Saturday, September 5
Statesboro, GA
7:00 PM
Georgia Southern University
vs
Charleston Southern
GAME PREVIEW: Eagles Set to Open 2026 Season
8/31/2026 2:30:00 PM | Football
OPener against CSU set for Saturday at 7 p.m.
STATESBORO - The Georgia Southern football team opens its 2026 season at Allen E. Paulson Stadium/Evans Family Field Saturday when it hosts Charleston Southern in non-conference action. Kickoff is set for 7:03 p.m. and it will be carried on ESPN+. The game will also be available via radio on the Georgia Southern Sports Network. Here's all you need to know about the game:
Game 1: Saturday, Sept. 5, 2025 • 7:03 PM
Location: Statesboro, Ga. (Allen E. Paulson Stadium/Evans Family Field; 25,000)
Records:
Charleston Southern: 0-1, 0-1 OVC
Georgia Southern: 0-0, 0-0 SBC
Broadcast Information
Broadcast: ESPN+
PBP: Danny Waugh, Analyst: Jayson Foster, Sidelines: Capers Childs
Radio: Georgia Southern Sports Network
PBP: Adam Young (@youngpbp); Analyst: Frank Sulkowski (@TheBigGuyWJCL); Sidelines: Jeff Roberts (@JeffRoberts__)
Radio Affiliates
GS: GAME NOTES (PDF)
Inside The Series
Overall Record: First Meeting
Giardina vs. GS: Never Met
Helton vs. CSU: Never Met
Helton vs. Giardina: Never Met
GS vs. current OVC: 6-1
GS vs. teams from South Carolina: 71-28
GS in state of Georgia: 239-70-1
GS at Allen E. Paulson Stadium: 222-53
Helton at Paulson Stadium: 17-7
Of Note:
Countdown to Kickoff
10: Fifth-year defensive back Tracy Hill Jr. is the only player on the roster who has started 10 or more straight games for Georgia Southern (16).
9: Georgia Southern's Clay Helton has won nine of his 10 home openers as a head coach.
8: After posting 46 catches in 2024, receiver Josh Dallas had just eight catches in the first two games last season before missing the rest of the year with an injury.
7: The Eagles have lost just seven times in 41 tries (34-7) in home openers at Allen E. Paulson Stadium.
6: Georgia Southern returns just six starters combined, with none of those coming on the offensive side of the ball.
5: Head coach Clay Helton is entering his fifth season at the helm of the Eagles. He is the second-longest tenured head coach in the East Division of the Sun Belt, trailing only ODU's Ricky Rahne.
4: The Eagles will open the season with their four non-conference games for the fifth straight season.
3: This will be the first of three teams from the state of South Carolina that Georgia Southern will play this season. The Eagles will travel to Clemson next week and will travel to Coastal Carolina later this season.
2: Georgia Southern special teams coordinator Blake Wilson finished his career at CSU, playing two seasons at linebacker for the Bucs in 2015 and 2016.
1: This will be the first football meeting between Georgia Southern and Charleston Southern. The Eagles are 6-1 against current members of the Ohio Valley Conference.
Up Next:
Sept. 12 at Clemson - Clemson, S.C. - 7:30 p.m. - ACC Network
Game 1: Saturday, Sept. 5, 2025 • 7:03 PM
Location: Statesboro, Ga. (Allen E. Paulson Stadium/Evans Family Field; 25,000)
Records:
Charleston Southern: 0-1, 0-1 OVC
Georgia Southern: 0-0, 0-0 SBC
Broadcast Information
Broadcast: ESPN+
PBP: Danny Waugh, Analyst: Jayson Foster, Sidelines: Capers Childs
Radio: Georgia Southern Sports Network
PBP: Adam Young (@youngpbp); Analyst: Frank Sulkowski (@TheBigGuyWJCL); Sidelines: Jeff Roberts (@JeffRoberts__)
Radio Affiliates
GS: GAME NOTES (PDF)
Inside The Series
Overall Record: First Meeting
Giardina vs. GS: Never Met
Helton vs. CSU: Never Met
Helton vs. Giardina: Never Met
GS vs. current OVC: 6-1
GS vs. teams from South Carolina: 71-28
GS in state of Georgia: 239-70-1
GS at Allen E. Paulson Stadium: 222-53
Helton at Paulson Stadium: 17-7
Of Note:
- This will be the first meeting between the two schools.
- Special teams coordinator Blake Wilson finished his career at CSU, playing linebacker for the Bucs in 2015 and 2016.
- The Eagles are 6-1 against current members of the Ohio Valley Conference. They are 3-1 against Gardner-Webb, 2-0 against Tennessee Tech and 1-0 against Western Illinois.
- Georgia Southern has won 17 of its past 19 home openers and is 34-7 in home openers at Allen E. Paulson Stadium.
- Head Coach Clay Helton is 7-3 in season openers and 9-1 in home openers in his 10 seasons as a head man.
- Georgia Southern has posted a 132-18 all-time record at Paulson Stadium in non-conference contests.
- CSU receiver KD Dorsey transferred from Georgia Southern this past offseason after three years in Statesboro. He played in eight games with one start in 2023, but didn't play in 2024 or 2025. He had five catches for 31 yards in his Eagle career.
Countdown to Kickoff
10: Fifth-year defensive back Tracy Hill Jr. is the only player on the roster who has started 10 or more straight games for Georgia Southern (16).
9: Georgia Southern's Clay Helton has won nine of his 10 home openers as a head coach.
8: After posting 46 catches in 2024, receiver Josh Dallas had just eight catches in the first two games last season before missing the rest of the year with an injury.
7: The Eagles have lost just seven times in 41 tries (34-7) in home openers at Allen E. Paulson Stadium.
6: Georgia Southern returns just six starters combined, with none of those coming on the offensive side of the ball.
5: Head coach Clay Helton is entering his fifth season at the helm of the Eagles. He is the second-longest tenured head coach in the East Division of the Sun Belt, trailing only ODU's Ricky Rahne.
4: The Eagles will open the season with their four non-conference games for the fifth straight season.
3: This will be the first of three teams from the state of South Carolina that Georgia Southern will play this season. The Eagles will travel to Clemson next week and will travel to Coastal Carolina later this season.
2: Georgia Southern special teams coordinator Blake Wilson finished his career at CSU, playing two seasons at linebacker for the Bucs in 2015 and 2016.
1: This will be the first football meeting between Georgia Southern and Charleston Southern. The Eagles are 6-1 against current members of the Ohio Valley Conference.
Up Next:
Sept. 12 at Clemson - Clemson, S.C. - 7:30 p.m. - ACC Network
Players Mentioned
Monday, August 31
Monday, August 31
Friday, August 28
Monday, August 24
