#5 Wofford (5-0, 3-0) at #7 GSU (4-1, 3-1)
Saturday, 6 p.m.
Paulson Stadium
TV: None
Radio: 103.7 FM
Wofford versus GSU; the last six years
The Record: GSU has a 4-3 advantage
The Score: The average score during the span has been 28-27 in favor of GSU
The Polls: Both teams were in the Top 25 in five of the seven matchups, and Saturday’s game marks the second time in a row that both teams are ranked in the Top 10
Nov. 4, 2006, Paulson Stadium
Wofford 28
Georgia Southern 10
Wofford fullback Michael Hobbs recorded the longest run in Paulson Stadium history with a 99-yard touchdown scamper in the fourth quarter, GSU quarterback Travis Clark was held to only 84 yards on 11 of 21 passing
Nov. 3, 2007, Gibbs Stadium
#17 Georgia Southern 38
#10 Wofford 35
GSU quarterback Jayson Foster rushed for 279 yards and three touchdowns, and Wofford turned it over on downs in the fourth quarter instead of attempting the would-be, game-tying, 37-yard field goal
Sept. 27, 2008, Paulson Stadium
#11 Wofford 38 (OT)
#22 Georgia Southern 37
GSU running back Adam Urbano scored on a 25-yard run in overtime, but coach Chris Hatcher elected to go for two instead of tying the game with a PAT and quarterback Lee Chapple was sacked on the two-point attempt
Oct. 3, 2009, Gibbs Stadium
Georgia Southern 26
Wofford 21
GSU quarterback Lee Chapple didn’t throw an incomplete pass in the first half and finished 25 of 28, the Eagles got rushing touchdowns from Darreion Robinson and Adam Urbano, and kicker Adrian Mora nailed field goals from 50 and 48 yards
Oct. 9, 2010, Paulson Stadium
#25 Wofford 33
#13 Georgia Southern 31
Darreion Robinson scored on a 78-yard touchdown run, the Eagles got a safety and a touchdown from two Wofford fumbles in the end zone and even recovered an onside kick, but turned it over on downs on the game’s final drive
Dec. 11, 2010, Gibbs Stadium, FCS quarterfinals
#22 Georgia Southern 23
#6 Wofford 20
Delete - Merge The Terriers fumbled on each of their first two possessions leading to two GSU touchdowns, the Eagles built a 20-3 halftime lead and held off Wofford’s second-half comeback to win their first road playoff game since the national title against Montana in Chattanooga, Tenn., in 2000
Nov. 12, 2011, Gibbs Stadium
#3 Georgia Southern 31
#9 Wofford 10
With the SoCon title on the line for both teams, Dominique Swope rushed for 165 yards, quarterback Jaybo Shaw rushed for three touchdowns and passed for another — a 21-yard catch-and-run to Zach Walker that gave the Eagles a 10-7 halftime lead — and the Eagles out-gained Wofford 401-278
George W. Bush was busy campaigning against John Kerry.
Apple unveiled the iPod in color, though the iPhone was still three years away from being released.
ABC captivated the American television audience with the debut of the series, “Lost.”
And current third-year assistant Georgia Southern football coach Victor Cabral was a senior on a GSU team that destroyed Wofford, 58-14, on Sept. 18, 2004, in Paulson Stadium.
That was the last time the Eagles beat Wofford at home.
The following year, Wofford won, 21-17, in Spartanburg, S.C.
That was the last time either team won a game against the other on its home turf.
“It just shows you how it can go, you know? It means pretty much every year it’s win one, lose one,” said GSU defensive lineman Brent Russell, who saw the Terriers for the first time when he was redshirted in 2008 and has seen the Eagles go 3-2 against Wofford in his career. “It just shows how hard we play each other.”
The last two matchups have come in Spartanburg, and have arguably been the two biggest. The Eagles won, 23-20, in the quarterfinals of the 2010 Football Championship Subdivision playoffs after losing 33-31 earlier in the season at home, then won at Wofford, 31-10, in 2011, with the Southern Conference championship on the line for both teams.
“Every time we play Wofford it feels like a playoff game,” said GSU quarterback Jerick McKinnon. “We played them twice in 2010, one was the quarterfinals. We played them last year for the conference championship. When we meet up with them, it’s always a great football game.”
Russell assumes that the fact the Eagles have beaten Wofford twice in a row on the road is not lost on the Terriers.
“If you play football, you don’t really need a reason to get up for a game, but having us defeat them last year for the SoCon championship and the year before in the quarterfinals, it makes it that much bigger for them,” he said. “I’m sure they’re thinking that, and they’re going to come in here and play hard.”
The 2010 game in the quarterfinals, a game where GSU fans arguably out-numbered Wofford fans in their own stadium, was the first road playoff win for the Eagles since they beat Montana, 27-25, on Dec. 16, 2000, in Chattanooga, Tenn., for their sixth national title.
It was also Russell’s best memory so far in the series against Wofford.
“It was the first year that coach Monken took us back to the playoffs,” Russell said about 2010. “We had such great fan support up there, and it was, I think, my first taste of a real playoff game.”
Stats, records and rivalries aside, there’s really only one reason Russell gets up for Wofford when the two teams meet.
“I like playing the best of the best, and they’re one of the best,” he said.
Wofford (5-0, 3-0) comes to Statesboro on Saturday as the fifth-ranked team in the nation. The Terriers face No. 7 GSU at 6 p.m., in Paulson.
The Eagles (4-1, 3-1) will wear a different jersey for the first time in their history. They’ll wear blue camouflage in support of military appreciation day.
“Coach showed them to us three weeks ago,” Russell said about the jerseys. “I never thought I’d be wearing a different jersey than our blue and white. It was a surprise, and everybody’s pretty excited about it.”
Matt Yogus may be reached at (912) 489-9408.
