Happy endings missing

STATESBORO, Ga. -- The winning coach got fired here Saturday, while the losing coach is promising a "hard look" at his program in the offseason.

Georgia Southern's 13-6 victory over The Citadel, before 12,611 fans at Paulson Stadium, didn't have a happy ending for anybody.

Minutes after the game, GSU coach Chris Hatcher was fired, leaving the Eagles with an 18-15 record in three seasons and a 5-6 mark this year, just the third losing season in 28 years for the once-powerful program.

Citadel coach Kevin Higgins, meanwhile, indicated his program could be in for a serious overhaul after his fifth season ground to a halt with three straight losses and a 4-7 record, including a 2-6 mark in the Southern Conference.

The Bulldogs needed a 5-yard touchdown grab from Andre Roberts with 65 seconds left just to avoid their first shutout loss to a SoCon team since 2001.

After watching his team net just 89 rushing yards and commit three turnovers, Higgins said The Citadel must reconsider its offensive philosophy. The Bulldogs averaged 22.8 points and 309 yards per game this season, registering their fewest points and yards since Higgins' first season in 2005.

"We've got to take some hard looks at things," said Higgins, who has a 24-32 record at The Citadel. "We're going to look philosophically at what we're doing, particularly on offense, but also on defense as well.

"On defense, we didn't tackle as well as I would have liked, and we weren't as sound as I would have liked. And on offense, we have to revisit what is the best way to move the football based on the players that we have."

Asked if that meant incorporating more option offense into The Citadel's system, Higgins said, "We've got to look at more ways to move the football down the field. If that means going to more option, we're going to look at that."

The Bulldogs must replace a 10-player senior class that includes the best receiver in school history in Roberts, starters Dan DeHaven and Tommy Suggs on the offensive line and Dewitt Jones, Terrence Reese, Jordon Gilmore and Ryan Jones on defense.

The Bulldogs could return as many as three players quarterbacks who started this season. Freshman walk-on Tommy Edwards started his second straight game against GSU; redshirt freshman Miguel Starks also returns; and fifth-year senior Bart Blanchard could decide to come back.

"Once break is over, Bart and I will sit down and have a good visit on that," Higgins said. "Then it's Miguel and Tommy, and we'll be recruiting two quarterbacks this year, so we will also look hard at that."

Edwards was the star of the Bulldogs' last win, a 28-16 victory over Samford on Oct. 31, and threw for three TDs and ran for one without an interception in last week's 31-28 loss at Chattanooga.

But he could not repeat that performance Saturday. Edwards hit 23 of 38 passes for 213 yards, and was picked off twice in the first half, on top of a fumble by running back Van Dyke Jones.

The Citadel's defense forced punts after the first two turnovers, but then linebacker Tavaris Williams' broke in front of running back Terrell Dallas to snare the Eagles' second pick, racing 26 yards to the Bulldogs' 32-yard line to set up GSU's only TD. It was a pick play, but Williams didn't get picked.

On third-and-4, quarterback Lee Chapple found Mitch Williford in the back of the end zone for a 10-yard TD with 49 seconds left in the first half. That, plus two Adrian Mora field goals, gave GSU a 13-0 lead at halftime.

"The three turnovers were the story of the day," Higgins said. "For the most part, the defense did a nice job today. They had their backs to the wall, and our offense just couldn't get anything going."

The Citadel actually out-gained GSU, 359-245. But the Bulldogs, 5 of 13 on third down and 1 of 4 on fourth down, did not score until 65 seconds were left, when Edwards found Roberts for the All-America receiver's 37th career TD catch. The Eagles fielded the onside kick to send Citadel seniors home without a final victory to savor.

"It's a tough way to go out," said Roberts, who caught five passes for 81 yards in his final game. "We just didn't have it in this game. But I hope we set a standard for the younger guys with some of the good things we did this year."