Georgia Southern Escapes With A 40-38 Victory Over Texas State

In a Sun Belt scorcher, Georgia Southern pounded Texas State into submission.

Eagles quarterback Shai Wertz threw for 51 yards and ran for 120 yards and three score and Logan Wright added 103 on the ground.

The first half was a barn burner as the teams combined for 48 points. Georgia Southern rushed out to a 17-7 lead after the first quarter as the Eagles would pick off Texas State three times in the first half.

The Bobcats would come roaring back to make it a 27-21 Eagle lead at half time.

Bobcat starting quarterback Tyler Vitt would leave late in the first half with an arm injury and Brady McBride was inserted.

McBride would finish 7/13 for 155 yards and two touchdowns in relief.

The second half would see Texas State outscore Georgia Southern 17-13 but the ‘Cats couldn’t catch a break as the pace sped up.

Texas State struggled with the rushing attack on offense and defense. Combined, the Bobcats would only rush for 30 yards while the Georgia Southern rushing attack would total 386 yards on a 5.9 yard average per carry.

This stat would end up giving the Eagles a 41:19 to 18:41 advantage in the time-of-possession game.

Texas State’s wide receiving corp would shine in the loss with Marcell Barbee catching his ninth touchdown of the year and Jeremiah Haydel returning a kickoff in the first quarter and snagging three catches. Barbee currently leads the Sun Belt in touchdown catches and is third in the nation in that category.

Georgia Southern would pound out four touchdowns on the ground with Wesley Kennedy III adding 79 rushing yards. In addition, Kennedy had 23 yards receiving and the other touchdown in addition to Wertz’s three.

Texas State falls to 1-9 (1-5 Sun Belt) and host Arkansas State next weekend. The Eagles go to 6-2 (4-2 Sun Belt) as they travel to New York state to take on Army.