Box Score
STATESBORO, Ga.- The Earnest Wilson III era in Savannah State got off to a rough start as the Tigers fell to Georgia Southern 77-9 before 16,528 fans at Paulson Stadium.
The SSU defense stopped the Eagles triple option offense on their first two drives as GSU missed one field goal and had another blocked.
The GSU offense drew first blood as quarterback Jerick McKinnon scored on a 66 yard run with 3:58 left in the first quarter. Conner Tierney converted the extra point for a 7-0 lead.
The ninth ranked Eagles added three touchdowns in the second quarter to take a 28-0 halftime lead.
Georgia Southern scored three more touchdowns in the third quarter for a 49-0 cushion.
SSU's offense crossed mid-field for the first time in the third quarter and the result was a five-yard touchdown pass from Zach Hutcheson to tight end Kris Drummond with 19 seconds left in the quarter. John Barron made the extra point to make the score 49-7. The drive took seven plays and 80 yards.
A bad snap by the GSU offense resulted in a safety which added two more points to the SSU point total to make the score 49-9 with eight seconds left in the third quarter.
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During the fourth quarter, the Tigers never got as far as the GSU 36 as the Eagles reeled off four touchdown runs by four different players for a 77-9 victory.
The contest was delayed by lightening for about 35 minutes before the opening kickoff.
GSU (1-0) had 651 yards of offense while Savannah State (0-1) had 183.
Hutchenson passed for 128 yards and one touchdown and two interceptions for SSU. Cantrell Frazier had three receptions for 39 yards while Sheldon Barnes ran for 13 yards.
Marquis Smith led the SSU defense with a game-high 13 tackles followed by Trevion Ashford's 11 stops and Justin Dixon's 10 tackles.
Edwin Jackson and Kyle Oehlbeck each had five tackles for the Eagles.
McKinnon ran for 107 yards and a touchdown while Dominique Swope ran for 100 yards and two touchdowns. Kevin Ellison passed for 65 yards while Montay Crockett caught two passes for 30 yards.
