2019 Georgia Southern Eagles football team

American college football season

2019 Georgia Southern Eagles football

Cure Bowl, L 16–23 vs. Liberty
Conference	Sun Belt Conference
Division	East Division
Record	7–6 (5–3 Sun Belt)
Head coach	Chad Lunsford (2nd full year as HC; 3rd overall season)
Offensive coordinator	Bob DeBesse (2nd season)
Offensive scheme	Shotgun-pistol Option
Defensive coordinator	Scot Sloan (2nd season)
Home stadium	Paulson Stadium
Seasons ← 2018 2020 →

2019 Sun Belt Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
East Division
No. 19 Appalachian State x$	7	–	1	13	–	1
Georgia Southern	5	–	3	7	–	6
Georgia State	4	–	4	7	–	6
Troy	3	–	5	5	–	7
Coastal Carolina	2	–	6	5	–	7
West Division
Louisiana x	7	–	1	11	–	3
Arkansas State	5	–	3	8	–	5
Louisiana–Monroe	4	–	4	5	–	7
Texas State	2	–	6	3	–	9
South Alabama	1	–	7	2	–	10
Championship: Appalachian State 45, Louisiana 38
$ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions Rankings from AP Poll

The 2019 Georgia Southern Eagles football team represented Georgia Southern University during the 2019 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Eagles played their home games at Paulson Stadium in Statesboro, Georgia and competed in the East Division of the Sun Belt Conference. They were led by second year head coach Chad Lunsford.^[1]

Preseason

On August 2, 2019, it was announced that QB Shai Werts and DE Quan Griffin had been indefinitely suspended following their arrests, which were not related. The charges against Werts were subsequently dropped, after what was believed to be cocaine on his car was tested to be bird feces, and he has since been cleared to play.^[2]

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
August 31	7:30 p.m.	at No. 6 LSU*	Tiger Stadium Baton Rouge, LA	SECN	L 3–55	97,420
September 7	6:00 p.m.	No. 6 (FCS) Maine*	Paulson Stadium Statesboro, GA	ESPN+	W 26–18	17,202
September 14	3:30 p.m.	at Minnesota*	TCF Bank Stadium Minneapolis, MN	BTN	L 32–35	41,021
September 28	6:00 p.m.	Louisiana	Paulson Stadium Statesboro, GA	ESPN+	L 24–37	19,220
October 3	7:30 p.m.	at South Alabama	Ladd–Peebles Stadium Mobile, AL	ESPNU	W 20–17 ^2OT	20,013
October 19	3:00 p.m.	Coastal Carolina	Paulson Stadium Statesboro, GA	ESPN3	W 30–27 ^3OT	11,015
October 26	3:00 p.m.	New Mexico State*	Paulson Stadium Statesboro, GA	ESPN3	W 41–7	10,907
October 31	8:00 p.m.	at No. 20 Appalachian State	Kidd Brewer Stadium Boone, NC (rivalry)	ESPNU	W 24–21	18,796
November 9	3:30 p.m.	at Troy	Veterans Memorial Stadium Troy, AL	ESPN+	L 28–49	22,108
November 16	3:00 p.m.	Louisiana–Monroe	Paulson Stadium Statesboro, GA	ESPN+	W 51–29	10,266
November 23	3:00 p.m.	at Arkansas State	Centennial Bank Stadium Jonesboro, AR	ESPN+	L 33–38	18,319
November 30	6:00 p.m.	Georgia State	Paulson Stadium Statesboro, GA (rivalry)	ESPN+	W 38–10	15,175
December 21	2:30 p.m.	vs. Liberty	Exploria Stadium Orlando, FL (Cure Bowl)	CBSSN	L 16–23	18,158
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll and CFP Rankings after November 5 released prior to game All times are in Eastern time

^[3]

Game summaries

At LSU

	1	2	3	4	Total
Eagles	0	3	0	0	3
No. 6 Tigers	21	21	10	3	55

Maine

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 6 (FCS) Black Bears	3	0	0	15	18
Eagles	0	10	6	10	26

At Minnesota

	1	2	3	4	Total
Eagles	10	10	0	12	32
Golden Gophers	14	7	0	14	35

Louisiana

Louisiana at Georgia Southern

	1	2	3	4	Total
• Ragin' Cajuns	7	10	7	13	37
Eagles	3	10	8	3	24

Date: September 28, 2019
Location: Paulson Stadium
Statesboro, GA
Game start: 7:05 p.m. EDT
Elapsed time: 2 hours and 55 minutes
Game attendance: 19,220
Game weather: 88 °F (31 °C) • Weather: Clear • Wind: 7 SE MPH
Referee: Jason Autrey
Television network: ESPN+

Scoring summary

1	13:42	LA	Elijah Mitchell 5–yard rush (Stevie Artigue kick) (5 plays, 75 yards, 1:18)	LA 7–0
1	05:20	GASO	Tyler Bass 28–yard field goal (15 plays, 64 yards, 8:22)	LA 7–3

2	12:09	GASO	Tyler Bass 44–yard field goal (5 plays, 16 yards, 2:42)	LA 7–6
	08:05	LA	Trey Ragas 3–yard rush (Kenneth Almendares kick) (10 plays, 75 yards, 4:04)	LA 14–6
	04:58	GASO	Logan Wright 2–yard rush (Tyler Bass kick) (2 plays, 7 yards, 0:49)	LA 14–13
	00:00	LA	Stevie Artigue 25–yard field goal (14 plays, 67 yards, 7:10)	LA 17–13

3	08:04	LA	Ja'Marcus Bradley 1–yard pass from Levi Lewis (Kenneth Almendares kick) (11 plays, 55 yards, 4:44)	LA 24–13
3	00:15	GASO	J.D. King 1–yard rush (J.D. King two–point conversion rush) (14 plays, 78 yards, 7:41)	LA 24–21

4	12:30	LA	Elijah Mitchell 19–yard rush (Stevie Artigue kick) (8 plays, 75 yards, 2:45)	LA 31–21
	05:35	GASO	Tyler Bass 31–yard field goal (14 plays, 74 yards, 6:50)	LA 31–24
	02:34	LA	Trey Ragas 1–yard rush (Kenneth Almendares kick failed) (6 plays, 75 yards, 3:01)	LA 37–21

Pregame line	Over/under
Louisiana	–3.0

Statistics	Louisiana	Georgia Southern
First downs	23	18
Total yards	440	252
Rushing yards	275	215
Passing yards	165	37
Turnovers	2	0
Time of possession	26:04	33:56

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Louisiana	Passing	Levi Lewis	11–18, 165 yards, 1 TD
	Rushing	Trey Ragas	16 carries, 131 yards, 2 TDs
	Receiving	Jarrod Jackson	1 reception, 51 yards
Georgia Southern	Passing	Shai Werts	6–12, 37 yards
	Rushing	Shai Werts	21 carries, 93 yards
	Receiving	NaJee Thompson	4 receptions, 24 yards

At South Alabama

	1	2	3	4	OT	2OT	Total
Eagles	0	10	0	7	0	3	20
Jaguars	0	7	7	3	0	0	17

Coastal Carolina

	1	2	3	4	OT	2OT	3OT	Total
Chanticleers	0	7	0	3	7	7	3	27
Eagles	3	7	0	0	7	7	6	30

New Mexico State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Aggies	7	0	0	0	7
Eagles	7	21	13	0	41

At Appalachian State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Eagles	7	3	14	0	24
No. 20 Mountaineers	0	7	0	14	21

At Troy

	1	2	3	4	Total
Eagles	0	14	0	14	28
Trojans	14	13	0	22	49

Louisiana–Monroe

Pregame line	Over/under
Georgia Southern	–6.5

Week Ten: Louisiana–Monroe Warhawks at Georgia Southern Eagles – Game summary

Period	1	2	3	4	Total
Warhawks	7	0	7	15	29
Eagles	7	17	7	20	51

at Paulson Stadium • Statesboro, GA

Date: November 16
Game time: 3:00 p.m. EDT
Game weather: 48° · Wind – N 13 · Overcast, soggy
Game attendance: 10,266
Referee: Kyle Olson
TV: ESPN+
[1]

Game information

First quarter

(11:07) GASO TD – Shai Werts 11-yard rush, Tyler Bass kick
Georgia Southern 7–0; Drive: 3 plays, 21 yards, 1:14
(04:56) ULM TD – Austin Vaughn 3-yard rush, Jared Porter kick
Tied 7–7; Drive: 13 plays, 75 yards, 6:11

Second quarter

(13:29) GASO FG – Tyler Bass 26-yard field goal
Georgia Southern 10–7; Drive: 7 plays, 34 yards, 3:00
(09:00) GASO TD – Shai Werts 24-yard rush, Tyler Bass kick
Georgia Southern 17–7; Drive: 6 plays, 73 yards, 3:30
(00:37) GASO TD – Darion Anderson 33-yard pass from Shai Werts, Tyler Bass kick
Georgia Southern 24–7; Drive: 9 plays, 84 yards, 3:13

Third quarter

(06:41) ULM TD – Caleb Evans 1-yard rush, Jared Porter kick
Georgia Southern 24–14; Drive: 8 plays, 84 yards, 3:19
(00:25) GASO TD – J. D. King 6-yard rush, Tyler Bass kick
Georgia Southern 31–14; Drive: 2 plays, 6 yards, 0:44

Fourth quarter

(14:41) GASO TD – Donald Rutledge Jr. 42-yard interception returned, Tyler Bass kick
Georgia Southern 38–14; Drive: 3 plays, 5 yards, 0:44
(12:15) ULM TD – Markis McCray 1-yard pass from Caleb Evans, Caleb Evans two-point conversion pass to Josh Pederson
Georgia Southern 38–22; Drive: 7 plays, 75 yards, 2:26
(02:48) GASO TD – Wesley Kennedy III 1-yard rush, two-point conversion rush attempt failed
Georgia Southern 44–22; Drive: 13 plays, 75 yards, 9:27
(00:20) ULM TD – Josh Pederson 16-yard pass from Caleb Evans, Jared Porter kick
Georgia Southern 44–29; Drive: 11 plays, 75 yards, 2:28
(00:13) GASO TD – Monquavion Brinson 42-yard kickoff returned, Tyler Bass kick
Georgia Southern 51–29; Drive: 0 plays, 0 yards, 0:00

Leading Passers

ULM – Caleb Evans – 21/36, 285 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT
GASO – Shai Werts – 5/10, 80 yards, TD

Leading Rushers

ULM – Josh Johnson – 12 carries, 43 yards
GASO – J. D. King – 16 carries, 102 yards, TD

Leading Receivers

ULM – Perry Carter Jr. – 2 receptions, 95 yards
GASO – Darion Anderson – 1 reception, 33 yards, TD

Statistics	Louisiana–Monroe	Georgia Southern
First downs	18	20
Total yards	370	334
Rushing yards	85	254
Passing yards	285	80
Turnovers	3	0
Time of possession	26:24	33:36

At Arkansas State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Eagles	3	16	8	6	33
Red Wolves	14	21	3	0	38

Georgia State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Panthers	7	0	3	0	10
Eagles	7	10	14	7	38

Vs. Liberty (Cure Bowl)

	1	2	3	4	Total
Flames	7	9	7	0	23
Eagles	0	7	6	3	16

Players drafted into the NFL

Round	Pick	Player	Position	NFL Club
5	163	Kindle Vildor	CB	Chicago Bears
6	188	Tyler Bass	K	Buffalo Bills

References

^ "2019 Georgia Southern Football Schedule Released". WTOC.com. March 1, 2019. Archived from the original on March 28, 2019. Retrieved March 1, 2019.
^ "Georgia Southern QB arrested, suspended from team activities". WJCL. August 2, 2019. Retrieved August 2, 2019.
^ "2019 Georgia Southern Football Schedule". FBSchedules.com. Retrieved March 29, 2019.

v t e Georgia Southern Eagles football
Venues	Womack Stadium (1982–1983) Paulson Stadium (1984–present)
Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Appalachian State Georgia State
Culture & lore	Freedom GUS "Georgia Southern Fight Song" Southern Pride Marching Band
People	Head coaches Statistical leaders NFL draftees
Seasons	1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942–1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
National championship seasons in bold