The Georgia Southern Eagles took a step toward becoming bowl eligible as they won their first game on the road last Thursday with a 25-23 win in Boone N.C. against their oldest rival Appalachian St.
The Eagles entered the game ranked among the bottom teams in all of FBS in many categories but got a solid effort from the defense particularly against the run as they allowed only 77 total yards and held the leading rusher in the Sun Belt Rashod Dubinion to just 40 yards on 12 carries. The Eagles were also at the bottom of the nation in sacks with just seven but came through with three on Thursday.
“Any time you go into such a tough place to play and beat your rival is very exciting,” said coach Clay Helton. “We went into the game with the mindset to be on the attack. We did that with our tempo on offense and then with pressure on defense, especially on first and second down. Shutting down the run put them into third and long and you can get into your nickel and dime packages and let M.J. Stroud do what he’s been doing so well. I think our kids fed off that and I hope we will see that again this week.”
On offense the Eagles churned out 494 yards of offense with J.C. French throwing for 352 yards and one score. O.J. Arnold led the way on the ground with 105 yards and the Eagles rushed for 142 yards in the game. The Eagles did struggle in the red zone as they had to settle for four field goals and only two touchdowns.
“I’m always hard on the offense and having nearly 500 yards of offense and only two touchdowns is not what we want to see happen,” Helton said. “We had a few penalties that hurt us and give App. St. credit they have a good red zone defense. You are always looking for growth and that is the area we are working on this week.”
The Eagles go from taking on the top runner in the Sun Belt to playing a team that rushes for over 200 yards per game and has recently found a knack for getting it done on the ground in the 6-3 Coastal Carolina Chanticleers. Coastal has won their last four games and has scored 40 or more points in the last three. They had 286 yards rushing against App. St., 214 against Marshall and 324 on the ground Saturday against Georgia St.
“We are going against a team that has scored 40 or more points the last three games so field goals are not going to be good enough this week,” Helton said. “They brought in 61 newcomers and credit to coach Tim Beck for finding what they do well and adjusting to it. They lost a couple early games and then went into the ULM game and decided here is what we are going to do and they found their strength running the football. Their quarterback Samari Collier can throw it, but last week he rushed for 123 yards. They have a dangerous offense and we are going to have to control the tempo and try and control their run game.”
Helton and the rest of the coaches and team know they are now two wins away from becoming bowl eligible and are excited about having the next two games at Paulson Stadium.
“We have one of the top-five best win percentages here at home,” Helton said. “It is a tough place to play and our students make it that way along with our fan base. When you walk in here you just have an edge.”
The Eagles and Chanticleers are set for a 6:00 kickoff Saturday night at Paulson Stadium.
