By BJ Bennett
SouthernPigskin.com

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It was a resilient showing for Georgia Southerns, a meaningful win that comes with momentum.

It had been a challenging week in Statesboro. After a 1-3 start, Georgia Southern moved on from head coach Chad Lunsford, a program veteran. There were a lot of emotions at play and a lot of questions to answer. Saturday afternoon, the Eagles were able to focus on football; the end result was their best performance of the season. Georgia Southern rallied under interim head coach Kevin Whitley, a former All-American defensive back for the Eagles, to a 59-33 win over Arkansas State.

It was a resilient showing, a meaningful win that comes with momentum.

A standout four-year starter for the Eagles from 1988-1991 who won two national championships, Whitley is well-aware of the tradition at Georgia Southern as he helped create it. Whitley is an all-time program great. His head coaching introduction was a very impressive one. Quite notably, Whitley led Georgia Southern through a difficult couple of days and set the tone for a statement performance against the Red Wolves.

The Eagles had one of their best games as an FBS program.

Georgia Southern compiled 59 points and 540 total yards, rushing for 503, in a key Sun Belt victory. Logan Wright topped 200 yards rushing and Jalen White added over 150 more, with both backs scoring twice. J.D. King, Justin Tomlin and Gerald Green also ran for touchdowns. Defensively, the Eagles, with Tyrell Davis, Eldrick Robinson II, Najee Thompson and Quinn Williams, intercepted four passes and recorded six sacks. Williams returned his pick for a touchdown.

Trailing 19-17 late in the second quarter, Georgia Southern promptly scored 35 unanswered points. The Eagles responded in a big way.

Albeit in a trying set of circumstances, Georgia Southern suddenly has some much-needed momentum heading into a two-game road stretch at Troy and South Alabama and a showcase finish to the regular season that also includes rivals Georgia State and Appalachian State and nationally-ranked Coastal Carolina and BYU. Whitley and the Eagles may have already found their footing. Saturday, they were clearly in-stride.

Entering the middle of the schedule, Georgia Southern will hit the ground running.