College Football News Preview 2020: Previewing, predicting, and looking ahead to the Georgia Southern Eagles season with what you need to know.
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– What You Need To Know: Offense | Defense
– Top Players | Key Players, Games, Stats
– What Will Happen, Win Total Prediction
– Schedule Analysis
– Georgia Southern Previews 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015
2019 Record: 7-6 overall, 5-3 in Sun Belt
Head Coach: Chad Lunsford, 4th year, 19-13
2019 CFN Final Opinion Ranking: 105
2019 CFN Final Season Formula Ranking: 55
2019 CFN Preview Ranking: 108
No one knows what’s going to happen to the 2020 college football season. We’ll take a general look at where each team stands – doing it without spring ball to go by – while crossing our fingers that we’ll all have some well-deserved fun this fall. Hoping you and yours are safe and healthy.
5. College Football News Preview 2020: Georgia Southern Eagles Offense 3 Things To Know
– As always, the Georgia Southern offense will revolve around a devastating running game that tries to control the clock and goes on long, exhausting drives. There’s no passing attack – the Eagles were last in the nation with 75 yards per game – but when it all works, this is one tough team to deal with.
Eight starters are back, but they have to be even more effective. More on that in the Keys section.
– The main parts return in the backfield. QB Shai Werts is back for what seems like his tenth year with the program, running for 740 yards and five scores. Wesley Kennedy ran for a team-high 824 yards and 11 scores in just nine games, and JD King ran for 804 yards and eight scores. It’s a deep, deep group, and it has to be – the top runners take a pounding.
The offensive line returns three starters including both starting tackles, but center will be a battle in practices. Lawrence Edwards is a solid guard on either side.
– The receivers aren’t totally afterthoughts in this offense, but they can get a little lonely. Malik Murray led the team with 20 catches for 195 yards and three scores, but the other options returning have to be more explosive. Volume catches aren’t a part of the puzzle, but averaging over 14 yards per catch as a team is a must – it averaged just over 12 last year.
NEXT: College Football News Preview 2020: Georgia Southern Eagles Defense 3 Things To Know
4. College Football News Preview 2020: Georgia Southern Eagles Defense 3 Things To Know
– The defense gets the break from not having to be on the field all that much, but it still has to produce. It led the Sun Belt in tackles for loss and was terrific against the run, and now it gets back the top four tacklers and seven of the top nine.
– There’s no replacing Kindle Vidor at one corner, and has to replace the other two starters, but the secondary returns good-tackling safety Kenderick Duncan.
The corners get some help with Louisiana Tech transfer Ephraim Kitchen ready right away and with senior Darrell Baker needing to step up into a bigger role after a 27-tackle season. Duke transfer Javon Jackson should fill in immediately need to Duncan.
– The linebacking corps has the potential to be among the Sun Belt’s best. This is a very good, very active, very deep group.
Reynard Ellis led the team with 86 stops in the middle, Rashad Byrd made 85 stops in an all-star season on the weakside, and Randy Wade is a big 275-pound hybrid who led the team with four sacks and 12 tackles for loss.
The line needs junior CJ Wright to come up with another great year in the rotation on the nose – he was seventh n the team with 35 tackles – and all-star end Raymond Johnson is back after a three-sack season with the upside to be a much bigger pass rushing factor.
NEXT: College Football News Preview 2020: Top Georgia Southern Eagles Players
College Football News Preview 2020: Top Georgia Southern Eagles Players
Best Georgia Southern Eagles Offensive Player
QB Shai Werts, Sr.
He didn’t do as much on the ground as he did in 2018 when he ran for 908 yards and 15 scores, but he has turned into a great fit for the option attack with 2,363 yards and 23 touchdowns in his three years.
The 5-11, 205-pound passer needs to hit more downfield plays – he averaged 7.4 yards per throw after hitting 10.2 yards per pass as a sophomore – but he doesn’t make mistakes. Blow off the rest of the passing stats – he has thrown 19 touchdown passes and just one interception in the last two years.
2. RB Wesley Kennedy, Sr.
3. RB JD King, Sr.
4. OG Lawrence Edwards, Sr.
5. WR Malik Murray, Sr.
Best Georgia Southern Eagles Defensive Player
LB Rashad Byrd, Sr.
A good part of the defensive puzzle in his first three seasons, he went from being a steady hitter to a team leader with 85 tackles with two sacks and nine tackles for loss.
All three of the top linebackers – Reynard Ellis and Randy Wade, too – could be here and should be in the mix for all-star honors. Byrd should be the statical star of the bunch.
2. S Kenderick Duncan, Jr.
3. LB Reynard Ellis, Jr.
4. DE Raymond Johnson, Sr.
5. LB Randy Wade, Sr.
NEXT: College Football News Preview 2020: Georgia Southern Eagles Keys To The Season
College Football News Preview 2020: Georgia Southern Eagles Keys To The Season
Biggest Key To The Georgia Southern Eagles Offense
The running game has to be far, far better on third downs. One of the biggest plusses to running the type of option attack that Georgia Southern employs is that it’s almost always third-and-short.
Air Force was No. 2 in the nation in third down conversions. Navy was 18th, and Army was 24th, with all of them hitting at 45% or better.
Georgia Southern wasn’t great at this in 2018, but it converted over 40% of its third down tries. Last year? 30.7%. Only seven teams were worse.
The team was still great in the time of possession battle, and the ground game was still fantastic. If the O can get to well over 45% on a regular basis, everything will work a whole lot better.
Biggest Key To The Georgia Southern Eagles Defense
Give up three, not seven. The Eagle defense allowed around as many trips inside the 20 as everyone else, but allowing teams to convert on 89% of their red zone drives into points was a problem.
That was bad, but giving up red zone touchdowns was one of the team’s biggest issues. Get inside the 20 on last year’s Georgia Southern defense, and 74% of the time you’ll get a touchdown – only seven teams were worst at this.
This was a massive deal in the 35-32 loss to Minnesota – especially late – the bowl loss to Liberty, and in against Louisiana when the Eagles gave up five touchdowns in six trips.
Key Georgia Southern Eagles Player To A Successful Season
PK Alex Raynor, RFr.
Or true freshman Dylan Lewis, or punter and last year’s backup kicker Bryce Christensen.
Tyler Bass was a special kicker, hitting 19-of-21 as a junior – including the game-winner to beat Eastern Michigan in the Camellia Bowl – and last year he nailed 20-of-28 field goals. The team played four games decided by three points and three others decided by a touchdown or less.
It’s not an overstatement to suggest that placekicking should be a different in at least two games for the Eagles.
Key Game To The Georgia Southern Eagles Season
Appalachian State, Oct. 14
It’s been really, really unfortunate that Georgia Southern has been able to beat Appalachian State over the last two seasons and weren’t able to take advantage of the opportunity. The Eagles won the battles, but the Mountaineers won the Sun Belt.
With a week off currently scheduled before the weeknight home showdown, Georgia Southern has to somehow make it three in a row, and then finally use the win to take the East.
– Georgia Southern Schedule Breakdown & Analysis
2019 Georgia Southern Fun Stats
– 1st Quarter Scoring: Opponents 101 – Georgia Southern 47
– Time of Possession Georgia Southern 32:58 – Opponents 26:54
– Rushing Yards: Georgia Southern 3,285 – Opponents 1,772
NEXT: College Football News Preview 2020: Georgia Southern Eagles Win Total Prediction, What Will Happen
1. College Football News Preview 2020: Georgia Southern Eagles Win Total Prediction, What Will Happen
This is how it’s supposed to work.
Georgia Southern should’ve been a little bit sharper and a little bit better last year, but even though not everything worked perfectly, it was still a 7-6 campaign with a bowl appearance and a college football-altering win over Appalachian State.
There’s still a place in the world for a well-run option offense, and head coach Chad Lunsford has the parts coming back to be even stronger.
The offensive line is full of veterans, the backfield is fantastic, and everything else flows from there.
The team is in place to not only have a shot at beating Appalachian State again, but it should be good enough to win the East and the Sun Belt.
The Mountaineers have to make the trip to Statesboro, as does Troy, but going to Louisiana and Georgia State should both be dangerous. This year, though, going on the road might not mean much, and the option attack is always the great equalizer.
Throw in missing Arkansas State from the Sun Belt slate – at least for now – and this should be a third straight fantastic year under Lunsford.
– What You Need To Know: Offense | Defense
– Top Players | Key Players, Games, Stats
– Schedule Analysis
