Football | 8/29/2016 1:00:00 PM
The Georgia Southern football squad will open its 2016 season when the Eagles host local foe Savannah State in non-conference play on Saturday, Sept. 3 with a home contest at Paulson Stadium against Savannah State. Here's all you need to know about the game:
Game 1: Saturday, Sept. 3, 2016 • 6 PM
Location: Statesboro, Ga. (Paulson Stadium Stadium; 25,000)
Broadcast Information
Online: ESPN3/Watch ESPN
PBP: Greg Mescall;
Analyst: Wayne Gandy
Radio: Georgia Southern Sports Network
PBP: Danny Reed;
Analyst: Terry Harvin;
Sidelines: Russ Brown
GS: GAME NOTES (PDF)
BUY TICKETS
Saturday Promotions:
Paint the Town Blue
• The week-long event is designed to get all of Statesboro involved in the celebration of the beginning of the 2016 athletics season and for businesses and campus departments and members of the community to show their support of Georgia Southern University.
• Click here for more information on how you can participate in Paint the Town Blue week. http://gseagles.com/news/2016/8/22/football-how-you-can-paint-the-town-blue.aspx
Military Appreciation Day
• Military Appreciation Day is held each year at a Georgia Southern Football game in honor of the men and women who have served and currently served in our nation's armed forces.
• Ticket Special – Any active and veteran military personnel get in free with ID.
• Family members get in with $17 discount admission
• They can purchase these tickets on game day only at the ticket booth by gate 7 and 8 or in the Cowart Building off Lanier Drive. Ticket booths will open at 3 p.m. on Sept. 3.
• Don't miss out on a special halftime performance from the Southern Pride Marching Band honoring all military personnel.
Law Enforcement Appreciation Day
• Georgia Southern Athletics would like to show their appreciation for our local law enforcement agencies at the game. Each local agency will be recognized for their service at the game.
• Ticket Special – Any law enforcement official will get in free with ID.
• Family members get in with $17 discount admission
• They can purchase these tickets on game day only at the ticket booth by gate 7 and 8 or in the Cowart Building off Lanier Drive. Ticket booths will open at 3 p.m. on Sept. 3.
The Series
• Savannah State and Georgia Southern have met 11 previous times with 10 of those games having been played at Paulson Stadium. GS has won all 11 previous meetings with SSU, the last an 83-9 win at Paulson Stadium in 2014. The 2013 win (a 77-9 triumph under then-head coach Jeff Monken) was vacated by GS in July due to NCAA sanctions.
• In the previous two meetings between the two teams, GS has outscored the Tigers a combined 160-18.
• The 83 points GS scored vs. Savannah State in 2014 was the highest point total for any FBS team in 2014.
A New Era
• Saturday will mark the first game as head coach for Georgia Southern's
Tyson Summers, who came to Statesboro after successful stints as a defensive coordinator at Colorado State and UCF. Summers previously coached in Statesboro for one year, serving as the safeties coach in 2006.
• GS has had pretty good success the previous three times it broke in a new coach. In 2007, Chris Hatcher went 7-4 in his first year. In 2010, Jeff Monken went 10-5 and led the Eagles to the FCS semifinals and in 2014, Willie Fritz led the Eagles to nine wins (one win was vacated), including a perfect mark to win the Sun Belt.
Against the MEAC
• GS has played 36 games all-time against current teams in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, posting a 34-2 mark with 14 wins in a row. Eleven of those wins have come against Savannah State, although one win was vacated.
Home Openers
• Overall, the Eagles are 26-6-1 in home openers with a 26-5 mark at Paulson Stadium since its first game on Sept. 29, 1984 against Liberty. The 2013 home opener, a 77-9 win over Savannah State, was vacated due to NCAA sanctions.
• This will be the seventh time Savannah State serves as Georgia Southern's home opener.
Georgia on Our Minds
• Saturday's home opener is the first of seven games in the state of Georgia for the Eagles as they also have a game in two weeks at home against UL Monroe. GS will take on Georgia Tech at Bobby Dodd Stadium in October and will have a Thursday night home TV game against Appalachian State on Oct. 27.
• The Eagles will finish the season with three straight games in the Peach State, welcoming UL Lafayette to town for a Thursday night ESPNU game on Nov. 10 and then will head to the Georgia Dome to play Georgia State on Nov. 19, playing in Atlanta for the second time this season. Georgia Southern's season finale, against Troy, is Senior Night and is set for Dec. 3.
