Georgia Southern: 2025 Birmingham Bowl Champions

 

The rivalry known as “Deeper Than Hate” between Georgia Southern (7-6) and Appalachian State (5-8) put its hate on full display during the 2025 Birmingham Bowl on Monday, Dec. 29. However, the Mountaineers’ hatred wasn’t enough to power them to a win as the Eagles were able to defeat their longtime rivals 29-10.

Georgia Southern: 2020 New Orleans Bowl Champions

NEW ORLEANS — Georgia Southern quarterback Shai Werts kept his team in suspense until pregame warmups.

That’s when he started getting geared up emotionally the way he normally does on game days — which teammates and coaches understood to mean that their offensive leader wasn’t going to let his shoulder injury sideline him for what was likely his final game with the Eagles.

“It really energized our team,” coach Chad Lunsford said. “The guys fed off that for sure.”

Werts had three touchdown runs and threw a 65-yard scoring pass to help Georgia Southern beat Louisiana Tech 38-3 Wednesday in the New Orleans Bowl.

“Going into the week, I really didn’t know if I was going to be able to play,” insisted Werts, who missed Georgia Southern’s previous two games. “When the time came for me to make a decision, I felt good.”

Werts scored one of his touchdowns on a designed QB run that covered 37 yards. His two other rushing TDs came from a yard out.

“It definitely feels good to go out on top with my guys,” Werts said. “You’re only as good as your last game, and if this is my last game, then I feel good about it.”

Georgia Southern (8-5) came up with four interceptions — including two near its own goal line in the first quarter. Safety Justin Birdsong intercepted two passes — the first against Louisiana Tech starter Aaron Allen and the second against reserve JD Head in the third quarter.

“It was a big game for us,” said Birdsong, noting that his team was motivated by hearing that Louisiana Tech (5-5), which is in Conference USA, had won 18 straight against current Sun Belt Conference members. “It was definitely a statement to go out there and do what we did.”

The Eagles came in averaging 262 yards rushing and finished with 322 against Louisiana Tech.

Malik Murry broke off a 43-yard run on the opening drive to set up Werts’ first short TD run. Gerald Green’s 55-yard run in the fourth quarter highlighted his 108-yard, one-TD performance. Werts finished with 71 yards rushing.

“I didn’t want Shai to have to go out with an injury and I don’t think he wanted to either,” Lunsford said. “Super proud of him, proud of how he was able to end his career here.”

Georgia Southern: 2018 Camellia Bowl Champions

MONTGOMERY, Ala. -- Tyler Bass found a way to top his last-play 50-yard field goal to end the first half.

Bass kicked a 40-yarder as time expired to give Georgia Southern a 23-21 victory over Eastern Michigan in the Camellia Bowl on Saturday night.

Shai Werts kept the winning drive alive with a 29-yard scramble on fourth-and-10. Bass came on for his third field goal after Wesley Fields' two runs pushed Georgia Southern (10-3) 7 yards closer.

"Right when Shai got that first down, I knew we had a chance to kick it," Bass said. "We've been preparing all week for it, all year for it. When I got out there, I didn't think about anything but the snap, the hold and me just kicking it through. That was it."

Georgia Southern completed the biggest turnaround in the Football Bowl Subdivision this season, going from 10 losses to 10 wins.

"I said at the beginning of the year, we're not sexy, we're just blue collar," coach Chad Lunsford said. "That showed tonight."

Eastern Michigan (7-6) had delivered its own big fourth-down play to take the lead for the first time.

Mike Glass threw a 5-yard touchdown pass to Arthur Jackson with 3:33 left on fourth-and-4, followed by Chad Ryland's extra point.

"It was a great football game, and they're obviously a great football program and a great football team," Eastern Michigan coach Chris Creighton said. "They got it done in the end. Much as it rips our heart out to say, we do congratulate them, and (it was) an awesome football game."

Georgia Southern took over at its own 25 with a triple-option offense that attempted fewer passes than every FBS team but Army. Werts completed a 15-yard pass to tight end Ellis Richardson, but Georgia Southern fittingly covered most of the 52 yards with runs.

Werts ran for 79 yards and two first-half touchdowns while completing 4 of 7 passes for 33 yards to receive Most Valuable Player honors. His biggest play came on the fourth-and-10.

"I really should have thrown the ball. Ellis was wide open," Werts said. "Wesley had made a block on the linebacker. There was nobody in front of me so I just took off running."

Wesley Kennedy III gained 107 yards on nine carries.

Eastern Michigan's Glass completed 17 of 25 passes for 204 yards and three touchdowns, including a 75-yarder to Jackson on the opening play of the second half. He had missed the final two games of the regular season with a right leg injury and had only two previous starts.

Glass found Jackson in the back of the end zone to cap a 16-play, 75-yard drive that consumed more than six minutes.

"I was just going through my reads and came back to it late," Glass said. "The linebacker stepped up a little bit and I saw I could get it over their heads."

As it turns out, it left too much time on the clock.

THE TAKEAWAY

Georgia Southern: Ran for 331 yards on 58 carries. Finished the season without throwing an interception. Had its first 10-win season in FBS and second bowl win in as many tries.

Eastern Michigan: Had eight games decided by one score. Just missed its first eight-win season since going 10-2 in 1987.

TURNOVER RECORD

Georgia Southern set an NCAA FBS record with only five turnovers this season. The previous NCAA record was eight turnovers in a season by six teams, last done by LSU in 2017. The Eagles were the only FBS team that didn't throw an interception this season.

THEY SAID IT

"When we first got here this program was in shambles." Eastern Michigan defensive lineman Jeremiah Harris.

CLOSE CAMELLIAS

The five Camellia Bowls have been decided by a combined 17 points, including two winning, last-play field goals.

UP NEXT

Georgia Southern returns most of its offensive starters, including Werts, but loses leading rusher Wesley Fields and top tackler Joshua Moon. It will be the second full season for Lunsford, who led the team's rebound from a 2-10 season.

Eastern Michigan is set to lose six starters on both offense and defense, including quarterback Tyler Wiegers. Glass started three games and is a dual threat running and passing.

Georgia Southern: 2015 GoDaddy Bowl Champions

The third quarter did not go Bowling Green's way in Wednesday's GoDaddy Bowl.

The Falcons headed into halftime with a 27-23 lead over Georgia Southern. When the third quarter was over, Georgia Southern had a 44-27 lead on the way to a 58-27 win.

Bowling Green had the ball three times in the quarter. The first, after Georgia Southern took the lead 30-27, ended on a failed fourth down conversion in Eagle territory. On the very next play, GSU quarterback Favian Upshaw sprinted 80 yards for a touchdown.

On the next drive, BGSU quarterback Matt Johnson fumbled as he went to throw. Another Georgia Southern TD made it 44-27. Then, with less than a minute remaining in the third, Johnson dropped the ball again as he faked a handoff.

The fumbles were likely a product of a wet football from the driving rainstorms in Mobile, Alabama, that plagued the game. But it's of no consolation to Johnson, who was one of the most productive quarterbacks in college football in 2015. After racking up nearly 300 yards in the first half, Bowling Green had 70 in the second.

Upshaw, a redshirt junior, didn't start. But he had four touchdowns on 12 carries for 199 yards and his performance sets up an intriguing quarterback competition for 2015. Both he and starter Kevin Ellison will be redshirt seniors. Incoming coach Tyson Summers has said the Eagles will retain the option offense that now-Tulane coach Willie Fritz installed at the school. He could do far worse in looking for a leader for it.

Before the game got out of hand in the third quarter, the first half was all sorts of fun. Bowling Green's first touchdown came when Johnson ad-libbed a broken play on 4th and 1 and found Roger Lewis behind the defense for a 45-yard touchdown. The PAT after the score was blocked and Georgia Southern returned it for a 9-6 lead.

Ellison provided some magic of his own later in the half. He scrambled out of the pocket and to his left on a 4th and 5 play and heaved a 31-yard touchdown pass to Montay Crockett for a 23-20 lead.

The bowl win comes in Georgia Southern's second season at the FBS level and in its first season of bowl eligibility. The Eagles are the second such team to do so this season. Fellow Sun Belt Conference member Appalachian State won the Camellia Bowl in its first bowl game (and second season in FBS) on Saturday.