2025 Georgia Southern
7–6 (4–4 Sun Belt Conference), coached by Clay Helton. Share
Schedule and results
- Biggest winBeat Maine 45–17Sep 20
By 28 points, its widest win.
- Most excitingLost to Arkansas State 24–34Oct 25
The win probability swung the most, by CollegeFootballData.com’s excitement index.
| Date | Opponent | Result | Elo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 30 | at Fresno State | L 14–42 | 48% |
| Sep 6 | at USC | L 20–59 | 29% |
| Sep 13 | vs Jacksonville State | W 41–34 | 44% |
| Sep 20 | vs Maine | W 45–17 | 85% |
| Sep 27 | at James Madison | L 10–35 | 29% |
| Oct 9 | vs Southern Miss | L 35–38 | 67% |
| Oct 18 | vs Georgia State | W 41–24 | 73% |
| Oct 25 | at Arkansas State | L 24–34 | 49% |
| Nov 6 | at App State | W 25–23 | 40% |
| Nov 15 | vs Coastal Carolina | W 45–40 | 49% |
| Nov 22 | vs Old Dominion | L 10–45 | 44% |
| Nov 29 | at Marshall | W 24–19 | 30% |
| Dec 29Bowls & playoff | vsApp StateBirmingham Bowl | W 29–10 | 55% |
Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.
How it ended: Beat App State 29–10 in the Birmingham Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; 8th in the Sun Belt Conference.
In program history: The 8th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 38 on file).
- Record
- 7–6
- Conference
- 4–4 8th in Sun Belt Conference
- AP final
- Unranked
- Points
- 363–420
- Coach
- Clay Helton
- Elo
- 1507 −13 this season
- SP+ rating
- -9.4 No. 103 of 136; offense No. 59, defense No. 130, special teams No. 69
- SRS
- −8.6 No. 101 of 136 in FBS
- Returning
- 66% of last season’s EPA, No. 18 of 134
- Recruiting class
- No. 80 roster talent No. 93 in FBS
- Offensive coordinator
- Ryan Aplin
- Defensive coordinator
- Brandon Bailey
- Offense
- Multiple
- Defense
- 4–2–5
How good, play by play
| EPA per play | Success | Explosiveness | FBS rank | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Offense | 0.17 | 43% | 1.23 | 30th of 136 |
| Defense | 0.25 | 50% | 1.25 | 131st of 136 |
| Opponent-adjusted | 0.15 off 0.25 def | 42% off 51% def | — | 37th off 135th def |
Passing and running
| Pass success | Depth of target | Deep throws | Line yards | Stuffed | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Offense | 46% | 7.7 yds | 12% | 3.20 | 15% |
| Defense | 48% | 9.3 yds | 14% | 3.50 | 14% |
How these are measured
Play-weighted averages over games against FBS opponents; raw numbers, not adjusted for the strength of the opponent. EPA (expected points added) measures how much each play changed the expected score; success rate counts plays that kept the offense on schedule; explosiveness is the average EPA on successful plays. Lower is better on defense. Ranked by EPA per play among teams that were FBS that season. The opponent-adjusted row (offense / defense) is CollegeFootballData.com’s WEPA, which accounts for who each team played. Passing and running: depth of target is how far downfield passes traveled in the air; deep throws are the share thrown deep, of the passes whose depth and direction the play-by-play describes (about half); line yards are the running yards per carry credited to the blockers; stuffed is the share of carries stopped at or behind the line. The defense’s line is what its opponents did. From CollegeFootballData.com, 2025 on.
Drives and havoc
| Points per trip inside the 40 | Average start | Havoc | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Offense | 4.1 | own 28 | 14% allowed |
| Defense | 4.2 | own 28 | 15% caused |
CORE rating -13.1, 107th of 136 (offense 6.3, defense 19.4).
A trip inside the 40 is a drive that reaches the opponent’s 40-yard line; points per trip is how many it scored on average (allowed, on defense). Average start is where drives began (the defense’s line is where its opponents started). Havoc is the share of plays ending in a tackle for loss, a forced fumble, an interception or a pass broken up. CORE is CollegeFootballData.com’s context- and opponent-adjusted rating (points better than an average team; lower is better on defense). From CollegeFootballData.com.
Leaders
| Passing yards | J.C. French QB | 2,924 yds |
| Passing touchdowns | J.C. French QB | 20 TD |
| Rushing yards | O.J. Arnold RB | 1,037 yds |
| Rushing touchdowns | J.C. French QB | 6 TD |
| Receiving yards | Camden Brown WR | 1,079 yds |
| Receiving touchdowns | Camden Brown WR | 14 TD |
| Tackles | Jusfin Meyers DB | 90 tkl |
| Sacks | M.J. Stroud LB | 6.5 sacks |
| Interceptions | Ayden Jackson DB | 3 INT |
Top recruits in the 2025 class
| Weston Bryan ATH | ★★★★ | No. 465 |
| Ethan Johnson LB | ★★★ | No. 739 |
| Charlie Johnston QB | ★★★ | No. 1396 |
| Fabo Chaney CB | ★★★ | No. 1436 |
| Amari Wilson DE | ★★★ | No. 1535 |
247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.
The 2025 class by position
| Signed | Stars | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quarterbacks | 1 | 3.0 | 0.860 |
| Receivers | 3 | 3.0 | 0.840 |
| Offensive line | 4 | 3.0 | 0.838 |
| Defensive line | 5 | 3.0 | 0.846 |
| Linebackers | 3 | 3.0 | 0.860 |
| Defensive backs | 2 | 3.0 | 0.854 |
| Athletes and specialists | 2 | 3.5 | 0.857 |
| Whole class | 20 | 3.0 | 0.848 |
High-school signees by position group, with their average stars and 247Sports composite rating (out of 1), via CollegeFootballData.com. Athletes are signees with no set position.
Roster 117
The 2025 roster117 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2025 line; 66 have a stat line. See the roster
Transfers in 16
The 2025 portal Antonio White Jr. S | ★★★ | from  Rutgers |
 River Helms TE | ★★★ | from  Western Kentucky |
 Camden Brown WR | ★★★ | from  Auburn |
| Kwon McGinney DL | ★★★ | from  Arkansas State |
 Marcus Downs DL | ★★★ | from  UCF |
 Brandon Tyson LB | ★★★ | from  Elon |
| Turner Helton QB | ★★★ | from Western Kentucky |
| Ahmon Green TE | ★★★ | from  Georgia State |
 Jackson Long TE | ★★★ | from  Georgia Tech |
 A.J. Brown CB | ★★★ | from  Ole Miss |
| Brendan Harrington LB | ★★★ | from  App State |
| Caleb Moore DL | ★★★ | from  Southern Miss |
And 4 more, lower-rated or unrated.
Transfers out 18
 Elhadj Fall DL | ★★★ | to  Virginia Tech |
| Marques Watson-Trent LB | ★★★ | to  Nebraska |
| Troy Pikes DL | ★★★ | to  South Carolina |
| Marc Stampley II S | ★★★ | to  Houston |
| Dexter Williams II QB | ★★★ | to  Kennesaw State |
| Joshua Thompson WR | ★★★ | to  UTEP |
| Nasir Smith DL | ★★★ | to Kennesaw State |
| Weston Wallace OL | ★★★ | to Western Kentucky |
| Alijah Lacey DE | ★★★ | no new school on file |
| Caimon Mathis CB | ★★★ | to  Wofford |
| Colton FitzGerald QB | ★★★ | to  West Georgia |
| David Dallas QB | ★★★ | no new school on file |
And 6 more, lower-rated or unrated.
2025 Sun Belt Conference standings
Conference page| Team | Conf. | Overall | AP final |
|---|---|---|---|
| James Madison | 8–0 | 12–2 | 19 |
| Old Dominion | 6–2 | 10–3 | |
 Troy | 6–2 | 8–6 | |
| Arkansas State | 5–3 | 7–6 | |
| Southern Miss | 5–3 | 7–6 | |
| Coastal Carolina | 5–3 | 6–7 | |
 Louisiana | 5–3 | 6–7 | |
| Georgia Southern | 4–4 | 7–6 | |
 Texas State | 3–5 | 7–6 | |
| Marshall | 3–5 | 5–7 | |
 South Alabama | 3–5 | 4–8 | |
| App State | 2–6 | 5–8 | |
 UL Monroe | 1–7 | 3–9 | |
| Georgia State | 0–8 | 1–11 |
Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.