In a thrilling finish, Dexter Williams II threw a 34-yard touchdown pass to Derwin Burgess Jr. with just one minute left, leading Georgia Southern to the largest second-half comeback in Allen E. Paulson Stadium history. The Eagles stunned Marshall 24-23 after scoring three touchdowns in the final minutes of the game.

The first quarter featured three field goals, including a 42-yarder from Gavin Stewart. Marshall took a 9-3 lead and then extended it to 23-3 midway through the third quarter with two touchdown passes from Braylon Braxton.

Georgia Southern sparked their comeback with a safety and a 1-yard touchdown run by Williams II with 6:32 left in the match. After a fumble recovery by Deontre Morris, David Mbadinga scored from 2 yards out to narrow the gap to 23-18. Another fumble recovery by Latrell Bullard set up Williams II to connect on key passes before finding Burgess Jr. for the game-winning touchdown.

Williams II racked up 148 total yards, while JC French added 200 passing yards. Dalen Cobb led with six catches for 93 yards, Burgess Jr. had seven catches for 84 yards and a touchdown, and LV Bunkley-Shelton caught six passes for 66 yards.

Defensively, Marques Watson-Trent made a significant impact with 10 tackles and two forced fumbles, while Justin Meyers added nine tackles.

This 20-point comeback is the biggest in Paulson Stadium’s history, surpassing a previous record from 1987. It’s also the first double-digit fourth-quarter comeback for Georgia Southern since 2012 and the largest of head coach Clay Helton’s career.

In the last moments, Marshall turned the ball over on their final three possessions. Over the last 6:45, Georgia Southern outgained them 177-1.

Next, the Eagles (4-2, 2-0) will host James Madison (5-1, 1-1) next Saturday at 4 p.m.