Georgia Southern beats Appalachian State 29-10, wins Birmingham Bowl

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- , OJ Arnold had 152 yards rushing on 11 carries, Terrance Gibbs and Weston Bryant each had a rushing touchdown, and Georgia Southern beat Appalachian State 29-10 on Monday to win the Birmingham Bowl. Georgia Southern (7-6) has made a bowl appearance in four consecutive seasons , all under fourth-year coach Clay Helton , for the first time in program history. The Mountaineers went three-and-out on the game’s opening drive before Georgia Southern put together an 11-play, 66-yard drive that culminated when Gibbs ran for a 1-yard touchdown about 6 1/2 minutes in that gave the Eagles the lead for good. Arnold ripped off a 58-yard run on the first play from scrimmage in the second half and, two plays later, Weston Bryant scored on a 3-yard run. JC French IV threw a 32-yard touchdown pass to Marcus Sanders Jr . about five minutes later that made it 26-7.