This past Saturday, November 2, the Georgia Southern Eagles faced off against the Furman Paladins at Paulson Stadium. Plagued by several recent injuries including quarterback Jerrick McKinnon, the Eagles hoped to receive a win for their efforts on the field. The Paladins, however, were the first to score and took the lead over the Eagles, which was quickly followed by another Paladin touchdown. The second field goal for the Paladins was blocked by Jonathan Battle, making the score 13-0.
The Eagles responded to this with a touchdown of their own, but lost momentum after a fumble sent the ball back to the Paladins. McKinnon entered the game in the second half, trying to drum up some offense for the Eagles, but the team only saw one possession in the third quarter, and after a major holding call, they were denied a touchdown. After this penalty, the Eagles tried to recover from several missed opportunities, but ended their run without scoring after Alex Hanks’ 43-yard field goal attempt was sent wide.
There were several back and forth fumbles by both teams, but ultimately Furman was the team able to hold on to the ball and kept it until the end of the game, leaving Paulson Stadium with a 16-14 win. Since Georgia Southern’s transition from the FCS to FBS, this will be the last meeting for these two teams as FCS rivals.
