Old rivals renew acquaintances Saturday night as Georgia State and App State face off in Allen E. Paulson Stadium in Sun Belt Conference action. Kickoff is set for 6:33 p.m. and it will be carried on ESPN+. The game will also be available via radio on the Georgia Southern Sports Network. Here’s all you need to know about the game:
Game 8: Saturday, Oct. 31, 2026 • 6:33 PM
Location: Statesboro, Ga. (Allen E. Paulson Stadium/Evans Family Field; 25,000)
PROMOTIONS
Wear White!
Erk100
Eagle Legends Busts Unveiling
Halloween at Paulson
Trunk or Treat
Costume Contest
Pack Paulson
Records:
App State: 5-2, 2-1 SBC
Georgia Southern: 3-4, 2-1 SBC
Broadcast Information
Broadcast: ESPN+
PBP: Danny Waugh; Analyst: Jayson Foster; Sidelines: Whitney Haworth
Radio: Georgia Southern Sports Network
PBP: Adam Young (@youngpbp); Analyst: Frank Sulkowski (@TheBigGuyWJCL); Sidelines: Jeff Roberts (@JeffRoberts__)
GS: GAME NOTES (PDF)
Inside The Series
Overall Record App State leads, 21-19-1
In Statesboro GS leads, 13-6
In Boone App State leads, 15-5-1
At Neutral GS leads, 1-0
Loggains vs. GS 0-2
Helton vs. App 4-1
Helton vs. Loggains 2-0
Current Streak GS, won three (2024-)
Last Meeting GS 29, App 10 (2025 Birmingham Bowl)
Longest GS Streak Four (2000-02)
Longest App Streak Three (four times)
Largest GS Win 47 points (2004 in Statesboro)
Largest App Win 59 points (1939 in Boone)
GS vs. current Sun Belt Members 74-71-1
GS vs. teams from North Carolina 63-30
GS in state of Georgia 240-72-1
GS at Allen E. Paulson Stadium 223-55
Helton at Paulson Stadium 18-9
Of Note:
- Georgia Southern and App State have met 41 previous times with the Mountaineers holding a 21-19-1 lead in a series that dates back to 1932. Southern defeated App 25-23 in Boone and then again 29-10 in the JLab Birmingham Bowl last season.
- The two schools battled as members of the Southern Conference from 1993-2013. The teams have played every year since 1993, including twice in 2001. The 41 games played makes App Georgia Southern’s most-played opponent in program history.
- This will be the fifth game all-time Georgia Southern plays on Halloween. The Eagles are 4-0 in such games, including 3-0 at Paulson Stadium.
- The Eagles have a 100-yard rusher in three straight games against the Mountaineers. Jalen White ran for 125 yards and three scores on 18 carries in the 2024 game and OJ Arnold put up back-to-back 100-yard ground games against App last year, running for 105 yards on 20 carries in the game at Boone and then 151 yards on 11 carries in the bowl game to put him over 1,000 yards for the season.
Countdown to Kickoff
10: Only 10 out of a possible 22 players have started all seven games thus far, five on offense and five on defense.
9: The Eagle offense has scored nine rushing touchdowns this season and have allowed just three scores on the ground.
8: Georgia Southern is 21-6 under head coach Clay Helton when scoring eight or more points in the second quarter. The Eagles scored nine points against ODU in their last game.
7: The Eagles already have seven more sacks this year (19) than they did all of last year in 13 games (12).
6: Georgia Southern has won all six games under Helton when having a combined 65 or more rushing attempts and passing completions as it did at Old Dominion in its last game.
5: This will be the Eagles’ fifth game all-time on Halloween, where they are 4-0 (3-0 at home).
4: The Eagles had four different players complete at least one pass in the win against Old Dominion. It marks the second straight year they’ve accomplished this rare feat (Maine).
3: Anthony Bynum had three tackles for loss and two sacks, along with a forced fumble, against Old Dominion in his last game, helping earn him Sun Belt Defensive Player of the Week honors.
2: Georgia Southern’s Max Johnson (Brad) and App State’s Henry Hasselbeck (Matt) both have fathers who played in the NFL and the two played in two games against each other (2004 Tampa Bay/Seattle and 2006 Minnesota/Seattle).
1: The Eagles and Mountaineers have played 41 previous times making App first on Georgia Southern’s most-played opponent list.
Up Next:
Nov. 7 vs. Marshall – Statesboro, Ga.
