Georgia Southern holds off Old Dominion 23-15 on Thursday night in Norfolk

How the game was decided

Georgia Southern defeated Old Dominion 23-15 in a Sun Belt Conference game on Thursday night, Oct. 15, in Norfolk, Virginia. The game was televised on ESPN2, and ESPN lists the result as final. ^{[1] [2]}

Old Dominion scored first, with Quinn Henicle throwing a 20-yard touchdown pass to Leon Haughton Jr. for a 7-0 lead midway through the first quarter. Georgia Southern tied it before the quarter ended when Terrance Gibbs ran 11 yards for a touchdown, according to the ESPN scoring summary. ^{[1] [3]}

The Eagles took control in the second quarter. Tripp Bryant kicked field goals of 33, 43 and 31 yards, the last with 52 seconds left before halftime, to make it 16-7. Turner Helton then threw an 11-yard touchdown pass to Gibbs in the third quarter, and Bryant's extra point made it 23-7. ^{[1] [2]}

Old Dominion did not score again until the fourth quarter. Ryan Huff threw a 71-yard touchdown pass to TJ Johnson with 11:13 left, and Huff's two-point pass to Haughton cut the margin to 23-15. Neither team scored after that, per ESPN's box score. ^{[1] [2]}

Key performers and numbers

Helton completed 23 of 30 passes for 205 yards with one touchdown and one interception, ESPN's game leaders show. Tyrese Woodgett led the Eagles on the ground with 77 yards on 16 carries, and Gibbs added 44 rushing yards and a touchdown to go with two catches for 18 yards and the other score. Alex Taylor led Georgia Southern receivers with seven catches for 75 yards, and linebacker Anthony Bynum had two sacks. ^{[1] [2]}

For Old Dominion, Johnson caught two passes for 83 yards, and safety Lucas Struck led all players with 11 tackles. Huff finished 9 of 14 for 115 yards and a touchdown, and Henicle was 6 of 10 for 86 yards and a touchdown, per the ESPN box score. The Monarchs lost two fumbles, while Georgia Southern's only turnover was Helton's interception. ^{[2] [3]}

Georgia Southern outgained Old Dominion by roughly 405 yards to 265, with ESPN and CBS Sports tallying slightly different totals, and held the ball for more than 36 minutes to Old Dominion's 23 and a half. The Eagles had 28 first downs to the Monarchs' 16. Georgia Southern was penalized 13 times for 120 yards, and Old Dominion 12 times for 100. ^{[1] [3]}

Background and what comes next

Both teams entered the night 2-4. Georgia Southern had lost 27-24 to James Madison on Oct. 10 after beating Coastal Carolina 31-24 a week earlier. Old Dominion had beaten Appalachian State 10-3 on Oct. 10 after a 42-10 loss at Georgia State on Oct. 3, according to Fox Sports' game page. ^[4]

Old Dominion had won the last two meetings, 45-10 in November 2025 and 47-19 in October 2024, per the same page. Thursday's result went to Georgia Southern. ^[4]

ESPN's Sun Belt standings after the game list Georgia Southern at 2-1 in conference play and Old Dominion at 1-3. Fox Sports lists Old Dominion's next game as Louisiana Tech and Georgia Southern's as Appalachian State. ^{[2] [4]}