Georgia Southern Kicks off the season with Savannah State
8/28/2013 6:28:00 AM | Football
SAVANNAH STATE at GEORGIA SOUTHERN
GAME INFORMATION
GAME NOTES PDF -- Savannah State // Georgia Southern
MEDIA GUIDE -- Savannah State // Georgia Southern
Date / Time: Saturday, August 31st // 6 p.m. ET
Site: Paulson Stadium Video Streaming: GSEagles.com (Subscription)
Radio: Georgia Southern Radio Network / Local 102.1 WZAT & 102.9 WPMX
Play-by-Play: Chris Blair; Analyst: Terry Harvin ('91); Sideline: Ryan Chambers
Social Media: Twitter @GSAthletics @GSScores Facebook.com/GSAthletics
Live Stats: GSEagles.com
All-Time Series with Savannah State: GS leads 9-0, 8-0 at Paulson Stadium
First Game: 1983, GS 15-0
Last Game: Georgia Southern 48, Savannah State 3 (Sept. 4, 2010)
Collegiate head coaching debut for Jeff Monken
Largest margin of victory for an Eagle head football coach in first game
Eagles' Streaks
Overall: Lost 1
Home: Won 1
Road: Lost 1
Last 5: 3-2 Last 10: 7-3
Coaches
Georgia Southern
Jeff Monken (Millikin '89)
Record at GS: 31-12 (72.1), Fourth Year
Career Record: Same
Savannah State
Earnest Wilson III (Texas Tech '89)
Record at Savannah State: First year
WATCH AND LISTEN
Saturday's game will be available in both video and audio formats as part of GS All-Access on GSEagles.com with packages varying from a day to a full year. A single-day pass is $5.95 and content can be accessed on all Windows, OSX, iOS and Android devices. Eagle Football fans can catch all the action, as well as pre-game and post-game shows on the Georgia Southern Radio Network. A complete listing of stations is available to the left. Additional affiliates may be added.
EARLY KICKOFF IN 2013
The 2013 home opener against Savannah State is the second earliest home opener ever and will be only the seventh game played in the month of August for the Eagles. The only earlier home opener was Coach Paul Johnson's debut as Georgia Southern's head coach on Aug. 30, 1997, when the Eagles defeated Valdosta State 45-26. The season opener will be the program's 400th game in the modern era.
#JOINTHEJOURNEY
Georgia Southern, the FCS' winningest team with more than 50 games played, posting a .721 winning percentage and 287 all-time wins, begins its transition to the Football Bowl Subdivision in 2013. The University announced its acceptance of an invitation to join the Sun Belt for the 2014-2015 academic year. Even though the Georgia Southern Football team will not be eligible for postseason play in 2013, Eagle student-athletes can be considered for honors.
UNIVERSITY BREAKS GROUND ON TWO PROJECTS
Georgia Southern University broke ground on two major projects earlier this summer with the progress more than evident in Paulson Stadium.
Scheduled for completion in April 2014, the new football operations center, a $10 million privately funded project, will house coaches' offices, team meeting rooms, a video production suite, locker rooms, strength & conditioning space, rehabilitation center, equipment room, and football Hall of Fame within its 50,000 square feet.
In addition, the north stands of Paulson Stadium will see improvements in the form of over 6,000 additional seats. The current on-grade seating will be expanded by approximately 1,500 new seats and 4,500 will be added with the construction of an upper deck. With this student-fee funded expansion, seating capacity at Paulson Stadium will exceed 21,000 permanent seats. Construction of this $10 million project is scheduled for completion in May 2014.
THE COACHES
Jeff Monken begins his fourth year as head coach of the Georgia Southern Football program with a 31-12 record for a 72.1 winning percentage. A finalist for Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year honors in 2012 after leading the Eagles to three-straight appearances in the NCAA Semifinals, Monken is one of only two coaches in Eagle Football history to record 10 or more wins in each of the first three years of his tenure.
Earnest Wilson III was named the 24th head coach of the Tigers in June 2013 after serving as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Hampton University in 2012. His 23 years of coaching experience includes head coaching positions in the AFL2 and IFL and collegiate stops at Jackson State, New Mexico State, Benedict College, Alabama A&M, Penn State and Maine.
OPENING DAY
Georgia Southern is 15-3 overall in home openers, winning 12 of the last 13 in Paulson Stadium. Overall, the Eagles are 21-10 in season-opening games. Saturday's game will be the fourth meeting between Georgia Southern and Savannah State in a season opening game for both teams.
STILL THE FAVORITE
Despite not being eligible for the Southern Conference championship and postseason play, Georgia Southern was voted as the league's favorite by both the SoCon coaches and media this summer.
OUR HOUSE
Georgia Southern owns a 171-32 record in Paulson Stadium for an .842 winning percentage. From September 27, 1997 through December 15, 2001, the Eagles recorded 39 straight home victories, which stands as the NCAA FCS record for longest home winning streak. The Eagles also own the second-longest streak, 38 games, from Oct. 5, 1985-Sept. 22, 1990. Beginning with the win over top-ranked and previously undefeated Appalachian State in November 2010 through November 2012, Georgia Southern had the longest home winning streak in the nation in 2012 with 14 straight victories at Paulson Stadium.
TAKING IT TO ANOTHER LEVEL
In its modern era games against FCS teams that now play at the FBS level, Georgia Southern boasts a composite win-loss record of 38-16 (70.3%) over those 15 teams.
McKINNON SELECTED TO WALTER PAYTON WATCH LIST
Senior quarterback Jerick McKinnon was selected to the 2013 Walter Payton Award watch list by The Sports Journal. The Marietta, Ga., native led the Eagles in rushing and scoring in 2012 and amassed 1,817 rushing yards, the third-highest single-season total in Georgia Southern history. That total ranks behind Adrian Peterson and Jayson Foster, Walter Payton Award winners in 1999 and 2007, respectively.
PRESEASON ALL-AMERICANS
Major media outlets have tabbed four Eagles for preseason All-America honors heading into the 2013 season:
Dorian Byrd
College Sports Journal
Phil Steele Publications
Garrett Frye
College Sporting News
Phil Steele Publications
Sports Network
Jerick McKinnon
College Sports Journal
Phil Steele Publications
Dominique Swope
College Sports Journal
Phil Steele Publications
Sports Network
Georgia Southern Athletics provides up-to-date information on all its sports through its official website, GSEagles.com, through social media channels facebook.com/GSAthletics and twitter.com/GSAthletics, and its new "Eagles GATA" mobile app for Android and iOS. Fans can follow Coach Jeff Monken on his official twitter account, @CoachJeffMonken.
