Georgia Southern

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The Georgia State rivalryGeorgia Southern enters 2026 rated No. 103 in 2025 SP+ (-9.4), down 27 spots from 2024.our read

Sun Belt · Clay Helton, year 5 (28-26) · Allen E. Paulson Stadium · 25,000 · 22,426 avg in 2026

The nationunrankedAP / Coaches
The model#83 CFB ZeitgeistSP+ #86 (-5.8) · FPI #100
The marketJacksonville State by 3at Jacksonville State · our model 32% Georgia Southern · a number, not a pick

LastL 7–22 at Clemson · Sat Sep 12 · Jakyri Jones 1 TFL, 1 INT, 7 tackles

Nextat Jacksonville State · Sat Sep 19 · 7 pm ET · AmFirst Stadium · Jacksonville State by 3 · series 1-0 · Game preview

Updated Tue Sep 15 · through week 2

Zeitgeist statureRegional Program III#132 all-time– holding
The era · 2014 through 2025

The CFP Era

12 seasons inside the CFP era, no bids yet — the era the program is still trying to break into.

Era record 79-72 12 seasons
Best season 10-3 2018
TRAJECTORY · quality-score line · AP rank dotted · CFP bids marked · coach regimes ribboned
Program Quality AP Rank (inverted) CFP Appearance
'14'16'18'20'22'24NOW
CHAPTERS · 12 seasons · tap to open the archive
'14 9-3 '15 9-4 '16 5-7 '17 2-10 '18 10-3 '19 7-6 '20 7-5 '21 3-9 '22 6-7 '23 6-7 '24 8-5 '25 7-6

Georgia Southern's 2014–2025 record is 79-72. The era is still being written; the CFP line is the one the program is arguing for.

Era win %
.523
Ranked seasons (AP)
0/12
Best AP finish
—

Program outlook

Georgia Southern won six national championships running the triple-option through everybody. The FBS world calls it a different level. Statesboro has been filing the objection for over a decade.

Read the full essay — 3 more paragraphs

Erk Russell showed up in 1981, built a football program from nothing at a school that hadn't played the sport in four decades, and had it winning national championships within four years. The dynasty he started — six titles from 1985 to 2000, the last two under Paul Johnson's perfected flexbone — seeded a coaching tree that carried the triple-option to Navy, Georgia Tech, and across the sport. Adrian Peterson ran it for four All-American seasons. Nobody at the level could stop it. The argument that it 'doesn't count' is the one Statesboro has been arguing against ever since the Eagles moved up.

The transition to FBS was bumpy — a 2014 Sun Belt title in the first season up, then a rocky stretch through the late 2010s and early 2020s that gave the doubters ammunition. Clay Helton steadied it. His fourth season in 2025 went 7-6, finished with a Birmingham Bowl win, and the scoreline against the opponent — Appalachian State, the blood rival — was 29-10. Georgia Southern extended Helton through 2029, betting on the kind of stability the program had been chasing since it climbed to the big league.

The 2026 question is whether the Eagles can finally win the Sun Belt outright — a title that's eluded them since that dream debut year in 2014. Helton has the program bowling. Statesboro wants the championship that turns the FBS resume from a work in progress into something the dynasty can stand next to.

On the field

The option as institutional identity: even in the modern era, Georgia Southern's soul is the downhill, ball-control, flexbone-descended running game that Russell and Johnson perfected. Helton has adapted to contemporary personnel — a spread-influenced system that still prioritizes the run — but the blocking mentality and the ground-game identity are not negotiable. 'GATA' (Get After Their Ass) is the program's creed and its blocking philosophy in the same four letters.

program outlook · as of 2026-06-14

All-time record · Georgia Southern

Georgia Southern has won 54% of its games since 1936 — 72% at home, 39% on the road.

162-136 all-time · 38 seasons · 1936–2026

Home 98-39
Away 56-89
Neutral 8-8
3 g 1930s
5 g 1980s
7 g 1990s
57% 2000s
63% 2010s
49% 2020s

Coaching Era · Georgia Southern

Clay Helton

Clay Helton has held the program for 5 seasons — the era is established.

Era Clay Helton · 2022–presentPrev: Kevin Whitley (2021)OC: Ryan AplinPrev OC: Bryan Ellis (2022–2023)DC: Mike MutzPrev DC: Brandon Bailey (2023–2025)
The full CFP-era story →The full coaching lineage →
5 years · era

Program memory

What this program never forgets

Most weeks vanish. These didn’t.

1985

First national title

A program four years old wins the I-AA championship under Erk Russell

2014

First FBS season, Sun Belt title

9-3 and a Sun Belt crown in the very first year up — the move-up done right

2025

Birmingham Bowl over App State

29-10 over the blood rival to cap a 7-6 bowl season under Helton

Moment of the season — so far · Georgia Southern · 2026

Won 31-0 vs Charleston Southern

Week 1 of 2026. A statement margin. Recruiting boards re-rendered overnight.

Decisive Margin

More in this tab

Ladder finishHow far up the ladder this season got.

Season standing · 2026 · 1-1

Georgia Southern is 1-1 and unranked in the season's first weeks.

Even or better through the season's first weeks. The resume is still forming.

Sub-FBSBuildingBowlRankedContenderPlayoff
Coaching historyEvery hire and departure on record, not just the current era.

Coaching history

  • Hired Clay Helton2022
  • Hired Kevin Whitley2021
  • Chad Lunsford departs28-21, 5 seasons
  • Kevin Whitley departs2-6, 1 season
  • Hired Chad Lunsford2017
  • Tyson Summers departs5-13, 2 seasons
  • Hired Tyson Summers2016
  • Willie Fritz departs18-7, 2 seasons
Coordinator lineageOffense and defense under each coordinator.

Unit lineage

Georgia Southern’s offense and defense, by coordinator

FBS-relative efficiency percentile per season (2014–2026), same population as the Coordinator Mirror board. Dashed vertical lines mark a coordinator change.

Offense2014–2026
2014201620182020202220242026
2014–2015 · Doug Ruse2016 · co-David Dean / co-Rance Gillespie2017 · Bryan Cook2018–2020 · Bob DeBesse2021 · Doug Ruse2022–2023 · Bryan Ellis2024–2026 · Ryan Aplin
Defense2014–2026
2014201620182020202220242026
2014–2015 · Jack Curtis2016–2017 · Lorenzo Costantini2018–2021 · Scot Sloan2022 · Will Harris2023–2025 · Brandon Bailey2026 · Mike Mutz
Elite (≥70th pct)AveragePoor (≤30th pct)
Gameday customsThe gameday customs unique to this program.

Rituals

Three gameday rituals — the ones outsiders never quite catch.

6 FCS National Championships (1985-2000)

since 1985

more

Georgia Southern won 6 FCS national championships (1985, 1986, 1989, 1990, 1999, 2000) — the most FCS championships of any program — under Erk Russell, Paul Johnson, and Mike Sewak. The dynasty + the Triple-Option offensive identity (Paul Johnson era) + the Erk Russell coaching tree make GSU permanent G5 historical canon.

Triple-Option Offense Heritage

since 1980s

more

Paul Johnson (1997-2000) ran the Triple-Option offense at GSU producing 2 FCS national championships + multiple records. Johnson took the scheme to Navy + Georgia Tech, where it influenced multiple modern programs. The Triple-Option as living scheme makes GSU + Navy + Air Force the keepers of the tradition.

2014 FBS Reclassification + Sun Belt Title

since 2014

more

Georgia Southern reclassified from FCS to FBS in 2014 + IMMEDIATELY won the Sun Belt championship in its first FBS season — an unprecedented feat. The 9-3 record + Sun Belt title made GSU one of the more-improbable FBS-newcomer breakthroughs. The 2014 season is permanent program identity.

Cultural identityWhat college football loses if this program didn't exist.
BowlsEvery bowl this program's played, and how it did.

Bowl / Postseason Ledger

Recent postseason (2015-2025): 4-4

Most recent: 2025 — win 10-29 (away). Last 5 postseason: 2-3.

20252024202320222020
Reddit blowupsThe plays that blew up on r/CFB.

r/cfb moments

415
[Postgame Thread] Georgia Southern Defeats Appalachian State 29-10
Dec 2025 · r/cfb
383
[Postgame Thread] Georgia Southern Defeats Appalachian State 51-48 (OT)
Nov 2022 · r/cfb
299
[Postgame Thread] LSU Defeats Georgia Southern 55-3
Sep 2019 · r/cfb
297
[Postgame Thread] Buffalo Defeats Georgia Southern 23-21
Dec 2022 · r/cfb
283
[Postgame Thread] Georgia Southern Defeats Appalachian State 25-23
Nov 2025 · r/cfb

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