Coming off a 31-0 season-opening win Saturday against Charleston Southern, the Georgia Southern defense looked much-improved but the offense still looks like they have some work to do.
Head coach Clay Helton liked the aggressiveness the defense showed throughout the game and felt like the team has responded nicely to coach Mike Mutz's defensive scheme. On offense he liked what he saw in the first quarter and the start of the third, but felt there should have been more points on the scoreboard.
“We left too much meat on the bone Saturday,” Helton said. “We started the game in a great flow and Max Johnson was very efficient, but we have to finish drives and get points when we have opportunities. I told the team this is a good starting point, but it is not the finish line.”
This week the Eagles get a big step up in competition as they travel to Clemson. Despite a season opening 51-10 loss to No. 8 LSU, Helton knows this will be a difficult challenge for his squad.
“One thing I feel Dabo Swinney has done a magnificent job of in his career is having his teams ready for adversity and how they respond to adversity,” Helton said. “He is still one of only two coaches in FBS right now to have two national championships. He will have his team prepared and have worked on some things they struggled with from Saturday.”
Georgia Southern quarterback Max Johnson faced Clemson last year when he was at North Carolina. He went 26 for 42 passing for 213 yards and had 10 yards rushing in a game played in Chapel Hill. While this year may have a few different faces, Johnson feels his experience against the Tigers could be a benefit.
“I think it is at least the same defense that they run,” Johnson said. “I think I can take what I learned last year with the kind of coverages they run. They have a really good defense with their three guys up front and I am friends with their linebacker Sammy Brown and I am looking forward to competing with these guys.”
The Eagle players know they don’t have the same personnel as LSU but defensive back Aaron Sears was intrigued by what he saw watching the game and feels the Clemson offense may be vulnerable.
“Some of the things I saw from their offense had me smiling and I was pretty happy about,” Sears said. “A game like this is one of the reasons I came to Georgia Southern. I came here to play on the biggest stage and display my talent, so I am excited to show what I can do on this level.”
The Tigers gave up 644 total yards with 335 through the air and 309 yards on the ground. Helton knows they will be better on both sides of the ball this Saturday.
“Teams make the most growth between games one and two,” Helton said. “I expect a much different team this week. You look at their personnel and it is so impressive. On defense, you start with the linebackers led by Sammy Brown. They have a couple really good corners and their edge rushers I think are both talented enough to play on Sundays. They have weapons on offense I think they just never got in a flow with the two quarterbacks but I expect that area to really improve this week as well.”
Georgia Southern and Clemson are set for a 7:30 kickoff and can be seen on the ACC Network.
