Georgia Southern Upsets App State in 25-23 Road Victory

The Georgia Southern Eagles beat their arch-rival, Appalachian State, with a 25-23 upset in Boone, North Carolina in Week 11. The Eagles covered the 6.5-point spread winning outright, and the game easily stayed under the 62.5-point total. This is the second consecutive win for Clay Helton and the Eagles over the Mountaineers. With that in mind, let’s dive into this Georgia Southern vs. App State 2025 college football preview.

Georgia Southern vs. App State 2025 College Football Preview

First Half Fireworks

The Eagles won the coin toss and elected to start with the ball. Being on the road, head coach Clay Helton knew that a good opening drive would be perfect for setting the tone – and he was right. Georgia Southern passed three times on this opening drive, an 11-yard check down to running back OJ Arnold. There was another check down to Arnold for 17 yards, and finally a 47-yard bomb to wide receiver Marcus Sanders Jr. to score the game’s first touchdown. The Eagles elected to go for the two-point conversion, bringing in backup quarterback Weston Bryan to run it in, but Bryan was stuffed at the line of scrimmage. Still, the Eagles grabbed all the momentum early.

The defense was stellar all game, but especially in the first half. The bye week certainly helped this unit prepare. After a quick stop, Georgia Southern drove back down the field but had to settle for a field goal. The Georgia Southern defense got another quick stop after that and the Eagles attempted a 45-yard field goal, which was no good. The missed field goal and solid field position for App State did not matter though, because the defense, yet again, got a stop. Eagles quarterback JC French then led his team on a 10-play drive that ended in a French rushing touchdown.

After another stop by the Eagles defense, Georgia Southern was able to get a 26-yard field goal, and the score was 19-0 in their favor. However, App State was able to chip their way down the field with almost no time left and kick a 36-yard field goal to get on the board before the half.

Second Half Scare

Although the Eagles had a dominant first half performance, on both offense and defense, the second half was much closer. Georgia Southern did not score a touchdown in the entire second half.

App State started with the ball in the second half, but it was the Eagles who scored the first points of the half, with a 23-yard field goal after the defense forced a stop. App State quarterback AJ Swann led his team on a 10-play drive to finally score a touchdown on a 1-yard catch by tight end David Larkins. Larkins had to tip the ball to himself in the endzone after a questionable pass by Swann, but the athletic tight end made it look easy. The Mountaineers went for the two-point conversion, but it was no good, and the score was 22-9.

The Mountaineer defense finally got a stop, and App State had another 10-play drive that ended with the Mountaineers backup running back Jaquari Lewis taking a run 27-yards to the house, for the touchdown. The Mountaineers stud running back Rashod Dubinion was held to just 40 rushing yards on 12 carries. It was phenomenal work by an Eagles run defense that has gotten criticism all year. Lewis ended the game with 50 rushing yards on only six carries.

The Eagles needed to answer, so French threw a beauty to tight end Ahmon Green for a nice 22-yard gain. This eventually led to another field goal for Georgia Southern to extend their lead 25-16.

The Mountaineers were not ready to give up just yet, however. AJ Swann found Jaden Barnes on a 34-yard dot to get across midfield, then found Barnes on a 4th-and-14 for a 22-yard catch and first down to get into scoring range.

Just when App State thought they had a chance to score, Georgia Southern defensive back Ayden Jackson made an incredible leaping interception on the goal line to prevent any points and was ultimately the difference in the game. The Eagles burned as much clock as they could from their own one-yard line and AJ Swann would have one more 10 play drive, this time all passes, that resulted in a Jaden Barnes 16-yard touchdown to get within two points of Georgia Southern. The Mountaineers tried the onside kick but could not recover. Eagles RB OJ Arnold put the nail in the coffin with a few bursts that moved the chains and put Georgia Southern in victory formation.

Game Takeaways

Despite a great offensive game, false start penalties were plaguing the Eagles near the goal line. Multiple red zone possessions stalled due to a false start penalty and forced a field goal attempt, rather than a touchdown.

Eagles receiver Camden Brown ended the game with 97 yards on six receptions. Brown was clearly a focal point for this Mountaineer defense, but he still found ways to get open and make plays. But if they are so worried about Brown, that allows Marcus Sanders Jr. to find some space. On just six receptions, Sanders had 127 receiving yards, and, of course, his 47-yard touchdown that set the tone.

The real stars, though, were on the defense. This was realistically Georgia Southern’s best defensive game all year, even with all the injuries. Defensive lineman MJ Stroud had two sacks, linebacker Brendan Harrington (who used to play for App State) had six solo tackles, two assists, one tackle-for-loss, and a pass deflection. Meanwhile, defensive back Justin Meyers had seven solo tackles, one assist, and two pass deflections, and not one of those guys led the team in total tackles. Defensive back Ayden Jackson was flying around the field, with three solo tackles and six assists, he led the unit in total tackles. Jackson also made the play of the game with his athletic interception at the goal line.

Shrine Bowl Prospects

Georgia Southern’s JC French played a fantastic game on the road, against App State. The 6-foot-1, redshirt junior threw for 352 yards with one passing touchdown, and no interceptions. The quarterback also ran one in using his legs. This is the French that Eagles fans have grown to expect, a calm and confident pocket passer that can always bail out if he needs to. If French can play with this confidence, the Eagles may have a chance at winning out and earning themselves a bowl berth.

App State’s Jaden Barnes was most impressive. The junior wideout was a speedster and constantly found the holes in a defensive unit that was playing incredibly well. On a 4th-and-14, when all hope was lost, Barnes kept his team alive and gave them a fighting chance. Barnes ended the game with 160 yards on 13 receptions, a clear go-to guy for the Mountaineers.

Look Ahead

The Georgia Southern Eagles will head back home, to Paulson, to prepare for Coastal Carolina on Saturday November 15. The Chanticleers are set to play Georgia State this week, on Saturday November 8.

Coastal Carolina currently sits at 5-3 (before playing Georgia State) and 4-1 in the Sun Belt conference.

Their run game is efficient, ranking 48th in FBS with 176.5 rushing yards per game. Two Coastal backs have over 300 rushing yards, and their their situation is, well, a situation. The three quarterbacks listed on their depth chart all have over 300 passing yards. Tad Hudson leads the room with 447, but all three have multiple interceptions. After facing a big run test against App State and running back Rashod Dubinion, the Eagles will get another seemingly strong run team.