Georgia Southern Travels to Old Dominion Saturday
12/4/2012 4:18:00 PM | Football
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GAME INFORMATION
Date / Time: Sat., Dec. 8 / 12 p.m. ET
Site: Norfolk, Va. / Foreman Field at S.B. Ballard Stadium (20,068)
TV: ESPN/WatchESPN.com
Play-by-Play: Clay Matvick; Analyst: Matt Stinchcomb; Sideline: TBA
Radio: Georgia Southern Radio Network
Play-by-Play: Chris Blair; Analyst: Terry Harvin; Sideline: Ryan Chambers
Live Stats: GSEagles.com
Game Notes: Georgia Southern / Old Dominion
SoCon Conference Call
Twitter Updates: @GSAthletics / @GSScores
Game Day Central / Interactive Bracket
Series: Georgia Southern leads, 1-0
Statesboro: Georgia Southern leads, 1-0
Norfolk: N/A
First Meeting: 2011 – W, 55-48
Last Meeting: 2011 – W, 55-48
Streak: Georgia Southern, 1 win
STORY LINES
For a second-straight season Georgia Southern (9-3) and Old Dominion (11-1) will meet in the FCS Playoffs Saturday. After winning 55-48 in Statesboro a year ago, the Eagles will travel to Norfolk, Va. this year.
The Eagles are 44-12 all-time and are 11-9 away from Statesboro in the playoffs. Georgia Southern has reached the semifinals in the past two seasons and needs just one more win to do so for a third-straight year.
A limited amount of tickets are available by calling the Georgia Southern Athletic Ticket Office at 1-800-GSU-WINS or by visiting gseagles.com.
Georgia Southern Athletics is hosting a send-off for the football team Friday at 9 a.m. The first 20 fans in attendance will receive a "Just One More Time" T-shirt.
For those who are unable to make the trip, Georgia Southern Women's and Men's Basketball will play at home on Friday and Saturday night, respectively. Also a list of viewing parties for Saturday's football game can be viewed by clicking here.
Georgia Southern leads the FCS division with 393.17 rushing yards per game.
After rushing for 316 yards last week, QB Jerick McKinnon now ranks 10th in the FCS with 123.17 rushing yards per game.
S J.J. Wilcox was invited to the Senior Bowl Monday.
LB John Stevenson needs just two more tackles to reach 100 tackles for the season. The former walk-on would be the first Eagle to reach that mark since Josh Rowe in 2010.
B-Back Dominique Swope needs just 17 more rushing yards to become the first Eagle to post back-to-back 1,000 yard seasons since Jermaine Austin did so in 2002 and 2003.
If Swope reaches 1,000 rushing yards Saturday, it will be the fifth season in GSU history that the Eagles have had two 1,000-yard rushers.
QUICK HITS
Georgia Southern is the FCS' winningest team with more than 50 games played, posting a .722 winning percentage and 286 all-time wins.
Seven Eagles were selected All-Southern Conference and two others were named Freshman All-Conference by either the league's head coaches or media members.
Georgia Southern has not been shutout in 217 consecutive games dating back to a 45-0 loss to Montana in the 1995 FCS Playoffs.
The Eagles won a share of their 10th Southern Conference Championship and claimed the leagues' automatic bid to the playoffs.
QB Jerick McKinnon's 1,478 rushing yards on the year ranks sixth all-time in school history.
DT Brent Russell needs just a half sack to take sole possession of the school's career sack record.
DE Dion DuBose played in his first career Playoff game last Saturday and led the team with two tackles for loss.
Georgia Southern has tallied 300 or more yards of total offense in all but one game this season.
The Eagles lead the Southern Conference in scoring offense and ranks 14th in the nation with 34.50 points per game.
WILCOX TO THE SENIOR BOWL
Senior safety J.J. Wilcox received an invite to the Senior Bowl Monday. The Senior Bowl is the nation's premier pre-draft event and annually features the country's best senior collegiate football stars and top NFL draft prospects.
McKINNON MAULS BEARS
Jerick McKinnon ran for 316 yards against Central Arkansas. It is the second-best rushing performance in school history behind Adrian Peterson's 333-yard rushing performance against UMASS in the 1999 Playoffs.
SIXTH IN ALL-TIME RUSHING
McKinnon enters Saturday's game against Old Dominion with 1,478 yards on the year. That total ranks as the sixth-best season for a rusher and the third-best total for a quarterback.
McKINNON LANDS ON PLAYOFF LIST
Jerick McKinnon's 57-yard touchdown run was the seventh longest scoring run in GSU playoff history, tying him with Adrian Peterson and Bennie Cunningham. His teammate Dominique Swope, however, holds the playoff record with a 76 yard run last year against ODU.
NEARLY BACK-TO-BACK 1000 FOR SWOPE
Sophomore B-Back Dominique Swope needs just 17 more yards to reach 1,000 yards for the year and become the first Eagle since Jermaine Austin in 2002 and 2003 to run for 1,000 yards in their first two seasons. The only other Eagle to accomplish the feat was Adrian Peterson who ran for 1,000 yards all four seasons.
TOP RUSHING DUOS IN GSU HISTORY
The combination of Dominique Swope and Jerick McKinnon is quickly moving up the charts of the top rushing duos in Georgia Southern history. Swope and McKinnon currently rank fifth with 2,461 combined rushing yards and 29 combined touchdowns. Also with 17 more rushing yards for Swope, he and McKinnon will become the fifth duo to both rush for 1,000 yards in the same season.
