The Georgia Southern Eagles looked like they may have taken a step in the right direction last year as back-to-back 6-7 seasons  transformed into an 8-win regular season under coach Clay Helton and fell just short of a berth in the  conference championship.

This year has gotten off to a rocky start and Eagle Nation has been increasingly upset on social media at the thought of regression.

Helton took over the program from Chad Lunsford who posted a 28-21 record with two bowl game wins. Lunsford was let go after a 1-3 start in 2021 with Eagle athletics director Jared Benko famously saying that 7-6 and 8-5 records are not acceptable at Georgia Southern. The Eagles currently have a 22-22 overall record in Helton’s fourth year and while he shares the frustration with the JMU loss he feels the best is still yet to come.

“When you get into these situations I always lean on the good book,” Helton said. “I am a Christian and I believe in that. Jesus says when you live your life for Christ you keep your hand on the plow and look forward. You don’t look back at past habits or regrets, you focus on him. It is also a great analogy when you are doing your job. I have my hand on the plow and I am worried about the main thing and that is the men in the locker room. That is the coaches and the players who you are driving to make better.”

Now five games into the season, if the Eagles want to reach their ultimate goal of competing for a Sun Belt Championship they may be in a must-win contest as they host Southern Miss.

The Eagles currently stand at 2-3 and in the three losses they haven’t been very competitive. The last time the Eagles were on the field was a 35-10 loss to James Madison in their Sun Belt opener on the road. The Eagles still have seven games left but Helton admits there is a sense of urgency going into Thursday night’s matchup against a tough Southern Miss squad.

“Our team knows we are walking into our second conference game and there is so much to play for,” Helton said. “I have been in this situation before when the season started off the way you didn’t want it to and still gone to conference championship games. I was in the exact same situation being 2-3 and went to a Rose Bowl. As a head coach you are real with yourself as to what needs to be addressed, but you also keep those guys up and challenged and ready to go.”

Thursday the Eagles go up against a Southern Miss team that is 3-2 overall and 1-0 in conference play with a 38-22 win over App. St. and most recently a 42-25 win over Jacksonville State. The Golden Eagles are led by coach Charles Huff who was the head coach at Marshall last year and is bringing many of those same players who faced off against the Eagles last year back to Paulson Thursday night.

“I have a lot of respect for coach Huff and he brought 31 men with him from Mashall to Southern Miss,” Helton said. “He brought 10 coaches and 21 players so it is a little bit different. Charles has put together a really good team between what he brought over, the transfer portal and what they had.”

Georgia Southern has struggled on defense this season especially against the run. This week the Eagles will go up against a Southern Miss team known a little more for their success through the air.

 Quarterback Braylon Braxton was one of the players Huff brought with him from Marshall. He has thrown for 1,236 yards and 11 touchdowns this season with only three interceptions. Georgia Southern defensive back Chance Gamble says the team is responsible for their shortcomings on the field this year and is ready for the challenge this week.

“You can sit here and blame the scheme or the coaches but it is about being where we are supposed to be and making the plays, Gamble said. “That is what we haven’t been doing. We are not tackling the ball well and not being gap sound this week we went back to our fundamentals and playing fast and running to the ball. I think we’ve taken steps in the right direction and hopefully that will show on the field."

The Georgie Southern offense may have to win a shoot-out Thursday and if that is the case they are going to have to do better up front. In the JMU game the Eagles rushed for only 27 yards and the offensive line allowed seven sacks and 10 hits for losses.

“One of the main problems we had against JMU was communication,” said offensive lineman Caleb Cook. “Not only among the offensive linemen but also between us and the running backs and we addressed that. We were also losing some of our one-on-one battles and while that will happen from time to time you have to communicate what is happening. We worked more live action at practice and I feel we are ready.”