to the left and the momentum quickly swung back to the visitors.
The Eagles made them pay, going on an eight-play, 76-yard scoring drive capped off by an 8-yard touchdown run from Jalen White to extend the lead back to 10, and then White iced the game with a 16-yard scoring run with 4:10 left.
A pair of Eagles went over the century mark, led by White's 10th career 100-yard game. White ran for 114 yards and two scores while Arnold ran for a career-high 110 yards and two scores. Dallas caught a career-high nine passes for 89 yards and a score while French threw for 237 yards and the score to Dallas against no interceptions.
The Eagle offense piled up 261 yards and four touchdowns on the ground and racked up 498 yards of total offense while the defense recorded three interceptions to spark the win, the second straight over the Panthers.
After the two teams traded punts to start the game, the Eagles (3-2, 1-0) drove the field's length on an 11-play drive that culminated with JC French connecting with Josh Dallas on a 1-yard touchdown pass. For Dallas, it was his first career score. The Panthers wasted little time in responding, hitting a 76-yard touchdown pass two plays later to tie it back up. On the next drive, OJ Arnold popped free for a 32-yard scoring run to put the Eagles back up.
Early in the second quarter, Gavin Stewart launched a career-long 53-yard field goal to make it 17-7. It was the first GS field goal of 50 yards or longer since Tyler Bass connected on a 50-yarder against Eastern Michigan in the 2018 Camellia Bowl. French led the Eagles on a 98-yard touchdown drive, the longest touchdown drive in the FBS era for Southern as Arnold punched it in from 1-yard out to make it 24-7.
The Panthers (2-2, 0-1) used an Eagle turnover inside the 5-yard line to score early in the third quarter to make it 24-14. After the Eagles went three and out, Georgia State hit a 58-yard touchdown pass down the middle of the field to make it a three-point game. After another Eagle turnover, this time on special teams, the defense stiffened to force a field goal that was pushed to the left and the momentum quickly swung back to the visitors.
The Eagles made them pay, going on an eight-play, 76-yard scoring drive capped off by an 8-yard touchdown run from Jalen White to extend the lead back to 10, and then White iced the game with a 16-yard scoring run with 4:10 left.
A pair of Eagles went over the century mark, led by White's 10th career 100-yard game. White ran for 114 yards and two scores while Arnold ran for a career-high 110 yards and two scores. Dallas caught a career-high nine passes for 89 yards and a score while French threw for 237 yards and the score to Dallas against no interceptions.
Marques Watson-Trent led the defense with eight tackles, including 2.0 for loss, and a forced fumble. Marc Stampley II, Chance Gamble and TJ Smith each recorded interceptions and Kristian Varner picked up a sack.
