J.C. French, Jalen White and OJ Arnold accounted for two touchdowns each, Tracy Hill Jr. returned an interception 60 yards for a score and Georgia Southern beat South Carolina State, 42-14, Saturday night at Paulson Stadium.
The Eagles go on the road next Saturday against fifth-ranked Ole Miss in Oxford at 7:45 p.m. The game will be televised on the SEC Network.
A 58-yard catch-and-run by Josh Dallas set up a 1-yard touchdown run by White to give Georgia Southern (2-1) the lead for good at 14-7 with 12:07 left in the first half. The Bulldogs went three-and-out on the ensuing drive and French threw a 14-yard TD pass to Arnold that made it a 14-point game five minutes later.
The Eagles took the kickoff to open the second half and went 59 yards in five plays to take a 28-7 lead when Arnold scored on a 15-yard run and Hill's pick-6 gave Georgia Southern a 28-point lead with 10:48 left in the third quarter.
Deondra Duehart scored on a 2-yard run for South Carolina State (1-1) in the first quarter and added TD from a yard out late in the third.
French threw a 13-yard scoring strike to Tyler Fromm to open the scoring with 8:36 left in the first quarter and White's 2-yard TD run made it 42-14 with 2:47 to play.
After a quick stop from the defense, the Eagles marched down the field and scored on a 13-yard touchdown TD pass from French to tight end Fromm.
The Bulldogs missed a field goal but scored on their next possession to tie it up early in the second quarter, but that lead was short-lived after White punched it in for a 1-yard touchdown that was set up by the 58-yard pass to Dallas. The Eagles widened their lead on the next drive when Arnold caught a 14-yard pass from French.
In the second half, French led the Eagles down the field with Arnold scoring his second touchdown, this time on a 15-yard run.
On the next drive, Hill stepped in front of an Eric Phoenix pass and took the interception back 60 yards for his first pick six. It was the first pick six for the Eagles since Marques Watson-Trent had one against Georgia State in 2023.
White scored his second touchdown of the game with a 2-yard run at 2:47, for the final score.
French completed 17 of 23 passes for 211 yards and two touchdowns. Arnold and White both scored twice, while Daled Cobb led the receivers with four catches for 39 yards. Fromm had a career-high four catches for 35 yards and a score.
Watson-Trent led the defense with seven tackles, while Cam Williams and Chance Gamble both posted six.
