It’s been so long since Georgia Southern has played a game that it feels a bit like the Eagles are coming out of fall camp instead of a bye week. When Georgia Southern kicks off against Coastal Carolina on Saturday at Paulson Stadium, a  total of 16 days will have come and gone since the Eagles’ dramatic comeback win at South Alabama.

The long layoff may have been welcomed for any players needing a breather near the midway point of the season, but there won’t be time to shake off any rust when Saturday’s game begins. The win at South Alabama was huge for the Eagles, but it improved the team’s overall mark to just 2-3. 

And whether the Eagles are eyeing a chance to win the East division of the Sun Belt or just aiming for bowl eligibility, there is still plenty of work to be done.

“It’s always good to go into a bye week with the momentum of a win,” GS coach Chad Lunsford said. “And then it’s 16 days. During a long bye, it’s important to stay consistent. We worked on a lot of fundamentals and got in plenty of opponent prep.”

At center stage once again is whether the Eagles can kick-start their option offense.

Georgia Southern dominated the stat sheet against South Alabama and put up over 300 yards on the ground, but - as in its other win against Maine earlier in the season - statistical dominance didn’t lead to an easy win. In fact, the Eagles gained nearly a quarter of their yards on a sprint down the field in the dying minutes just to force the game into overtime.

“Another part of the bye week was to work on areas where we need to improve,” Lunsford said. “Offensively, i think that means finding a rhythm. We’ve had plays here and there, but we haven’t quite put it all together. I think we’re close to getting it all to click and I expect to see a better showing out there this week.”

A long stretch between games usually means that a team will come back with fewer injury concerns. Unfortunately for the Eagles, the injury bug they’re dealing with has proven to have a particularly damaging bite.

Jakob Cooper was sidelined with a concussion prior to the UL Lafayette game and sat again against South Alabama. Monday’s press conference brought word that he has been medically disqualified, removing him from the roster although he’ll remain with the team in a student coaching role.

Logan Wright injured his neck in the South Alabama game and is also out for this week - as well as most others. Lunsford said that Wright’s timeframe is 4-6 weeks before he is reevaluated, hinting that any possible return could have an even longer waiting time.

Senior cornerback Monquavian Brinson also went down in Mobile with a leg injury. He didn’t practice at all last week, but Lunsford said that Brinson is expected to participate in drills moving forward and is day-to-day at this point.

“We have injuries and we have guys who have gone out for the season, which obviously hurts depth,” Lunsford said. “But that’s part of football. We talk about wanting to be a ‘Georgia Southern Man’. Part of that is a nex-man-up mentality.”

Cooper marks the second offensive lineman lost for the season after starting right tackle Brian Miller went down with a hip injury just two weeks before the start of the season.

Questionable snaps have been the main concern in Cooper's absence, but Peyton Backer was solid in getting the ball back to quarterback Shai Werts against South Alabama and figures to be the starter at center again this week.

The injury to Wright doesn't create the same amount of concern about depth or productivity as on the line, but it might cause the game plan to shift a bit.

The Eagles have no shortage of talented options at running back, but there isn't anyone who can fill Wright's 230-pound frame.

On the other hand, just as Wright went out, the Eagles added slotback Wesley Kennedy back into the lineup after a four-game suspension to begin the season. Kennedy's big-play ability showed immediately as he found the end zone in the first game of his 2019 campaign.

"That's part of why we've struggled with consistency," Lunsford said. "We were missing Shai and Wes for a while and now we have Logan go out. As far as who will replace him, J.D. King is a guy who we'll have in that roll. He'll get more carries and I think he's one of those guys that gets better the more carries you give him.

"As for everything else, you might see a little bit of a new spice to it, but we're not going to change too much of what we do just because of injuries."