STATESBORO, Ga. – Matt Breida and L.A. Ramsby combined for 328 all-purpose yards, and Matt Dobson dashed any hopes of an Idaho comeback with an interception return for touchdown as Georgia Southern topped the Vandals 47-24 in a Sun Belt Conference football game Saturday night at Paulson Stadium. With the win, Georgia Southern (5-2, 4-0) became the first team in Sun Belt history to start its inaugural year of conference play 4-0.
 
Idaho (0-6, 0-4) had the ball and the momentum after cutting a 23-point deficit to nine early in the fourth quarter. On first down from his own 16-yard line, Matt Linehan scrambled and tried to shovel a pass to Deon Watson, but the ball sailed over Watson's head and Matt Dobson was there to pick it off his shoe tops and run 26 yards unencumbered for a touchdown.
 
"I was just happy to make a play for the team," said Dobson. "The coaches had a great call on, the ball got tipped to me and I did the easy part and ran it in."
 
It was the first defensive touchdown for the Eagles since 2012 and put Georgia Southern back on top 40-24. Senior Ean Days capped the scoring with a 4-yard touchdown run with 12 seconds left in the contest.
 
Georgia Southern topped the 500-yard mark for total offense for the third time this year with 550 yards as Breida ran 19 times for 155 yards and caught two passes for 36 yards and a touchdown, and L.A. Ramsby ran for 98 yards and a touchdown and caught two passes for 39 yards. Quarterback Kevin Ellison rushed for 32 yards and a pair of touchdowns and threw for 96 yards and a score, and quarterback Favian Upshaw went 4-for-4 for 105 yards and a score.
 
Edwin Jackson led the Eagles with 13 tackles, including seven solo stops, and Dobson finished with six tackles and a tackle for loss.
 
"We're starting to figure out that every game is going to be tough; there are no gimmees," said Georgia Southern Head Coach Willie Fritz. "When we needed to make some plays on offense, we did it. When we needed to make plays on defense, we did it. When we needed an interception, we got some pressure up the middle and got it done. There's a lot of things we need to fix, but going into the bye week 4-0 – I'm very proud of our guys."
 
Linehan completed 19-of-31 passes for 230 yards, and Joshua McCain caught six passes for 97 yards. Elijah Penny rushed for 75 yards and three touchdowns, and Jacob Sannon caught three passes for 71 yards.
 
After building a 10-point lead at halftime, Georgia Southern went 70 yards on six plays on the opening drive of the second half. Breida keyed the drive with a 34-yard run, and Ellison scored the touchdown on a nifty 14-yard run up the middle as the Eagles opened a 27-10 lead.
 
The Eagle defense got a three-and-out, and the offense put together another long drive, this time 80 yards on 11 plays, capped by a Ramsby touchdown run. Georgia Southern converted on a 4^th-down play on its own 29-yard line with a 2-yard Breida run, and Ramsby took the pitch around the left side and dove over the pile-on for a 3-yard touchdown run that made the margin 33-10.
 
Idaho would not go away, and the Eagles helped leave the door ajar with two missed PATs and missed a 26-yard field goal try in the game. The Vandals scored 14 points in 3:10 to cut the deficit to nine points at the end of the third quarter. An 11-yard pass from Linehan to Justin Prodrabsky on 4^th-and-2 from the Vandals' own 25-yard line and a 41-yard pass play from Linehan to McCain keyed a scoring drive that ended with a 4-yard Penny touchdown run. Idaho went for two, and Linehan threw to Watson for the conversion.
 
Idaho forced a fumble on the Georgia Southern 18-yard line on the Eagles' next possession, and Penny scored on a 1-yard run seven plays later. The Vandals went for two again, but Dobson broke up a Linehan pass attempt, making the margin 33-24 at the start of the final quarter.
 
Georgia Southern scored touchdowns on its first three possessions of the game, while the Eagle defense stopped Idaho on two fourth-down plays to build a 20-10 lead at halftime. The Vandals drove inside the Eagle 40-yard line on their first four possessions of the game but netted just the 10 points. Rashad Williams pressured Linehan on one fourth-down play, forcing him to throw it away, and Richard Montgomery was stopped short after a 6-yard pass on 4^th-and-8.
 
After Jackson tackled Penny for no gain on 3^rd-and-2 from the Eagle 18-yard line, Idaho had to settle for a 35-yard field goal by Austin Rehkow to take a 3-0 lead five minutes into the contest. 
 
Breida set up a touchdown on the Eagles' first drive as he broke around the left side and down the sideline for a 52-yard gain. Ellison on a 6-yard keeper two plays later for a 7-3 lead midway through the first quarter.
 
Ellison threw to a wide open BJ Johnson for a 22-yard touchdown pass on the Eagles' second possession. Johnson and Ellison got the Vandal defender to bite on a pump fake on a stop-and-go route for an easy pitch and catch that capped a 76-yard drive.
 
Idaho found the end zone on its third possession when Penny scored on a 10-yard run on the third play of the second quarter.
 
Upshaw was a perfect 3-for-3 for 76 yards on Georgia Southern's third drive, including a 17-yard screen pass to Breida for a touchdown and a 20-10 lead 4:27 into the second quarter. Upshaw hit Kentrillis Showers with a 40-yard pass down the right sideline early in the drive to key the score.
 
The Eagles have a week off before traveling to in-state rival Georgia State Oct. 25, for a Sun Belt Conference showdown in the Georgia Dome. It will be the first meeting between the Eagles and Panthers.
 
GAME NOTES: It was the most points scored in a Sun Belt game for the Eagles… Dobson's pick-six was the first for the Eagles since 2012 against Samford (Lavelle Westbrooks int return)… It was the second meeting between Idaho and Georgia Southern in Paulson Stadium; the Eagles topped the Vandals 28-27 in a I-AA Playoff game Dec. 1, 1990, en route to their fourth of six National Championships… Ellison's TD pass to Breida was the Eagles' seventh this season; Georgia Southern had seven in the entire 2013 campaign… Breida's 52-yard run was his fifth over 50 yards; the previous four went for touchdowns… The attendance of 23,250 was the fourth-largest crowd for a regular-season game at Paulson Stadium and the fifth-most in the stadium's history… Georgia Southern improved to 27-6 on Homecoming and has won five in a row… The Eagles sported gray "Traditions" jerseys and are now 3-0 in games in which they wear alternate jerseys… Two first-year teams (both in 2001) started Sun Belt play 3-0, but lost their next conference game… Outside of the conference's first season of play in 2001, only once has an inaugural member finished with a winning record overall or in conference play (2004 – Troy – 7-5, 5-2 Sun Belt).
 
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