Georgia Southern fell below .500 for the first time on Saturday as the Marshall Thundering Herd took down the Eagles, 23-10.

The Herd rode a very balanced offensive attack to victory, accumulating more than 270 yards both through the air and on the ground. Marshall also found the endzone three times without turning the ball over, but did record. a missed extra point early in the first quarter.

“We approached the week really well,” said Georgia Southern quarterback Kyle Vantrease. “We had really great preparation all around the board. Guys started stepping up in practice, making plays, building their confidence. And then, we just didn’t do what we wanted to do out there on the field.”

Things got off to about as rough a start imaginable for the Eagles as Marshall found the endzone less than two minutes into the game. Cam Fancher found EJ Horton for a 65-yard score to give the Herd a lead that would never be relinquished. This play accounted for a large portion of Fancher’s 274 yards passing and total of two passing touchdowns.

The Eagles followed the Herd’s touchdown with a long field goal drive of their own, but after Shadeed Ahmed’s second quarter touchdown GS never got the lead back to within single digits.

On the other hand, the Eagles struggled to get anything going offensively. Vantrease’s struggles continued as he threw for just 205 yards and one touchdown to go along with an interception, a stark contrast to the gaudy numbers he was outputting to begin the year. Jalen White was effective on the ground with 13 carries for 143 yards, but failed to find the endzone and saw limited second half snaps.

However, Marshall’s Eli Neal may have been the star of the game, recording 11 tackles, two quarterback hits and an interception, which proved to be the game’s only turnover.

Following the loss, GS now sits at 5-6 (2-5 SBC) on the season, which puts the team in a tie for last place in the conference’s East division.

The Eagles will be back in action on Saturday when they host Appalachian State in the annual “Deeper than Hate” rivalry game. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. and the game will be televised on ESPN+.