The Georgia Southern football squad finally returns to Paulson Stadium after a 40-day hiatus to take on rival Appalachian State on Thursday in a contest that will be broadcast on ESPNU. Here’s all you need to know about the game:

The Series

• Georgia Southern and Appalachian State have met 31 previous times with the Mountaineers holding a 17-13-1 lead in a series that dates back to 1932. Appalachian State holds a 14-11 advantage in games played in the modern era (since 1982 when Georgia Southern re-started its program).
• Last season, GS jumped out to an early lead against the Mountaineers, but fell 31-13 in Boone on a Thursday Night ESPNU broadcast.

• In 2014, in both team’s first year in the Sun Belt Conference, the Eagles rolled past the Mountaineers 34-14 as Matt Breida (151), Kevin Ellison (135) and L.A. Ramsby (51) combined for 337 yards on the ground.
• In 2013, Appalachian State put up 515 yards of total offense at it downed Georgia Southern 38-14 in Boone.
• Prior to the past three season’s lopsided wins, six of the previous seven games in the Georgia Southern-App State series were decided by seven points or less.

• Georgia Southern is 7-4 all-time against App State at Paulson Stadium, but the two teams but have split the past four games in Statesboro.
• The two schools battled as members of the Southern Conference from 1993-2013.

Ten things to know

Here are 10 things about Georgia Southern’s upcoming Sun Belt game against Appalachian State that will get you ready for the game:
10: Junior linebacker Chris DeLaRosa had a career-high 10 total tackles in the Eagles’ win at New Mexico State last week.
9: Georgia Southern and Appalachian State combined to win nine FCS national championships.
8: Quarterback Seth Shuman became the eighth true freshman to play this season when he saw action at New Mexico State last week.

7: The Eagles have won seven of the 11 games all-time against Appalachian State at Paulson Stadium.
6: Six of the previous 10 contests between GS and Appalachian State have been decided by seven points or less.
5: Matt Breida stands fifth all-time for FBS rushing yards in the state of Georgia with 3,413 yards.

4: Georgia Southern’s defense and special teams forced four fumbles last week in the win at New Mexico State.
3: The Eagles have won all three home Thursday games in program history.
2: Thursday’s game will be the first of two home Thursday night games this season for the Eagles.
1: Both Georgia Southern and App State won their first bowl game last year in their first year of eligibility.