Georgia Southern Tops App State In JLab Birmingham Bowl

By Steve Irvine

BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA - December 30, 2025

What’s better than a rivalry win?

For Georgia Southern, it’s an unprecedented two wins in the “Deeper than Hate” rivalry in the same season. The second one came on a chilly and windy Monday afternoon at Protective Stadium when Georgia Southern ran for 242 yards, including 152 from senior OJ Arnold, and intercepted four passes in a 29-10 win over Appalachian State in the 19th JLab Birmingham Bowl.

It was a special way to end a rollercoaster ride through a season that included four wins in the final five games, including a 25-23 win over Appalachian State on Nov 6. Perhaps the best part of the final game was that the Eagles were able to do it with a complete roster on Monday.

“I’m just proud of these guys,” said Georgia Southern head coach Clay Helton, who won a bowl game for the first time in four tries at Georgia Southern. “You know, players win games. I said that in our locker room, I said it at the award ceremony. I’m proud of our coaching staff, but I’m more proud of these players because they chose to play. They chose, every one of them, to be here on that field, not one person opting out. They chose to not go in the portal. We’ll all make decisions after this. We were one combined football family out there.”

Actually, the work toward that started long before the Eagles came out of the chute with four losses in the last six games.

“What I am proud of is (what) we told each other in the first practice,” Helton said. “In the first practice, I made everybody stand up and say were are going to do this from the first practice all the way to the last play in the postseason. Are we all going to do it together? If you’re not, then don’t enter this room. Everyone of these guys did that.”

It was a different story for Appalachian State, which played on Monday with a skeleton of a lineup. But the ones that played competed until the end. One of those players was redshirt freshman Matthew Wilson, who was a scout team defensive back that returned to his old position of quarterback and shined on Monday. Wilson had 12 carries for 110 yards with a touchdown on the ground and was 12-for-22 for 128 yards through the air.

“Matt competed at quarterback when he first got here and it didn’t go the way he wanted,” said Appalachian head coach Dowell Loggains. “Instead of quitting or entering the transfer portal or doing something that was easy, he said I’m going to try to play defensive back. (He said) I care about App State and I care about my teammates and I want to be a part of this. When his number was called, he showed up and played really, really well.”

But Monday was ultimately about Arnold, the Eagles offensive line and a defense that has often been maligned this season.

With the wind making it tricky to pass the ball, Helton put the emphasis on the running game and they responded. Arnold carried the ball 11 times for 152 yards to lead a running attack that controlled the game. What made it even more special for Arnold is the big day allowed him to eclipse the 1,000-yard mark for the first time in his four seasons at Georgia Southern. He finished the year with 1,032 yards.

“Coming into this game, the o-line knew the numbers I needed (and) I knew the number,” said Arnold, who was selected as the game’s MVP. “If y’all saw the plays, the o-line made it real easy for me to get that 1,000. Just having the 1,000 yards in my last game, it was amazing.”

It was also an amazing day for a defense that got two interceptions by Dorrian Smith and one each by Tracy Hill Jr. and Devin Collier. Each of the interceptions ended promising drives with three coming in the red zone.

“We’re never going to back down, regardless of where the ball is on the field,” said Georgia Southern linebacker Brendan Harrington. “Red zone or wherever. We’re going to stand up. We’re going to do everything we can to stop the other team from scoring.”

On Monday, that was a big part of the team’s first bowl game win since 2020.