MADISON, Wis. – The Georgia Southern football squad hung tough with Big Ten foe Wisconsin on Saturday, September 16, 2023, but the Badgers scored four second-half touchdowns to pull away with a 35-14 win at Camp Randall Stadium in non-conference action.
After a scoreless first quarter, Wisconsin opened the second quarter on the GS 2-yard line and punched the ball into the end zone two plays later on a rush up the middle from quarterback Tanner Mordecai. Georgia Southern responded on the next drive. After Davis Brin hit Derwin Burgess Jr. for a career-long 68-yard reception, running back OJ Arnold scored from 4-yards out to tie things up 7-7.
The Eagles had several opportunities in the first half, but three turnovers and a stop by the Badgers on fourth down stymied the offense. GS looked to take the lead at the end of the first half, but a 48-yard missed field goal from Michael Lantz kept things even between the teams. Despite the three turnovers, the Eagle defense held firm and didn't allow any points off those miscues.
On its first drive of the second half, Georgia Southern claimed the lead to go up 14-7 when Jjay Mcafee recorded his fifth career touchdown reception on a 25-yard completion from Brin. The Badgers responded with three touchdowns in the third quarter—two off of Brin interceptions—to take the lead back and pulled away in the fourth quarter with one last score.
Burgess Jr. led the offense with eight catches for 124 yards. It marked his fourth-career 100-yard receiving game. Arnold ran for a career-high 66 yards.
Defensively, the Eagles were stout for a majority of the game but Wisconsin took control in the second half. The six Eagle turnovers kept the GS defense on the field and Wisconsin eventually started to move the ball. Marques Watson-Trent led the team in tackles with seven solo tackles for eight total tackles and TJ Smith followed with seven total tackles including six solo tackles.
The Eagles (2-1) will head to Indiana next week for their last non-conference game of the year. Georgia Southern will take on Ball State in Muncie on Saturday in a 2 p.m. kick that will be streamed on ESPN+
