Coming off an 8-5 season and with plenty of key returning starters there were high expectations for the 2025 season for the Georgia Southern football team. With coach Clay Helton signing a 5-year extension those expectations were even higher.
Injuries and a defense ranked among the worst in all of college football combined to see the Eagles look as though their streak of three consecutive bowl games may come to a close. With their backs to the wall, the Eagles were able to pull off wins against their three biggest rivals and then punched their ticket to the dance with a win in the final game of the season at Marshall.
The reward for earning their fourth-straight bowl berth is a rare rematch against Appalachian State Monday in the JLab Birmingham Bowl. Just getting an opponent for the Eagles was a tough chore for the bowl committee as Notre Dame opting out of the post season started a domino effect, which saw at least six teams who were 5-7 turn down an opportunity to play the Eagles, which surprised Helton.
“Bowl games are important,” Helton said. “You have 136 teams in college football and we are all fighting to make it to the postseason. Bowl games are a part of college football history. I remember as a player and now as a coach how special these things are and the memories you make with a bowl experience.”
One reason for the teams turning down the chance to play in the bowl was that many teams had players who had left campus and made plans assuming there was no post season. That was true of Appalachian State, as well, but after talking to some of his departed seniors coach Dowell Loggains decided to accept the bowl bid and have a rematch with his rivals from Statesboro.
Unfortunately, Loggains' team is far from the same one who played GA Southern or even ended the regular season as plenty of his players opted to not participate in the bowl game. Among the losses are the first- and second-string quarterbacks who are reportedly in the transfer portal which is reflected in the point spread in the game that went from the Eagles being a slight favorite to the current line of Georgia Southern by seven points.
“We had players with surgeries scheduled and some had planned family vacations planned,” Loggains said. “I talked with some of our seniors and they were excited about the chance to play one more time and especially against Georgia Southern.”
The Eagles will look to become the first team to beat an opponent in the regular season, and again in the bowl game.
“We know how special this game is and the opportunity to do something that has never been done,” Helton said. “This is another chance for these seniors to leave a legacy. They became the first Georgia Southern players in history to play in four-straight bowl games and now they have a chance at winning a ring.”
For quarterback J.C. French, the bowl game is a chance for him to make amends for the difficulties he had in last year’s New Orleans Bowl loss to Sam Houston State, where he had four interceptions.
“I am just going to try and work my tail off to be ready and to trust in my guys,” French said. “I am going to try and lean more on our playmakers and the offensive line to make plays and not try and force anything. I feel like we have a had a chance to get our players healthy and that should really pay off in the bowl game.”
Darius Safford will continue to be the interim defensive coordinator at the Birmingham Bowl, although the Eagles new defensive coordinator Mike Mutz is expected to be in Birmingham as well.
“Coach Safford has been great,” said Eagle defensive back Tracy Hill Jr. “He has helped give us some new excitement and we have his back no matter what.”
Georgia Southern and Appalachian State are scheduled for a 2 p.m. start on Dec. 29. The game will air on ESPN.
