2017 Georgia Southern Eagles football team

The 2017 Georgia Southern Eagles football team represented Georgia Southern University in the 2017 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Eagles played their home games at Paulson Stadium in Statesboro, Georgia, and competed in the Sun Belt Conference. They were led by coach Chad Lunsford following the mid-season firing of second-year head coach Tyson Summers.[1][2] They finished the season 2–10, 2–6 in Sun Belt play to finish in a tie for tenth place.

2017 Georgia Southern Eagles football
Conference	Sun Belt Conference
2017 record	2–10 (2–6 Sun Belt)
Head coach	Tyson Summers (2nd season, first 6 games) Chad Lunsford (last 6 games) (1st season)
Offensive coordinator	Bryan Cook (1st season)
Defensive coordinator	Lorenzo Costantini (2nd season)
Home stadium	Paulson Stadium (Capacity: 25,000)

2017 Sun Belt Conference football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
Troy +		7	–	1					11	–	2
Appalachian State +		7	–	1					9	–	4
Arkansas State		6	–	2					7	–	5
Georgia State		5	–	3					7	–	5
New Mexico State		4	–	4					7	–	6
Louisiana		4	–	4					5	–	7
Louisiana–Monroe		4	–	4					4	–	8
Idaho		3	–	5					4	–	8
South Alabama		3	–	5					4	–	8
Coastal Carolina *		2	–	6					3	–	9
Georgia Southern		2	–	6					2	–	10
Texas State		1	–	7					2	–	10
+ – Conference co-champions * – Ineligible for postseason play due to FCS-to-FBS transition rules

Following the season, interim head coach Chad Lunsford was promoted to head coach.[3][4]

Previous season

The Eagles finished the 2016 season 5–7, 4–4 in Sun Belt play to finish in sixth place.

Schedule

Georgia Southern announced its 2017 football schedule on March 1, 2017. The 2016 schedule consisted of five home and seven away games in the regular season. The Eagles hosted Sun Belt opponents Arkansas State, New Mexico State, Georgia State, and South Alabama, and traveled to Troy, Appalachian State, Louisiana-Lafayette, and Coastal Carolina.[5]

The team played four non–conference games, one home game against New Hampshire from the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA), and traveled to three road games against Auburn from the Southeastern Conference (SEC), Indiana from the Big Ten Conference (B1G) and UMass (Independent). Due to the then-impending impact of Hurricane Irma on southern Georgia, the home game against New Hampshire was relocated to Legion Field in Birmingham, Alabama.[6]

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 2	7:30 p.m.	at No. 12 Auburn*	Jordan–Hare Stadium Auburn, AL	SECN	L 7–41	87,451
September 9	4:00 p.m.	No. 12 (FCS) New Hampshire*	Legion Field[6] Birmingham, AL	ESPN3	L 12–22	3,387
September 23	3:30 p.m.	at Indiana*	Memorial Stadium Bloomington, IN	BTN	L 17–52	42,886
October 4	8:00 p.m.	Arkansas State	Paulson Stadium Statesboro, GA	ESPN2	L 25–43	13,781
October 14	6:00 p.m.	New Mexico State	Paulson Stadium Statesboro, GA	ESPN3	L 27–35	16,278
October 21	3:30 p.m.	at UMass*	Warren McGuirk Alumni Stadium Hadley, MA	ELVN	L 20–55	10,690
October 28	3:30 p.m.	at Troy	Veterans Memorial Stadium Troy, AL	ESPN3	L 16–38	23,846
November 4	3:00 p.m.	Georgia State	Paulson Stadium Statesboro, GA (rivalry)	ESPN3	L 17–21	18,722
November 9	7:30 p.m.	at Appalachian State	Kidd Brewer Stadium Boone, NC (rivalry)	ESPNU	L 6–27	23,110
November 18	3:00 p.m.	South Alabama	Paulson Stadium Statesboro, GA	ESPN3	W 52–0	12,250
November 25	5:00 p.m.	at Louisiana–Lafayette	Cajun Field Lafayette, LA	ESPN3	W 34–24	12,993
December 2	1:00 p.m.	at Coastal Carolina	Brooks Stadium Conway, SC	ESPN3	L 17–28	15,951
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll (FBS) or STATS Poll (FCS) released prior to game All times are in Eastern time

Schedule Source:[7]

Game summaries

at Auburn

	1	2	3	4	Total
Eagles	7	0	0	0	7
No. 12 Tigers	10	14	10	7	41

New Hampshire

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 12 (FCS) Wildcats	15	7	0	0	22
Eagles	0	0	5	7	12

at Indiana

	1	2	3	4	Total
Eagles	0	7	10	0	17
Hoosiers	21	10	14	7	52

Arkansas State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Red Wolves	3	19	14	7	43
Eagles	0	17	0	8	25

New Mexico State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Aggies	14	7	0	14	35
Eagles	14	10	3	0	27

at UMass

	1	2	3	4	Total
Eagles	7	10	3	0	20
Minutemen	28	20	0	7	55

Tyson Summers was fired as head coach the day after the game. Assistant Head Coach Chad Lunsford was named Interim Coach for the remainder of the season.

at Troy

	1	2	3	4	Total
Eagles	7	3	0	6	16
Trojans	14	14	3	7	38

Georgia State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Panthers	7	0	7	7	21
Eagles	7	3	7	0	17

at Appalachian State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Eagles	3	0	3	0	6
Mountaineers	0	10	3	14	27

South Alabama

	1	2	3	4	Total
Jaguars	0	0	0	0	0
Eagles	21	10	14	7	52

at Louisiana–Lafayette

	1	2	3	4	Total
Eagles	14	3	10	7	34
Ragin' Cajuns	0	7	3	14	24

at Coastal Carolina

	1	2	3	4	Total
Eagles	3	7	7	0	17
Chanticleers	7	7	14	0	28

References

1. "Georgia Southern fires head coach Tyson Summers". Savannah Morning News. October 22, 2017. Retrieved October 22, 2017.
2. "Summers Relieved Of Georgia Southern Coaching Duties". Georgia Southern. October 22, 2017. Retrieved October 22, 2017.
3. "Georgia Southern taking interim tag off Lunsford". SBNation.com. Retrieved 2018-01-25.
4. "Chad Lunsford promoted to full-time head coach at Georgia Southern". Underdog Dynasty. Retrieved 2018-01-25.
5. "2017 Georgia Southern football schedule released" (Press release). Georgia Southern University Department of Athletics. March 1, 2017. Retrieved March 3, 2017.
6. "Game Alert: Georgia Southern/New Hampshire Football Game Moved to Birmingham". Georgia Southern Athletics. September 6, 2017. Retrieved September 8, 2017.
7. "2017 Georgia Southern Eagles Football Schedule". Georgia Southern Athletics. Retrieved March 3, 2017.