NEW ORLEANS – Georgia Southern prevailed over longtime rival App State, 29-10, in the JLab Birmingham Bowl in Birmingham, Ala. 
 
The Bowl Season appearance was the eighth in 11 postseason-eligible seasons for Georgia Southern and ninth over the same span for App State. The Eagles and Mountaineers were part of the Sun Belt’s 10-team bowl contingent that leads all non-autonomy conferences for the fourth-straight season.
 
The bowl championship was the first under head coach Clay Helton for Georgia Southern, which improved to 4-4 in eight all-time bowl games. With the loss in the first bowl appearance under first-year head coach Dowell Loggains, App State fell to 7-2 in nine all-time bowl games. 
 
Four interceptions by the Georgia Southern defense—including two in the red zone—helped propel the Eagles to victory over their rival Mountaineers. Georgia Southern scored the first 10 points on extended drives to build a lead it would never relinquish. 
 
Senior running back OJ Arnold rushed for 152 yards on 11 attempts and redshirt junior quarterback JC French IV completed 18-of-25 passes for 171 yards and a touchdown to lead the Eagles offense. Arnold's total put him over the 1,000-yard plateau for the season. Senior wideout Marcus Sanders Jr. was on the receiving end of French IV’s touchdown pass, 1-of-5 catches for a team-high 72 yards on the day. 
 
Defensively, redshirt senior defensive back Dorrian Smith hauled in a pair of interceptions for the Eagles, with redshirt junior defensive back Tracy Hill Jr. and redshirt freshman defensive back Devin Collier also recording takeaways. Seventh-year linebacker Brendan Harrington paced the unit with eight tackles against his former team. 
 
Redshirt freshman dual-threat quarterback Matthew Wilson led the way for App State, throwing for 128 yards and rushing for a team-high 110 yards and a touchdown on 12 attempts. Wilson, who had spent the season at defensive back, was called into action for a Mountaineer side with a limited bowl roster. Redshirt senior wide receiver Dalton Stroman caught three passes for a team-high 96 yards, while freshman running back Jaquari Lewis amassed 90 all-purpose yards for App State. With 12 tackles, sophomore linebacker Colton Phares headlined the Mountaineer defensive effort. 
 
With the win, Georgia Southern finishes the year 7-6. With the loss, App State concludes the season 5-8.