Georgia Southern did some role reversal on Saturday as it was the offense that kept the Eagles in the game, while the defense was all but nonexistent in the first half.

Though Northeastern faced a similar problem in the first quarter, the Huskies defense made significant strides in the second and throughout the remainder of the game to slow the Eagles' offensive progress while still maintaining and building on a lead taken early in the second quarter.

If the punters from both teams had collectively made a decision to nap in the locker room until the second quarter, no one would have noticed their absence.

The tardiness of both defenses to make their mark in Saturday's game at Paulson Stadium, however, was blatantly apparent in the 34-27 Georgia Southern win. The two teams racked up 28 points in between them without a single punt, leaving the score knotted at tied at the end of the first quarter.

Northeastern quarterback Anthony Orio completed seven of eight passes for 121 yards while GSU starting quarterback Antonio Henton was 4-for-5 for 64 yards in the first quarter. There were no sacks or tackles for a loss in the quarter.

"It's a disappointment that we came out flat. We just weren't executing the way we should have been," senior defensive back Chris Covington said. "But I felt like we came out a lot better in the second half. We played with a lot more emotion. People don't understand that's a really important thing. The more emotion you play with, the harder you're going to play, the better you're going to play."

Coach Hatcher gets his first overtime win

"First overtime win out of five tries," he said "This will be my sixth try and I'm very excited that we're able to win that game in overtime and get that monkey off my back as well."

It was the third overtime game for Hatcher at Georgia Southern, as the Eagles fell in overtime to Elon and Chattanooga last year.

Et cetera

Henton's 295 passing yards is the fifth most in a game for Georgia Southern. …Tim Camp got his first two touchdowns as an Eagle with a career-high 77 yards on two catches. …17,491 fans were in attendance for the game. …Georgia Southern's band played the theme to "Rocky" late in the first half, undoubtedly a tune Northeastern coach Rocky Hagar is accustomed to hearing.

Natalie Sayewich can be reached at (912) 489-9413.