David Coulson

What an eventful first quarter of action.

South Carolina State struck quickly with a third-down pass from Malcolm Long to freshman Tyler McDonald getting the ball to the Goergia Southern 46. But the Eagles defense stiffened to force a Bulldog punt.

GSU then marched 11 plays for 80 yards on a five-minute drive to go ahead 7-0 as J.J. Wilcox dashed into the end zone on an option pitch. Fullback Robert Brown set up the score with a 36-yard burst on the option dive.

On the ensuing kickoff, Richard Christie fumbled a bouncing kick at the one and then struggled with teammate Donovan Richard for the ball. Richard eventually picked it up, circled into the end zone and was tackled for a safety by Michael Butler to make it 9-0 at the 7:30 mark.

But less than two minutes later, Georgia Southern lost starting quarterback and Georgia Tech transfer Jaybo Shaw for the game with an apparent concussion.

Georgia Southern extended its lead to 16-0 when Brent Russell stripped Long of the ball and defensive end Josh Gephardt recovered and returned it 34 yards for a score.

The Eagles tacked on a 32-yard Adrian Mora field goal to make it 19-0 early in the second quarter.

But South Carolina struck back with Lennel Elmore racing 90 yards with the kickoff return for a touchdown.

After a 55-yard run by Devin Wherry put the Bulldogs in scoring position, South Carolina State blew a chance for a TD when Tray Williams dropped a pass from Long in the end zone.

The Bulldogs settled for a 21-yard field goal by Nick Belcher to make it a 19-10 game in Georgia Southern's favor at the half.

Georgia Southern took advantage of a good kickoff return to set up Adrian Mora for a 24-yard field goal to make it 22-10 with 9:41 left in the third quarter.

The Eagles lined up for a 49-yard attempt earlier in the drive, but converted a fake with holder Charlie Edwards throwing a wounded duck pass high into the wind that Carter Jones pulled down for a first down.

Georgia Southern had a third and goal at the two, but were called for delay of game and had to settled for the field goal.

The two teams exchanged turnovers in the third quarter, with Josh Rowe tipping a Malcolm Long pass that was picked off by Levelle Westbrooks. But in position to score again, GSU fullback Robert Brown fumbled the ball away.

Brown fumbled again on the next Eagle drive, but the play was ruled down to keep SCSU from getting the ball near the GSU 25.

South Carolina State called a time out on the final play of the third quarter to force Georgia Southern to kick a field goal into the wind. But Adrian Mora punched the ball barely through the uprights to give the Eagles a 25-10 lead.

On the ensuing kickoff, Lennel Elmore was hit at the 10 and fumbled into the end zone. He recovered in the end zone, but was tackled for a safety to make it 27-10.

Following the safety, Georgia Southern pounded the ball down the field and scored on third and one on J.J. Wilcox's leap into the end zone. That made it 34-10 with about nine minutes to play.

Josh Gephardt tipped and intercepted a pass at the SCSU 19, combining with his fumble recovery for a TD earlier.

Russell DeMasi scored from a yard out to boost Georgia Southern's lead to 41-10 with 6:06 remaining. This is the most points allowed by South Carolina State since its opening game against Georgia Tech.

Malcomb Long hit Lennel Elmore for a 58-yard TD strike, but the Bulldogs missed the extra point to leave the score at 41-16.

It was announced that the game next week with William & Mary will have a 1:30 p.m. eastern start time.

Brent Thomas of GSU fumbled as Donovan Richard forced the miscue and recovered the ball at the Eagle 44 late in the game.

Georgia Southern made a defensive stop at the 41 to get the ball back with 51 seconds left.

The final score is Georgia Southern 41, South Carolina State 16. The Eagles move on to face No. 2 seed William & Mary on the road next week.