TROY, Ala. – Georgia Southern rushed for 325 yards and held possession of the ball for over 25 minutes in the second half to post a 45-10 Sun Belt Conference football victory over Troy Saturday afternoon in Veterans Memorial Stadium.

The Eagles, who had 16 days between games, shook off a little rust and a 10-0 deficit early and scored 45 unanswered points in the win. The Eagle defense had three takeaways with two interceptions and a fumble recovery and gave up just three points and 212 total yards. Caleb Williams and Riyahd Jones each tallied interceptions, and Tay Hicklin recovered a Trojan fumble, forced by Antwione Williams.

Matt Breida ran for 84 yards and a touchdown, and L.A. Ramsby rushed for 82 yards and a score for Georgia Southern (7-2, 5-1). Kevin Ellison ran for 77 yards and threw for 58 yards and a touchdown. For the game, the Eagles had the ball for 42 minutes, and Troy had it for 18 and ran just 18 offensive plays in the second half.

"I know Coach Curtis really loves our offense," Georgia Southern coach Willie Fritz quipped after the game. "We play great defense when we're standing over there on the sidelines. But I thought we tackled really well and got some timely takeaways."

Brandon Silvers threw for 134 yards for Troy (3-7, 2-4), and Brandon Burks ran for 50 yards.

The Eagles dug themselves a 10-0 hole just 3:32 into the contest. The Trojans marched down to the Eagle 3-yard line on the opening possession of the game and after an incomplete pass on 3rd-and-goal, put three points on the board with a Jed Solomon field goal.

Ellison misfired on a pitch to the right on Georgia Southern's first play from scrimmage, and Demetrius Cain scooped the ball up at the Eagle 19-yard line and ran it in for a touchdown and a 10-0 Troy lead. 

"It's hard to replicate their pace in practice, and we struggled with it early," Fritz said. "After that, we settled down, and guys did a better job of lining up quickly and making the right reads. I know we are going to compete. They have a lot of fight, and that's one thing I really like about coaching these guys, I know they are going to compete."

It was all Georgia Southern from there, and the Eagles built a 24-10 cushion at halftime. Georgia Southern got the ball to start the second half and bled 8:20 off the clock with a 15-play, 83-yard touchdown drive. The Blue and White converted three third downs and two fourth downs, and capped the drive with a 2-yard touchdown run by Ramsby to open a 31-10 advantage.

The Eagles put the game away with another long drive in the fourth quarter. This time, Georgia Southern melted 12:01 off the clock with a 17-play, 75-yard drive, capped by a Chaz Thornton 2-yard touchdown run. Georgia Southern converted two fourth downs during the possession, including one on its own 46-yard line. 

"It was amazing," junior tight end James Dean said. "In that drive, we started with our 1s and it went so long, we put our 2s in. It was Georgia Southern football at its finest - run the ball, run the clock, get the win."

Riyahd Jones added the final margin with a 61-yard interception return for touchdown inside the final minute. The senior took it away from the Troy receiver and scampered down the left sideline.
 
Trailing 10-0, The Eagles put together a 66-yard, 11-play scoring drive on their second possession, capped by a Breida 3-yard touchdown run. An unsportsmanlike penalty on the Trojans after a 3-yard pickup on 3rd-and-8 kept the drive alive, and Favian Upshaw hit BJ Johnson with a 19-yard pass over the middle to set up the score.

The Georgia Southern defense got its first takeaway of the game on Troy's next possession. Bernard Dawson pressured Silvers, and Williams picked off his desperation heave down the right sideline and returned the ball 16 yards to the Trojan 18-yard line. Troy stopped the Eagles at the 6-yard line, and Younghoe Koo tied the score 10-10 with a 23-yard field goal. 

Georgia Southern took its first lead of the game when Myles Campbell took an Ellison pitch down the right sideline for a 20-yard touchdown 3:06 into the second quarter. Ellison connected with Malik Henry for a 35-yard pass play to set up the score.

The Eagles put another six on the board with 1:24 left in the quarter when Ellison connected with James Dean for a 23-yard touchdown pass. Derek Keaton set up the drive with a 21-yard punt return, and Koo added the extra point for a 24-10 halftime lead.

The Eagles take a break from their conference schedule to travel up the road to Georgia next Saturday. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m., and the game will be broadcast live on ESPNU.

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

Nov. 14, 2015 • vs. Troy

• GAME CAPTAINS: #7 Matt Dobson, #14 Tay Hicklin, #33 James Dean, #56 Roscoe Byrd

• Georgia Southern wore blue helmets, with white jerseys and white pants today. The Eagles are now 7-4 under head coach Willie Fritz in this combo.

• After getting shut out in the opener, Georgia Southern has rushed for 39 touchdowns, coming from seven different players in the past eight games.

• Caleb Williams recorded his fourth career interception in the first quarter and his third of the season. It led to a Younghoe Koo field goal to tie the game up. 

• On the Eagles' third drive of the game, freshman Malik Henry registered his first collegiate catch, a 35-yarder, and the drive ended with sophomore Myles Campbell scoring his career touchdown, a 20-yard run.

• Tight end James Dean registered his first career catch in the second quarter and it went for a 23-yard touchdown. It was his fourth career touchdown (3 rushing).

• Matt Breida rushed for 84 yards in the game and the Eagles won. This season, the Eagles are 6-0 when he tops 100 yards rushing and are now 1-2 when he does not.

• Breida scored a touchdown in the game, giving him 31 for his career and 14 for the season. 

• The Eagles led 24-10 at the break. GS is 7-0 this season when leading at the half and 14-1 under head coach Willie Fritz.

• After falling behind 10-0 early on, the Eagles scored 45 unanswered points en route to the 45-10 lead. The previous high for unanswered points this season was 31 points (first 31 points of The Citadel game).

• Chaz Thornton recorded his first collegiate touchdown with a scoring run late in the game.

• Senior Riyahd Jones recorded his first collegiate interception and returned it 61 yards for his first touchdown. It marked the first Eagle touchdown via interception return since Matt Dobson returned one 100 yards last year at Texas State.

• Georgia Southern ran for 325 yards in the game. The Eagles are now 16-1 under Willie Fritz when running for 300 yards or more in the game.