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STATESBORO, Ga. – Matt Breida and Wesley Fields combined to run for 363 yards and three touchdowns, and Younghoe Koo kicked three field goals to lead Georgia Southern to a 37-13 Sun Belt Conference football victory over Texas State Thursday night in Paulson Stadium. 

With the win, the Eagles (6-2, 4-1) become bowl eligible in their first full-fledged season in FBS.

Breida finished with 205 yards on 23 carries and two touchdowns. It was the third time in the junior's career that he has rushed for over 200 yards, and he went over 1,000 yards for the season. 

Fields ran nine times for 158 yards and a score. L.A. Ramsby ran for 69 yards and a touchdown, and Kevin Ellison rushed for 62 yards. Derek Keaton logged 144 return yards.

The Eagle defense had seven tackles for loss and picked off two passes. Antonio Glover and Caleb Williams had the interceptions, and Antwione Williams tallied three tackles for loss. Georgia Southern held Texas State to 213 total yards.

"We did a good job up front on both sides of the football, and I thought we played extremely well defensively," said Georgia Southern coach Willie Fritz. "They have a very diverse offense and run a lot of different stuff. Coach Curtis had a good game plan, and our guys tackled well."

Robert Lowe rushed 20 times for 91 yards to lead Texas State (2-5, 1-2). Tyler Jones threw for 87 yards and a touchdown and ran for 27 yards.

After Texas State trimmed the Georgia Southern lead to 21-13 with a 23-yard touchdown pass from Jones to Jafus Gaines in the third quarter, the Eagles scored 16 straight points to take control of the game.

On its next drive, Georgia Southern drove down to the Texas State 12-yard line but stalled after a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. Koo nailed a 44-yard field goal, his first of the season and the longest of the year for Georgia Southern, to increase the lead to 24-13.

The Eagle defense forced a 3-and-out, and Keaton took the punt back 60 yards to the Texas State 11-yard line. That set up another field goal by Koo, this time a 21-yard kick that made the score 27-13 early in the fourth quarter.

The Eagles forced another 3-and-out, and Fields ripped off a 64-yard run down the left sideline to move the ball to the Bobcat 7-yard line. Ramsby started right, cut back left, picked up a block from Ellison and ran into the end zone two plays later to extend the lead to 34-13 with 12:15 remaining.

Texas State moved the ball into Georgia Southern territory on its next drive, but Glover picked off a Jones pass at the Eagle 4-yard line. It was the senior's sixth interception of the season, which ties the school record. Fields picked up 29 yards down the left sideline, and Breida shook off three tackles near the line of scrimmage to race for a 44-yard pickup. That set up a 25-yard field goal by Koo that made the score 37-13 with 3:49 left.

The Eagles rolled the dice on their first possession of the game by going for it on 4th-and-1 from their own 37-yard line, and it paid off. Ellison faked the handoff up the middle and went around the left side for a 26-yard gain, and Breida took it to the house for a 37-yard touchdown run a play later.

After the Eagle defense stopped a fake field goal try by the Bobcats on the GS 30-yard line, Georgia Southern embarked on a six-play scoring drive. Breida took the handoff and exploded up the middle for a 48-yard touchdown run. It was the junior's sixth run over 45 yards this season. 

Holding a 14-3 lead, the Eagle defense got a big stop right before the end of the first half. Georgia Southern fumbled, and the Bobcats recovered it on the Eagle 8-yard line. Tackles for loss by Chris DeLaRosa and Antwione Williams forced the Bobcats backwards, and after an incomplete pass on third down, Texas State settled for a 28-yard field goal by Lumi Kaba.

Keaton gave the Eagles great field position with a 42-yard return on the ensuing kickoff. The Eagles drove down to the 4-yard line but turned it over when Aaron Shaw sacked a scrambling Ellison and forced a fumble, and Trey McGowan fell on it. It was one of three fumbles in the half for Georgia Southern.

"We didn't play great in the first half," said Fritz. "Turnovers were killing us. We were playing good defense and made some good plays, but with our type of offense, we have to take care of the football."

The Eagles got the ball to open the second half, and Fields made the margin 21-6 4:43 into the frame with a 38-yard touchdown run. The freshman broke left, shook off a couple tackles and turned on the speed to cap the 10-play, 75-yard drive.

Texas State came right back with a 75-yard drive of its own on their first possession of the half. A 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty and 16-yard completion from Jones to Brandon Smith helped the Bobcats move down to the 23-yard line, setting up the touchdown pass from Jones to Gaines.

"It's great to be bowl eligible, but I asked the guys in the locker room, 'what bowl do we want to go to?'" said Fritz. "We'd like to be able to help make the decision on what bowl we go to."

The Eagles have 16 days off before returning to action Saturday, Nov. 14, at Troy. Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. Eastern.

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, twitter.com/GSAthletics, iOS app Georgia Southern Eagles and Android app Eagles GATA. Fans can purchase tickets to Georgia Southern Athletics events by visiting GSEagles.com/tickets.
 

Georgia Southern Postgame Notes

• GAME CAPTAINS: #4 Kevin Ellison, #23 Derek Keaton, #34 Chris DeLaRosa, #56 Bernard Dawson

• Georgia Southern wore blue helmets, with blue jerseys and white pants tonight. The Eagles are now 8-1 under head coach Willie Fritz in this combo.

• After getting shut out in the opener, Georgia Southern has rushed for 35 touchdowns, coming from five different players in the past seven games.

• Matt Breida rushed for 205 yards in the game. This season, the Eagles are now 6-0 when he tops 100 yards rushing and 0-2 when he does not.

• Breida scored two touchdowns in the game, giving him 30 for his career and 13 for the season. He also had 205 yards rushing, the 13th 100-yard game of his career and his sixth this season. It's also the third 200-yard game of his career, and first of the season.

• Breida scored on a 48-yard run in the second quarter and later added a 44-yard run in the fourth quarter. It was the 16th and 17th run, respectively, of 40 yards or longer in his career.

• Georgia Southern had three turnovers, all on fumbles. It's the most fumbles lost by the Eagles under head coach Willie Fritz, topping the two lost fumbles against Troy last year. The most fumbles lost by a GS team at home was five in 1983 against Central Florida. The Eagles are now 2-4 under Fritz when losing the turnover battle.

• The Eagles led 14-6 at the break. GS is now 6-0 this season when leading at the half and 13-1 under head coach Willie Fritz.

• Younghoe Koo connected on a 44-yard field goal in the third quarter. It was his first attempt of the season and the longest made kick by an Eagle kicker this year.

• Derek Keaton broke off a career-long 60-yard punt return in the third quarter.

• True freshman Wesley Fields had a career-long 64-yard run in the fourth quarter. He finished the game with a career-high 158 yards on the ground, the first 100-yard game of his young career.

• Antonio Glover recorded his sixth interception of the season and the seventh of his career in the fourth quarter. The pick ties the school record for interceptions in a season, held by seven other players (A.J. Scott, 2004; Earthwind Moreland, 1998; Randell Boone, 1989; Laron Scott, 2010; Arkee Thompson, 1998; Jim Mutimer, 1991; and Nate Gates, 2000).

• Georgia Southern ran for 503 yards in the game. The Eagles are now 15-1 under Willie Fritz when running for 300 yards or more in the game, 10-0 when rushing for 400 or more yards and 4-0 when rushing for 500 or more yards. It's also the 10th straight home game GS has rushed for 300 or more yards.

• Georgia Southern has now won 10 straight games at Paulson Stadium. It's the fifth-longest winning streak in stadium history with the record standing at 39 straight from 1997-2001 (FCS record). The Eagles also won 38 games in a row from 1985-1990, 14 in a row from 2010-2012, and 11 in a row from 1990-1991.

• With the win, the Eagles are bowl eligible for the first time in program history.