STATESBORO – A 34-yard touchdown pass from Dexter Williams II To Derwin Burgess Jr. with a minute left and a late interception from Marc Stampley II secured the greatest second-half comeback in the history of Allen E. Paulson Stadium as the Georgia Southern football team rallied to score 21 unanswered points with 6:35 to play in the final and beat Marshall to 24 on Saturday night in the Sun Belt game. 23 amazed.

There were three field goals in the first quarter, including a 42-yarder by the senior Gavin Stewart. The Thundering Herd converted another field goal to take a 9-3 lead, then scored two touchdowns on passes from Braylon Braxton to take a 23-3 lead midway through the third quarter.

After a safety with 6:35 left, Georgia Southern took the lead late in the game when Williams II scored on a 1-yard touchdown run 14 seconds later. After Deontre Morris recovered a fumble Marques Watson Trentforced, David Mbadinga scored on a 2-yard run with 2:15 left to make it 23-18. On the next drive, Watson-Trent forced another fumble, but it was recovered Latrell Bullard with 1:55 remaining in the game. Williams II, who came in for an injured Frenchman, completed passes of 10 yards Dalen Cobb19 yards on 3rd and 17 to LV Bunkley-Shelton10 yards to Cobb and then the dagger to Burgess Jr. to give the Eagles their first lead.

JC French threw for 200 yards and Williams II was responsible for 148 yards of total offense late in the action. Cobb led the way with six catches for 93 yards, while Burgess Jr. caught seven passes for 84 yards and a score. Bunkley-Shelton had six grabs for 66 yards and Tyler Fromm added four catches for 71 yards.

Watson-Trent led the way defensively with 10 tackles, including 1.5 for loss, and two forced fumbles along the way Justin Meyers had nine stops.

• The 20-point comeback in the final 6:35 marks the largest second-half comeback in Paulson Stadium history (previously: 1987, vs. Maine; trailing 3rd place 28-10, won 41-30).
• It was the Eagles’ first double-digit fourth-quarter comeback since 2012 at Old Dominion. Southern trailed 35-21 with 14:57 to play and won 49-35.
• The 20-point comeback marks the head coach’s largest comeback in the fourth quarter Clay Heltonwho trailed by 14 points against Penn State in the 2016 Rose Bowl. USC trailed 49-35 with 8:16 to go and won 52-49.
• The Marshalls’ last three possessions resulted in turnovers with travel times of :13 seconds (fumble), :19 seconds (fumble) and :23 seconds (interception).
• In the final 6:45 minutes of the game, the Eagles outscored Marshall 177-1.

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