ELON, N.C. — If there was a bright spot in Georgia Southern’s 36-33 double-overtime loss at Elon Saturday, it was the Eagle defense.
GSU set a new single-game record by holding the Phoenix to -19 rushing yards, and the Eagles also recorded a season-high seven sacks.
Larry Beard finished with 2.5 sacks while Quentin Taylor, David Lewis, and Brandon Daniel had one apiece. Damon Suggs, Jerry Barker and Dakota Walker each shared in a sack.
“We knew what we had to accomplish,” said Beard, who also had two pass breakups. “It was a passing team, so we had to get it done on the front four.”
The Eagles also contained the league’s best passing combo, holding Terrell Hudgins to six catches for 54 yards and Michael Mayers to three catches for 34 yards.
“Their run game just isn’t real strong,” safety Chris Covington said. “They set their run up with the pass, and we were just better than them on the d-line. Their line couldn’t stop ours all day.”
Despite the loss, GSU’s defense felt Saturday’s game could be used as a building block for the future.
“We really showed what we can do up front, and we should be able to do that every game,” Beard said.
Teams tie NCAA record
GSU and Elon combined for nine made field goals Saturday, which tied the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision record. GSU’s Jesse Hartley nailed kicks of 49, 29, 22 and 41 yards and Elon’s Andrew Wilcox hit field goals of 48, 32, 41, 34 and 49 yards.
Nevada and Northern Arizona last combined for nine field goals on Nov. 6, 1982. Nevada and Weber State hit nine on Oct. 9, 1982.
Career day for Wiggins
Sophomore defensive back Ronnie Wiggins had his best performance yet Saturday when he led the defense with a career-high 10 tackles. He also shared in one tackle for loss.
Covington added eight tackles while Dedrick Bynam and Matt Wise had seven apiece. Brandon Jackson had three pass breakups and six tackles.
This and That
Georgia Southern was 1-for-7 on third-down conversions in the first half while Elon was 4-for-11…It was the third time in school history Elon has knocked off a Top 25 team…Mike Hamilton rushed for 75 yards and one touchdown on 10 carries, and Chris Teal added 69 yards on 13 totes…Elon has never been 2-1 in the SoCon before…It first overtime game in the seven-year history of Rhodes Stadium…Georgia Southern’s only two losses this season have been overtime.
Alex Pellegrino can be reached at (912) 489-9413.
GSU set a new single-game record by holding the Phoenix to -19 rushing yards, and the Eagles also recorded a season-high seven sacks.
Larry Beard finished with 2.5 sacks while Quentin Taylor, David Lewis, and Brandon Daniel had one apiece. Damon Suggs, Jerry Barker and Dakota Walker each shared in a sack.
“We knew what we had to accomplish,” said Beard, who also had two pass breakups. “It was a passing team, so we had to get it done on the front four.”
The Eagles also contained the league’s best passing combo, holding Terrell Hudgins to six catches for 54 yards and Michael Mayers to three catches for 34 yards.
“Their run game just isn’t real strong,” safety Chris Covington said. “They set their run up with the pass, and we were just better than them on the d-line. Their line couldn’t stop ours all day.”
Despite the loss, GSU’s defense felt Saturday’s game could be used as a building block for the future.
“We really showed what we can do up front, and we should be able to do that every game,” Beard said.
Teams tie NCAA record
GSU and Elon combined for nine made field goals Saturday, which tied the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision record. GSU’s Jesse Hartley nailed kicks of 49, 29, 22 and 41 yards and Elon’s Andrew Wilcox hit field goals of 48, 32, 41, 34 and 49 yards.
Nevada and Northern Arizona last combined for nine field goals on Nov. 6, 1982. Nevada and Weber State hit nine on Oct. 9, 1982.
Career day for Wiggins
Sophomore defensive back Ronnie Wiggins had his best performance yet Saturday when he led the defense with a career-high 10 tackles. He also shared in one tackle for loss.
Covington added eight tackles while Dedrick Bynam and Matt Wise had seven apiece. Brandon Jackson had three pass breakups and six tackles.
This and That
Georgia Southern was 1-for-7 on third-down conversions in the first half while Elon was 4-for-11…It was the third time in school history Elon has knocked off a Top 25 team…Mike Hamilton rushed for 75 yards and one touchdown on 10 carries, and Chris Teal added 69 yards on 13 totes…Elon has never been 2-1 in the SoCon before…It first overtime game in the seven-year history of Rhodes Stadium…Georgia Southern’s only two losses this season have been overtime.
Alex Pellegrino can be reached at (912) 489-9413.
