Georgia Southern University defense came into the game against University of Tennessee at Chattanooga averaging only 122 yards, however it gave up 170 yards to UTC’s freshman quarterback Jacob Huesman alone.

At halftime the defense held a 21-10 lead and gave up only 28 yards passing and a total of 128 yards. However, in the second half it gave almost 200 hundred yards and two scores to bring the game into overtime.

“We didn’t make any adjustments during the game we just played our game defensively, and it worked” senior defensive end Dion Dubose said.

Normally the Eagles gets stronger defensively as the game goes on, instead the opposite happened.

The GSU defense returned to normal in the three overtime periods, allowing a total of one touchdown and 51 yards.

When it mattered most, the defense, which head coach Jeff Monken has said to be playing well all year, stepped up and provided a stop to seal the win for the Eagles.

“Coach always talks about adversity, and that fourth down play was an adverse situation. We could have either given up or fought through it, and I’m proud of my teammates,” senior safety J.J. Wilcox said.

Although the Eagles didn’t have its best defensive performance it escaped Chattanooga with a victory, which can be seen as a confidence builder for the defense with late game heroics.

“We have a lot of respect for University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. They are a very good team, and that showed today,” senior linebacker John Stevenson said.

Defensively, GSU will have to play better next week against rival Appalachian State in order to win at home.