Georgia Southern Eagles
Sun BeltStatesboro, GAAllen E. Paulson Stadium
2026: 3–4 (2–1 Sun Belt). Last: won at Old Dominion 23–15. Next: App State, Saturday, Oct 31.
- W 31–0Charleston Southern
- L 7–22at Clemson
- L 27–31at Jacksonville State
- L 28–42No. 25 Houston
- W 31–24at Coastal Carolina
- L 24–27James Madison
- W 23–15at Old Dominion
- Oct 31App State
- Nov 7Marshall
- Nov 14at Georgia State
- Nov 21at Troy
- Nov 28Louisiana Tech
- Outfitted by Adidas
- Live mascot: Freedom
Georgia Southern has played football since 1924 and is officially 432–264–10; 302 of its 706 games are in our file. They have won 10 Southern Conference titles (the last in 2012) and one Sun Belt Conference title, counting shared titles. Since 2000, the NFL Draft has taken 10 players from here in its first seven rounds, 0 of them in the first round. The College Football Hall of Fame holds 2 players and 1 coach from Georgia Southern. Clay Helton (2022–2026) won more games here than any other coach: 30. The most-played rival is App State: 24 meetings, App State leads 14–10. This season, under Clay Helton, they’re 3–4.
- Cooper’s takeLets talk JMU
Résumé
- All-time record
- 432–264–10 official; 163–139 on file; how we count
- Postseason
- 4–4 matches the official bowl record
- AP No. 1 finishes
- 0
- Weeks at No. 1
- 0 of 0 ranked
- Elo now
- 1498 79th of 138 FBS
- Computer rankings
- Massey No. 97 · Composite No. 96 in FBS, Oct 17; up 5 since Oct 11. From Massey Ratings
- Conference titles
- 11 last in 2014
- Seasons
- 38 since 1936, 302 games
Identity
- Fight song
- Eagle Fanfare
- Mascot
- GUS
- Live mascot
- Freedom (bald eagle)
- Apparel
- Adidas
- Band
- Georgia Southern University Southern Pride Marching Band since 1982, 220 members
2026 season 3–4
RosterFull 2026 season| Date | Opponent | Result | Elo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 5 | vs Charleston Southern | W 31–0 | 87% |
| Sep 12 | at Clemson | L 7–22 | 38% |
| Sep 19 | at Jacksonville State | L 27–31 | 41% |
| Sep 26 | vs 25Houston | L 28–42 | 47% |
| Oct 3 | at Coastal Carolina | W 31–24 | 50% |
| Oct 10 | vs James Madison | L 24–27 | 25% |
| Oct 15 | at Old Dominion | W 23–15 | 38% |
| Oct 31 | vs App State | Preview | 62% |
| Nov 7 | vs Marshall | Preview | 61% |
| Nov 14 | at Georgia State | Preview | 49% |
| Nov 21 | at Troy | Preview | 45% |
| Nov 28 | vs Louisiana Tech | Preview | 57% |
Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.
This season, game by game
Future schedule
2027–34- 20274 games: 2 home, 2 away, non-conference only
- 20283 games: 1 home, 2 away, non-conference only
- 20294 games: 2 home, 2 away, non-conference only
- 20303 games: 1 home, 2 away, non-conference only
- 20312 games: 1 home, 1 away, non-conference only
- 20322 games: 1 home, 1 away, non-conference only
- 20331 game: 1 away, non-conference only
- 20341 game: 1 home, non-conference only
Georgia Southern’s announced games beyond the seasons on our schedule, as its Wikipedia article lists them (announced schedules as of December 11, 2025). Schedules change; a season shows only the games named so far, and many articles list non-conference games only. Future schedules: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).
On the 2026 team
- Max Johnson1,601 passing yards, 11 TD (leads Georgia Southern in passing yards)
- Anthony Bynum36 tackles, 4 sacks (leads Georgia Southern in sacks)
- Brandon Tyson40 tackles, 1.5 sacks (leads Georgia Southern in tackles)
- Jakyri Jones38 tackles, 1 INT (leads Georgia Southern in interceptions)
- Alex Taylor24 catches, 342 yards, 3 TD (leads Georgia Southern in receiving yards)
- Josh Dallas41 catches, 323 yards
Program greats See all
Heisman finalists, College Football Hall of Famers, consensus All-Americans, national award winners and first-round picks, for what they did at Georgia Southern.
Photos: Wikimedia Commons, free licenses; credits on each player’s page.
Around the program
- Apparel
- Adidas · Official source
- Georgia Southern University Athletics; read 2026-10-10
- Mascot
- GUS · Official source
- Georgia Southern University; read 2026-10-10
- Live mascot
- Freedom (bald eagle) · Official source
- Georgia Southern University; read 2026-10-10
- Georgia Southern University Athletics; read 2026-10-10
- Athletic director
- Chris Davis · Official source
- Georgia Southern University Athletics; read 2026-10-10
- Offensive coordinator
- Ryan Aplin · Official source
- Georgia Southern University Athletics; read 2026-10-10
- Defensive coordinator
- Mike Mutz · Official source
- Georgia Southern University Athletics; read 2026-10-10
Found by several AI researchers searching the web, then kept only where the page loads and says so in words naming the program; every quote is checked again each time the data is rebuilt. Official source: the school’s own page. All of them.
The apparel deal
Adidas. Seven-year extension announced in 2016. The announced term ran through the 2023-24 season. The current term hasn't been published.
- Georgia Southern Athletics, Aug 24, 2016: Seven-year adidas extension through the 2023-24 season
Apparel deals: Field Drip. Terms as the outlets reported them; checked Oct 3, 2026.
Program strength since 1936
Best seasons everMore coverage
- ODU falters late, bowl hopes begin to fade in loss to Georgia Southern, pilotonline.com,
- ODU faulters late, bowl hopes begin to fade in loss to Georgia Southern, dailypress.com,
- Suffolk's George Pettaway has big game as unbeaten James Madison ends Georgia Southern jinx, dailypress.com,
- Coleman, Evans lead James Madison to bowl eligibility with 27-24 win over Georgia Southern, winnipegfreepress.com,
- Georgia Southern Delays Game-Day Operations for James Madison Vs Georgia Southern as Isaias Raises Weather Concerns, el-balad.com,
Found through the GDELT Project, which indexes news sites worldwide. Each link opens the story on the outlet’s own site; each picture is that outlet’s own preview of its story, shown from its site and credited to it.
Head coaches
| Coach | Years | Record |
|---|---|---|
 Clay Helton | 2022–2026 | 30–29 |
| Kevin Whitley | 2021 | 2–6 |
 Chad Lunsford | 2017–2021 | 28–21 |
 Tyson Summers | 2016–2017 | 5–13 |
| Dell McGee | 2015 | 1–0 |
 Willie Fritz | 2014–2015 | 17–7 |
Most-played series
All rivalries- App State
10–14 in 24
- 2017 L 6–27
- 2018 W 34–14
- 2019 W 24–21
- 2020 L 26–34
- 2021 L 3–27
- 2022 W 51–48
- 2023 L 27–55
- 2024 W 29–20
- 2025 W 25–23
- 2025 W 29–10
Won the last three.
Next: Oct 31
- Coastal Carolina
9–4 in 13
- 2017 L 17–28
- 2018 W 41–17
- 2019 W 30–27
- 2020 L 14–28
- 2021 L 8–28
- 2022 L 30–34
- 2023 W 38–28
- 2024 W 26–6
- 2025 W 45–40
- 2026 W 31–24
Won the last four.
- The Citadel
10–3 in 13
- 2006 L 21–24
- 2007 W 21–17
- 2008 W 44–41
- 2009 W 13–6
- 2010 W 20–0
- 2011 W 14–12
- 2012 L 21–23
- 2013 W 28–21
- 2015 W 48–13
- 2023 W 34–0
Won the last three.
| Opponent | Games | GASO record |
|---|---|---|
| App State | 24 | 10–14 |
| Coastal Carolina | 13 | 9–4 |
| The Citadel | 13 | 10–3 |
| Georgia State | 12 | 6–6 |
| Furman | 11 | 6–5 |
| Western Carolina | 11 | 11–0 |
| Chattanooga | 11 | 8–3 |
| Elon | 11 | 8–3 |
Rivals the program names: App State, Georgia State.
Every opponent (92)
Every program Georgia Southern has played, A to Z, with Georgia Southern’s record against it. Each links to the series, game by game.
- Alabama 0–1
- App State 10–14
- Arkansas 0–1
- Arkansas State 2–4
- Army 0–1
- Auburn 0–2
- Austin Peay 1–0
- Ball State 2–0
- Boise State 0–1
- Bowling Green 1–0
- Buffalo 0–1
- BYU 0–1
- Campbell 1–0
- Central Arkansas 1–1
- Central Connecticut 0–1
- Charleston Southern 1–0
- Chattanooga 8–3
- Clemson 0–2
- Coastal Carolina 9–4
- Colorado State 0–1
- East Carolina 0–3
- East Tennessee State 1–0
- Eastern Michigan 1–0
- Elon 8–3
- Florida 1–2
- Florida Atlantic 1–1
- Florida International 2–0
- Florida State 0–2
- Fresno State 0–1
- Furman 6–5
- Gardner-Webb 1–0
- Georgia 0–6
- Georgia State 6–6
- Georgia Tech 0–2
- Houston 0–1
- Howard 1–0
- Idaho 2–0
- Indiana 0–1
- Jacksonville 1–0
- Jacksonville State 1–1
- James Madison 2–3
- Johnson C. Smith 1–0
- Liberty 0–1
- Louisiana 1–5
- Louisiana Tech 1–0
- LSU 0–1
- Maine 2–0
- Marshall 2–2
- Massachusetts 2–1
- McNeese 0–2
- Mercer 0–1
- Miami 0–4
- Minnesota 0–1
- Morehead State 1–0
- Morgan State 1–0
- Navy 0–2
- NC State 0–1
- Nebraska 1–0
- Nevada 1–0
- New Hampshire 0–2
- New Mexico State 5–1
- North Carolina 0–0 †
- North Dakota State 0–1
- Northeastern 2–0
- Ohio 0–1
- Old Dominion 3–3
- Ole Miss 0–1 †
- Oregon State 0–1
- Presbyterian 1–0
- Saint Francis 0–0 †
- Sam Houston 0–1
- Samford 2–4
- Savannah State 4–0 †
- South Alabama 8–2
- South Carolina State 3–0
- South Dakota State 3–1
- Southern Miss 0–1
- Texas State 5–2
- The Citadel 10–3
- Troy 4–5
- Tusculum 1–0
- UAB 1–1
- UAlbany 1–0
- UL Monroe 6–1
- USC 0–1
- West Georgia 1–0
- West Virginia 0–1
- Western Carolina 11–0
- Western Michigan 1–1
- William & Mary 1–0
- Wisconsin 0–1
- Wofford 5–6
Official records. † Without wins the NCAA vacated, or with forfeits counted. ‡ The rivalry’s own count, where it differs from the games on file.
Conference titles
11, counting shared titles- Sun Belt Conference 1
- 2014
As the program counts them in its Wikipedia article, shared titles included, and listed under each conference’s current name (a Western Conference title of the 1900s counts as a Big Ten title); season pages use the name the conference had that year. A title the article files under a conference the team wasn’t in that season is listed under the one it was. Division titles include years the team tied for its division.
Conferences
- Independent 1924–1941 and 1982–1991
- Southern Conference 1992–2013
- Sun Belt Conference since 2014
- 2014Joined the Sun Belt Conference from the Southern Conference, announced March 27, 2013. Source
Georgia Southern’s football conferences by season, from CollegeFootballData.com’s memberships (renamed conferences keep the name of the time). The moves and their announcement dates from Wikipedia’s lists of NCAA Division I conference changes; the year is the first season in the new conference. Conference realignment: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).
In the Hall of Fame
Every inductee- Players
- 2
- Coaches
- 1
| 2023 | Paul Johnson coach, career 1997–2018 |
| 2017 | Adrian Peterson RB |
| 2007 | Tracy Ham QB |
In the NFL Draft
By college- Drafted, rounds 1–7
- 10 since 2000
- First-round picks
- 0
Who came and went in the 2026 transfer portal, and every portal year.
The school
Georgia Southern University- Enrollment
- 27,423 23,541 undergraduates, fall 2024
- Where
- Statesboro, Georgia
- Public or private
- Public Research 2
- Founded
- 1906
- Graduates’ median earnings
- $53,236 10 years after starting
Enrollment, place and Carnegie research tier from the National Center for Education Statistics (IPEDS, public domain). Earnings from the US Department of Education’s College Scorecard (CC BY 4.0): the median for students who received federal aid and were working, not in school. Founding year from Wikidata. Every school’s in the data.
Official accounts
- Football
- X @GSAthletics_FBInstagram @gsathletics_fbYouTube gsathleticsFacebook GeorgiaSouthernFootball
- Athletics department
- X @GSAthleticsInstagram @gsathleticsYouTube gsathleticsFacebook gsathletics
Official accounts: the schools’ athletics websites: the ones gseagles.com lists for its football program and athletics department, as of Oct 12, 2026.
Voices
play-by-play- from 2006Chris Blair
From the announcers’ Wikipedia articles (CC BY-SA), with the years as each article gives them: those in Wikipedia’s Georgia Southern football announcers category, and any whose article names them the program’s play-by-play voice. Television network crews and announcers whose articles give no years are left out.
Media guides 40
1982198319841985198619871988198919901991199219931994199519961997199819992000200120022003200420052006200720082009201020112012201320142015201620182019202020212022
Georgia Southern’s football media guides, from Georgia Southern University library’s repository. Where our roster source has no full roster for a season, the roster page shows the guide’s printed one.
Books
Books: Open Library (CC0), filed under the program’s Library of Congress subject heading; most-reissued first, each linked to its page there.
Season by season
National champions| Season | Record | Conf. | AP pre | AP final | Coach | Elo | SP+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 3–4 | 2–1 | Clay Helton | 1498 | -4.6 | ||
| 2025 | 7–6 | 4–4 | Clay Helton | 1507 | -9.4 | ||
| 2024 | 8–5 | 6–2 | Clay Helton | 1530 | -1.7 | ||
| 2023 | 6–7 | 3–5 | Clay Helton | 1449 | -5.2 | ||
| 2022 | 6–7 | 3–5 | Clay Helton | 1444 | -6.4 | ||
| 2021 | 3–9 | 2–6 | Chad Lunsford, Kevin Whitley | 1408 | -15.3 | ||
| 2020 | 8–5 | 4–4 | Chad Lunsford | 1564 | 0.2 | ||
| 2019 | 7–6 | 5–3 | Chad Lunsford | 1510 | -4.5 | ||
| 2018 | 10–3 | 6–2 | Chad Lunsford | 1540 | -2.4 | ||
| 2017 | 2–10 | 2–6 | Tyson Summers, Chad Lunsford | 1342 | -15.8 | ||
| 2016 | 5–7 | 4–4 | Tyson Summers | 1443 | -3.9 | ||
| 2015 | 9–4 | 6–2 | Willie Fritz, Dell McGee | 1563 | 7.3 | ||
| 2014 | 9–3 | 8–0 | Willie Fritz | 1493 | -2.4 | ||
| 2013 | 7–4 | 4–4 | 1437 | ||||
| 2012 | 9–3 | 6–2 | 1539 | ||||
| 2011 | 10–2 | 7–1 | 1544 | ||||
| 2010 | 9–4 | 5–3 | 1479 | ||||
| 2009 | 5–6 | 4–4 | 1294 | ||||
| 2008 | 6–5 | 4–4 | 1372 | ||||
| 2007 | 7–4 | 4–3 | 1349 | ||||
| 2006 | 3–8 | 2–5 | 1291 | ||||
| 2005 | 8–4 | 5–2 | 1440 | ||||
| 2004 | 9–3 | 6–1 | 1455 | ||||
| 2003 | 7–4 | 5–3 | 1330 | ||||
| 2000 | 0–1 | 1282 |
Every season back to 1936 (13 more)
Officially 432–264–10 since 1924 (per Wikipedia, checked Nov 29, 2025); game by game here, 163–139 (302 of its 706 games are on file). Our file starts in 1936; the program began in 1924. Some games are missing from our source.
No season on file for 1938–83, 1985, 1989, 1995, 1997–98, 2001–02: the program may not have played, or our source may be missing them.
Records are computed from every game on file at CollegeFootballData.com, whose coverage of the earliest seasons can be incomplete. Elo is this site’s own rating; see how it works on the records page.