ATHENS, Ga. – Georgia Southern entered Saturday night leading the nation with 378.9 rushing yards a game.
Georgia held the Eagles well below that, as their triple-option attack managed 233 yards on 52 rushes in Georgia’s 23-17 overtime escape. GSU running back Matt Breida came in averaging 138 yards a game and 8.9 yards per carry, but he was held to 66 yards and 3.3 per rush.
“They scored one touchdown on defense, so when you hold a team like that to 10 points, that’s not bad,” Bulldogs defensive coordinator Jeremy Pruitt said. “You would like to hold them to zero, but that doesn’t happen a whole lot in this day and time. We didn’t play perfect this game, but when we needed to make some plays, some guys stepped up and made them.”
Georgia Southern finished with 277 yards overall.
Jordan Jenkins had 13 tackles and Leonard Floyd 12 for the Bulldogs, with Floyd making 3.5 tackles for lost yardage. Jake Ganus, Quincy Mauger, Malkom Parrish and Davin Bellamy each had a tackle for loss as well.