STATESBORO, Ga. – Wesley Fields and L.A. Ramsby each scored two touchdowns Saturday to lead Georgia Southern to a 52-0 Sun Belt Conference football victory over the University of South Alabama at Allen E. Paulson Stadium.

Ramsby's two scores capped the first three drives for the Eagles (1-9, 1-5 Sun Belt), who finished with 583 yards of total offense and 26 first downs in their final home game of the 2017 season.  Shai Werts accounted for 220 yards — 113 rushing, 107 passing — and two touchdowns, while Fields ended up with 64 yards on the ground as GS averaged over five yards a carry while posting 356 rushing yards.

Jeremy Reaves recorded 13 stops and Darrell Songy added 11 for the Jaguars, who fell to 4-7 overall and 3-4 in the SBC.

Georgia Southern 52, South Alabama 0
South Alabama/Georgia Southern photo gallery

GAME FACTS
-In being shut out for the first time in 101 games in the program's history, South was limited to 195 total yards and 10 first downs.
-Georgia Southern held the ball for 11 minutes and 16 seconds in the opening quarter while building a 21-0 lead.
-The Eagles finished the period with a 225-31 advantage in total offense, ending the contest with 583 yards.
-GS came into play averaging 295.2 yards and 16.3 points per game overall but had 361 and 31, respectively, at the half.
-The Eagles scored on seven of their first 10 drives in extending the advantage to 45-0 at the end of three quarters.
-GS was 7-of-16 on third-down conversions in the game while the Jags finished 2-of-13 on third downs.

NOTES
-The win was the fourth for the Eagles in as many meetings in the all-time series.
-The previous season-high point total recorded by GS was 27 in an Oct. 14 loss at home to New Mexico State.
-The Eagles came into play with 45 points in first quarter on the season before scoring 21 in this game.
-GS's 583 yards of total offense were 90 more than the previous high recorded by the team against Arkansas State on Oct. 4.
-It was three yards shy of matching the most ever given up by South on Sept. 26, 2015, against North Carolina State and two less than the highest total recorded by a Sun Belt opponent against the Jaguars by Troy on Oct. 20 a year ago.
-The Eagles had a nearly two-to-one advantage in time of possession after controlling the ball for 39 minutes and 11 seconds, the second-highest figure ever recorded by a USA opponent.
-It was the fourth career 100-yard rushing game for Eagles' QB Werts, who became the second individual this fall to post 100-plus yards rushing and passing against the Jag defense.
-It was the fifth time this year that Reaves has ended up with 10-plus tackles, marking the first time since the 2014 campaign when Terrell Brigham accomplished the feat that a Jaguar has posted five games with 10 or more stops in a season.
-Reaves also became the first member of the program to ever be credited with 10 or more tackles in four games in a row.
-Songy recorded 10 or more stops as well for the second straight game and the sixth time in the last season-plus.
-It was the first occasion that South has had two or more defenders with 10-plus stops in back-to-back outings since Brigham and Maleki Harris turned the trick in both the 2014 regular-season finale versus Navy and at the Raycom Media Camellia Bowl against Bowling Green.
-David Gardner became the sixth individual to lead the Jaguars in receptions by hauling in a game-high four passes for 28 yards after entering play with one career catch.

THEY SAID IT
South Alabama head coach Joey Jones
On the game: "I've never been involved in a game like the one we had tonight in all my years of coaching.  The game plan got away from us.  Georgia Southern executed well.  They've been making mistakes all year and shooting themselves in the foot, and then tonight, they didn't do that at all."
On the lack of execution on both sides of the ball: "We got out coached, obviously, myself as a head coach and on both sides of the ball.  They had a better plan than we did and we didn't execute on offense or defense.  There was just a lot of everything that went wrong out there for us.  It seemed like we missed 50 tackles out there on defense.  We just didn't play well." 

Dominic Esposito
On the frustrating night: "We just had self-inflicted wounds all across the board; each position took their turn with that.  It's hard to get some momentum going when you constantly are doing that to yourself.  It was a rough night for us and not the kind of football we wanted to play."
On if Georgia Southern's defensive front did anything differently that they hadn't seen on film: "They brought some different blitzes, especially with what they did with their ends and their defensive tackles.  They did some things we hadn't seen before.  When we would make a call to bring the protection one way, they would shift it as soon as I made the call.  There were some things we hadn't seen before that they did up front that definitely helped them out."
On the disappointment of the loss and what it means to the bowl hopes: "It's heartbreaking for us.  You could tell in the locker room that the guys are crushed, especially the seniors, because you want to play that extra game.  There's nothing we can do about it now at this moment.  We just now have to get ready for New Mexico State which is another opportunity for us to play."

Jeremy Reaves
On the loss: "We got beat tonight and there aren't any ifs, ands or buts about it.  [Georgia Southern] lined up and beat us every play."
On what was said in the locker room after the game: "Coach [Jones] took the responsibility for the loss, but it's not on him.  We got beat.  The guys on the field didn't want it tonight and Georgia Southern just wanted it more for their seniors.  We didn't play hard enough." 
On how they regroup for New Mexico State: "I really have to look at myself.  This one's tough.  We just have to go back to the drawing board and try to get better and do what we need to as a team for that last game."

Up next: After a week off, the Jags travel to face New Mexico State in Las Cruces on Saturday, Dec. 2 at 3:30 p.m. (CST) in the regular-season finale

For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/USAJaguarSports. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).

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