On Saturday, the Georgia Southern Eagles fell to the No. 20 Arkansas Razorbacks, 45-10. The 35-point deficit is the second worst defeat in the Chad Lunsford era.

Things got off to a rough start on Saturday, as the Razorbacks quickly jumped out to a 21-point lead. In addition, the Eagles began the game with punts on their first five possessions.

“Right now it’s hard to find positives,” Lunsford said. “You can find spurts of it and little things to talk about, but then you get into moral victories and that’s not what it’s about. It’s about winning.”

GS posed no challenge to the Razorbacks, who moved to 3-0 following the dominant victory. Arkansas accumulated 633 total yards of offense, which marks the third consecutive game the Eagles have allowed more than 500 yards.

The Razorbacks, who have done most of their work on the ground, recorded 364 yards and three touchdowns through the air. The ground game was just as effective, producing 269 yards and three more touchdowns.

“It’s what we went up against every day in practice,” Wade said. “It was all about preparation. The things that they ran, it was what we expected, but we just couldn’t stop them.”

One positive for the Eagles was the return of veteran quarterback Justin Tomlin, who missed the previous two games due to an academic suspension.

Tomlin’s presence was quickly felt after he turned a broken play into a 76-yard touchdown rush, the longest play for the Eagles since 2015.

“They were in man coverage and they blitzed and there was nobody on the backside, so I just did what I had to do,” Tomlin said. “I had to score. Lots of energy, lots of excitement.”

Penalties proved costly for the Eagles, as the team suffered eight total miscues. To make matters worse, two of the Eagles penalties extended an eventual touchdown drive.

“There were a lot of discipline issues as far as self-inflicted penalties,” Lunsford said. “Those pre- and post-play penalties are not good, and drops and things like that where we can’t sustain drives. We have to stop those things or the bleeding will never stop.”

Following the loss, the Eagles fell to 1-2 on the season for the second time in the last three seasons. GS will begin conference play on Saturday, as the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns visit Paulson Stadium. Kickoff is set for 6:00 p.m. and the game will be televised on ESPN+.