Southern Conference Football 2013: No.10 Georgia Southern Travels to No. 16 Wofford Saturday

Former Georgia Southern Nose Tackle Rushes Former Wofford QB Brian Kass In Last Season’s 17-9 Eagle Victory In Statesboro

WHO: No.10 Georgia Southern (2-0, 0-0 SoCon) at No.16 Wofford (1-1, 1-0 SoCon)

WHEN: Saturday, Sept. 14, 2013, 7 p.m.

WHERE: Gibbs Stadium (13,000), Spartanburg, S.C.

Game Preview: One of the best games of the 2013 Southern Conference football season will be one of the first, as Wofford hosts Georgia Southern for the final time as Southern Conference members.

It has become one of the best rivalries in the Southern Conference, but its been all Georgia Southern in recent seasons, including the 2012 campaign, which saw the Eagles get a 17-9 win in Statesboro last season in a matchup between a pair of Top-10 ranked foes.

Wofford and Georgia Southern are two of the three teams that tied for the Southern Conference title last season, and the Terriers already got their defense of the 2012 league title underway in a positive fashion, posting a 21-10 win on the road last weekend at The Citadel, completing their 16th-straight win over the Bulldogs on the SoCon gridiron.

Georgia Southern, meanwhile, has outscored its first two foes 136-26 and one of its biggest challenges in the 2013 campaign will be in its first Southern Conference game. The Eagles, of course, have looked like the class of the SoCon to this point in the season, but as many already know, the Eagles will not have a chance to defend their SoCon title or even make it back to the FCS playoffs, as the NCAA has deemed both Georgia Southern and Appalachian State ineligible for the postseason due to adding scholarships in order to make the move to the FBS and the Sun Belt Conference next season.

Still, with a program that has as much tradition on the gridiron as Georgia Southern, this weekend’s battle with the Terriers will be just as important, with the Eagles out to prove once and for all it doesn’t matter whether eligible for championships or not, they are still the premier program in the SoCon and no better time to prove that than it their last season in the FCS.

Georgia Southern and Wofford have made their tradition stand strong as a result of the triple option offense, and since the Eagles made the transition back to the triple option attack in 2010 with the hiring of head coach Jeff Monken, the Eagles and Terriers have been the two premier rushing offenses in the Football Championship Subdivision.

The 2012 Meeting: Georgia Southern 17, Wofford 9 Georgia Southern and Wofford engaged in what was an extremely physical battle between two teams hungry for a Southern Conference title. Georgia Southern and Wofford engaged in what was a defensive battle through the early going in last season’s meeting, and it would be Georgia Southern’s Dominique Swope helping the Eagles out-duel the Eric Breitenstein and the Terriers’ talented ground game.

Swope led the Eagles by rushing for 137 yards and the game’s only two TDs, including what proved to be the game-winning score on a three-yard scoring run with a little over eight minutes remaining, giving the Eagles a 17-6 lead.

Georgia Southern’s red zone defense turned out to be one of the differences in the matchup, as the Eagles would hold the Terriers to three Christian Reed field goals, but it would be Wofford that seized early momentum in the contest by taking a 6-0 lead. A 65-yard run by Breitenstein late in the opening quarter put the Terriers inside the 15, eventually leading to a second Reed field goal and a 6-0 lead just four seconds into the second quarter.

But Georgia Southern would seize control of the game in the second quarter, out-scoring the Terriers 10-3, with Alex Hanks adding a 48-yard field goal a little over three minutes after Reed’s field goal, and Swope would score his first of two TDs of the evening on a four-yard run with just 46 seconds remaining in the half to give the Eagles all the momentum entering the halftime locker room.

The defensive battle between the two teams saw Georgia Southern claim a narrow 265-248 advantage in total yards, with all of Georgia Southern’s yardage coming on the ground. Meanwhile. Wofford posted 222 of its 248 yards on the ground in the eight-point loss.

Breitenstein finished the game leading the way rushing the football for the Eagles, posting 102 yards on 13 carries.

SoCon All-Time Leading Rusher Adrian Peterson vs.Wofford in 2001

The Georgia Southern-Wofford Rivalry: Over the past decade-plus, the Wofford-Georgia Southern rivalry has produced some of the most thrilling games of the Southern Conference season, and it will be sad to see this rivalry go away following the 2013 campaign. The Eagles and Terriers will be meeting for the 20th time, with the Eagles holding a 12-7 series edge.

The Eagles come into the contest having claimed three-straight wins over the Terriers in the series. The last win for the Terriers came back in the 2010 regular-season, with a 33-31 win in Statesboro. The Terriers have not claimed a win in Gibbs Stadium against Georgia Southern since a 21-17 victory on Sept. 17, 2005.

The road team has won five of the past six meetings in this series. Nine of the past 12 meetings between the two have been decided by a TD or less. The two programs have been two of the most dominant teams in the Southern Conference since 2007, as either the Eagles or Terriers have claimed an outright or shared Southern Conference title in four of the past six seasons.

Some of the best meetings between the two occurred in the early 2000’s, with Wofford’s 14-7 win over the Eagles in 2002 accounting for the Terriers’ first win over the Eagles as a Southern Conference member.

It was also a historic win for Wofford in that it was the first regular-season Southern Conference loss that the Eagles had suffered in six years. This rivalry has also seen the SoCon’s two top running backs in the history of the league, with Georgia Southern producing Adrian Peterson (1998-2001), while most recently, Eric Breitenstein (2008-12) coming through the Wofford program.

Peterson and Breitenstein rank No. 1 and No. 2 all-time in rushing yards in the SoCon. Peterson finished his career with 6,559 career yards, while Breitenstein finished up his career last season ranking second in league history with 5,730 rushing yards.

Looking at The Georgia Southern Offense:

Georgia Southern Wide Receiver Kentrellis Showers

Georgia Southern will take on of the top offensive teams in  FCS football into Gibbs Stadium on Saturday afternoon to open play in the Southern Conference against Wofford on Saturday night.

The Eagles come into Saturday night’s game against the Terriers averaging 601.0 yards of total offense per game, including 441.0 YPG on the ground.

The Georgia Southern triple-option offense comes into Saturday’s contest led by Jerick McKinnon (5-for-6 passing, 106 yds, 3 TDs/15 rush att, 129 yds, 1 TD, 8.6 YPC) under center.

McKinnon has seen limited action through the first game due to both wins coming in blowout fashion. McKinnon rushed for a tough 84 yards on 16 carries last season in the 17-9 win over Wofford.

McKinnon has been called the most explosive player in the Southern Conference and in the FCS by some folks. In a second-round playoff win against Central Arkansas last season, McKinnon rushed for 316 yards to record the second-best rushing performance in school history. With 22 rushing yards on Saturday night, McKinnon will cross the 3,000-yard rushing plateau for his career, sitting eighth on the Eagles’ all-time rushing ledger.

McKinnon won’t be the only one that sees action under center for the Eagles on the offensive side of the football on Saturday night, as young quarterback Kevin Ellison (9-for-13 passing, 216 yds/13 rush att, 80 yds, 1 TD) has shown great proficiency as a young passer, and is extremely athletic as a running threat.

The Georgia Southern ground attack will feature some of the most explosive ground options not only in the FCS, but also in Division I college football (FBS or FCS) as a whole. Leading the options out of the backfield is fullback or B-back Dominique Swope (17 rush att, 100 yds, 1 TD), who missed last week’s game against St. Francis with an injury, but is expected to return to the lineup on Saturday night against the Terriers.

Swope rushed for 100 yards on 17 attempts and a pair of scores in the season opener against Savannah State before leaving the game with an injury.

He was sensational in last season’s battle against Wofford, leading the Eagles offensive efforts against the league’s top defense. Swope rushed for 137 yards and the game’s only two TDs on 25 carries to garner Southern Conference Player of the Week honors after nearly shouldering all of the offensive load for the Eagles.

Swope has 2,369 career rushing yards to rank him third on the conference’s career active rushing list behind only Samford’s Fabian Truss (2,392 yds) and McKinnon (2,798 yds).

Depending on the health of Swope on Saturday night in Spartanburg, the Terrier defense could also get a heavy dose of William Banks (18 rush att, 116 yds, 5 TDs), who started his second career game against St. Francis last week, rushing for 72 yards and three scores on just 11 carries.

Set to start at the respective slot back positions heading into Saturday night’s clash will be veterans Jonathan Bryant (5 rush att, 37 yds, 1 TD) and Tray Butler (7 rush att, 89 yds).

Bryant is a threat both as a receiving option coming out of the backfield, as well as being a threat on the perimeter with his tremendous wheels. Bryant, though, has yet to haul in a pass this season for the Eagles. Butler and Bryant aren’t the only ones to keep an eye on coming out of the backfield on Saturday night for the Eagles, as Torrance Hunt (12 rush att, 152 yds, 2 TDs, 12.7 YPC/1 rec, 56 yds) has been one of the pleasant surprises so far this season for the Eagles as one of the backups in the slot for the Eagles. Hunt leads the Eagles in rushing in his first season in the program after transferring in from East Carolina.

The Eagles don’t throw the football all that often, but have some solid, reliable and fast options when going to the air through this season. The top options for the Navy Blue and White when throwing the football this season have been Montay Crockett (3 catches, 80 yds, 1 TD) and B.J. Johnson (3 rec, 69 yds, 23.0 YPR), who rank as the top two receivers for the Eagles this season. Kentrellis Showers (2 rec, 49 yds, 1 TD, 24.5 YPR) is also a big-time threat in the passing game with his tremendous speed, while tight end Dylan Turner is still in search of his first catch of the season.

The Eagles have a solid, veteran offensive front which they will bring to Spartanburg on Saturday night. Four of five starters are back along the offensive front for the Eagles, which includes Zach Lonas (RG) and Garrett Frye (RT) on the right side, while Manrey Saint-Amour (C) and Trevor McBurnett (LG) account for the other two returning starters.

Wofford Defensive Front Against Baylor

Looking At The Wofford Defense:

Wofford turned out the top defense in the Southern Conference last season, while also producing one of the top units in the entire country, as the Terriers finished the season by ranking ninth nationally () in total defense last fall.

The overmatched Terriers were lit up for 69 points in the season-opening loss at Baylor, however, the Terriers won’t be the only defense exploited by such a potent Baylor offensive unit.

Last week against the Bulldogs in Wofford’s Southern Conference opener, the Terriers looked a lot better. The Terriers held a Bulldogs offense that ranked fourth nationally in rushing offense last season to just 154 yards on the ground, and did not allow an offensive TD in the 21-10 win.

All told, the Bulldogs could muster only a total of 262 yards of total offense in the loss to the Terriers last Saturday night.

Coming into Saturday night’s home opener against the Eagles, the Terriers are allowing 477.0 YPG to go along with surrendering 39.5 PPG, however, those numbers are skewed by the season opener at Baylor. Against the run so far this season, the Terriers are giving up 217.5 YPG.

The Terriers, of course, are under a new defensive coordinator with Nate Woody’s move to Appalachian State, and the defensive coordinator responsibilities have fallen to Jack Teachey this season. Teachey has stayed with the slant 3-4 defensive scheme that has made the Terriers so successful on the defensive side of the ball over the past decade.

Five starters are back on the defensive side of the football, and the most experienced level of the Old Gold and Black defense is the defensive line, led by sophomore sensation Tarek Odom (8 tackles, 3.0 TFL, 1.0 sack) at the right defensive end position. Odom garnered SoCon All-Freshman honors last season, and is already off to a strong start to the 2013 season. In last Saturday’s win over The Citadel, had five stops and a tackle behind the line of scrimmage, while in the opener against Baylor, Odom had a pair of tackles-for-loss, a sack and forced a fumble.

Rouding out the the three starters along the defensive front heading into Saturday’s showdown with Georgia Southern will be nose tackle E.J. Speller (3 tackles, 1 FR) and left defensive end Hunter Thurley (3 tackles).

Wofford LB Alvin Scioneaux

The best player on the defensive side of the football and considered one of the top defensive players in the Southern Conference as well as the entire FCS is outside linebacker Alvin Scioneaux (9 tackles, 0.5 TFL, 1 FR).

Scioneaux is one of the premier athletes on the defensive side of the football for Wofford, and is active at three levels of the defensive with that athleticism. He is able to apply pressure on opposing passer as an edge pass-rusher, as well as being to provide run support on the perimeter, or drop into pass coverage. In the loss to Georgia Southern last season, Scioneaux finished the contest with 10 tackles and a sack.

Joining Scioneaux at linebacker on Saturday night will be Travis Thomas (10 tackles, 1 PBU) at the other outside linebacker, while the Terriers have  had to replace a pretty good inside linebacker, in Mike Niam. Kevin Thomas (15 tackles, 3.0 sacks, 2 FFs), who leads the team in tackles through the early portion of the season will start at the one inside linebacker position, while veteran Mike McCrimmon (14 tackles, 1.0 TFL) returns at the other inside linebacker position going into Saturday night’s game against the Eagles.

Kevin Thomas is have an all-conference type season for the Terriers so far, and last season Thomas led the Terriers in tackles against the Eagles, with 12 tackles and a TFL. Against The Citadel last week, he posted seven tackles, a pair of sacks and forced two fumbles, as he was instrumental in helping the Terriers emerge victors in their Southern Conference opener.

The third level of the Terriers’ defense was the biggest concern coming into the season, with Stephon Shelton and cornerback Blake Wylie having graduated. The leader of the secondary through the first two games this season for the Terriers have been a pair of talented senior safeties, in James Zotto (12 tackles, 1 PBU, 1 FR) at the free safety position, while Josh Holt (13 tackles, 2.5 TFL) will step in once again as a starter at the strong safety position.

The two new starters at the respective cornerback positions are Bernard Williams (6 tackles, 1 FF) and Chris Armfield (10 tackles, 1.0 TFL, 1 PBU). Though the Eagles don’t go to the air often, when they do they will likely try to pick on the freshman corner.

Georgia Southern’s Defense Held Wofford To Just 226 Rushing Yards in 2012

Looking At The Georgia Southern Defense:

Like Wofford, Georgia Southern puts one of the top defenses on the field, year in and year out in the Southern Conference, and the scenario is no different in the Eagles’ final season as a Southern Conference member.

Through two games, the Eagles have allowed next to nothing on the defensive side of the ball, similar to how the Eagles started the 2012 season.

The Eagles enter Saturday night’s game against the Terriers yielding just 253.5 YPG, along with just 125.5 YPG on the ground.

The Georgia Southern  defense ranks tops in the SoCon and 15th in the FCS in scoring defense (13.0), while the +3.0 turnover margin is also tops in the SoCon coming into the Eagles’ Southern Conference opener. Georgia Southern once again utilizes a 4-2-5 defensive formation.

As is usually the case, the strength of the Georgia Southern defense starts up front and this season is no different, as the Eagles have a veteran defensive front, despite the graduation of maybe the best defensive lineman to ever come through the program, in Brent Russell.

Leading the defensive front this season are three returning starters from a year ago, including All-SoCon defensive end Javon Mention (2 tackles, 0.5 TFL), who combines with Josh Gebhardt (3 tackles, 1.5 TFL, 0.5 sack) combining to form perhaps the pass-rush tandem in the Southern Conference. Last season, Mention led the Eagles in sacks with 6.5 sacks and 10.5 tackles behind the line of scrimmage.

The two starters at the respective defensive tackle positions heading into Saturday night will be preseason All-SoCon defensive tackle Blake Riley (5 tackles) and nose tackle Justin Ejike (6 tackles, 2.0 TFL), who came into the season asked to fill the very large shoes left by his predecessor and the school’s all-time leader, Russell.

Georgia Southern Cornerback Valdon Cooper

The two main linebackers in this Georgia Southern 4-2-5 defensive alignment will be middle linebacker Edwin Jackson (14 tackles, 0.5 TFL) and weakside linebacker and veteran Kyle Oehlbeck (14 tackles, 0.5 sack, 1 PBU). If the Eagles decide to go to a three linebacker alignment, Georgia Southern will look to Carlos Cave (11 tackles, 2.0 TFL).

The linebacking corps is anchored by Oehlbeck, who is the veteran of the unit and comes into Saturday’s game against the Terriers as the team’s leading returning tackler from a year ago, with 51 stops.

Also, look for Josh Rowe (10 tackles, 0.5 TFL, 1 FF) to figure in the middle of that Georgia Southern defense, as he was a starter at linebacker two years ago for the Eagles before being academically ineligible for the 2012 season.

Slated to start at the nickel position for the Eagles should they start out in the nickel against the Terriers, it will be sophomore Tay Hicklin (3 tackles, 2 PBU).

Deion Stanley (3 tackles, 2 INTs) and Matt Dobson (2 tackles) will occupy the free and strong safety positions on Saturday night. Stanley, who has picked off a pair of passes in the first two games of the season, is a legitimate All-SoCon talent at the third level of the Georgia Southern defense, while Dobson is in his first season as a starter after taking over for the talented Darius Eubanks.

The strength of the secondary might be the cornerback positions, led by Valdon Cooper (4 tackles, 1.0 TFL, 1 INT), who is in his second season as a starter for the Eagles at corner. Cooper has already developed into one of the better cornerbacks in the Southern Conference. Cooper returned a pair of INTs for scores last season. He teams with All-SoCon cornerback Lavelle Westbrooks (7 tackles, 3 PBUs) for the Eagles, giving Georgia Southern maybe the best corner tandem in the SoCon. Few will forget the very important pass breakup that Cooper made against the Terriers last season on a deep ball, helping Georgia Southern secure the eight-point win.

Wofford QB James Lawson

Looking At The Wofford Offense:

Offensively, Wofford presents challenges to pretty much every defensive coordinator in the Southern Conference, and even without the services of the school’s all-time leading rusher this season, the Terriers have shown evidence of once again being a threat in the SoCon.

Coming into Saturday night’s contest at Gibbs Stadium, the Terriers bring in an offense that is averaging 327.0 YPG and 12.0 PPG, but again, those numbers are a bit skewed by that loss in the opener to Baylor.

The Terriers once again utilize the spread bone offense this season, but have made more of an effort to put the ball in the air this season.

In last Saturday’s win over The Citadel, the Terriers put the ball up 16 times. However, the bread-and-butter of the Terrier offense remains the ground game and coming into Saturday’s game, the Terriers are averaging 226.5 YPG on the ground to rank 16th in the FCS. In each of the past seven seasons, the Terriers have ranked either No. 1 or No. 2 in the FCS in rushing offense.

The Terriers normally use a two quarterback system, but this season there are three potential options slated to take snaps under center. Former Pickens High School standout in the Palmetto State and walk-on James Lawson (8-for-13 passing, 106 yds/8 rush att, 4 yds ) will likely get his third start under center on Saturday against the Eagles, however, Michael Weimer (4-for-14 passing, 65 yds, 2 TDs, 2 INTs/5 rush att, 18 yds) and Evan Jacks (3-of-6 passing, 30 yds/11 rush att, 12 yds) could also log snaps in the home opener.

While Breitenstein is no longer around to lead the Terrier offense on the ground, Donovan Johnson (50 rush att, 226 yds, 1 TD, 4.5 YPC) is back, and now is the go-to option in the Terrier backfield. Had Johnson not attended Wofford, he would likely be a starter at pretty much any other Southern Conference or FCS program as a running back. Johnson is a good mix of power and speed, and had a key TD in Wofford’s 33-31 win over the Eagles in Statesboro back in 2010.

Joining Johnson as running options at the two halfback positions flanking Johnson are sophomores Will Gay (13 rush att, 100 yds, 7.7 YPC/2 rec, 40 yds, 1 TD) and Cam Flowers (4 rush att, 13 yds). Gay is one of the most explosive players on the offensive side of the ball for the Terriers and it showed in Wofford’s SoCon opening victory last Saturday, as he returned a kickoff 91 yards for a TD and had a 21-yard scoring catch against the Bulldogs last Saturday.

The Terriers also will have some big play options in the passing game, including the top deep threat coming into season at wide receiver, Jeff Ashley (2 rec, 28 yds, 14.0 YPR). Will Irwin (4 rec, 52 yds, 1 TD), who comes in as the Terriers’ leading receiver, will also see plenty of action in a reserve role behind Ashley, as well in some two wide receiver sets. Finally, the Terriers will also look to tight end Michael Harpe (1 rec, 21 yds). Harpe could prove to a bigger option in the Terrier offense as the season progresses.

Finally, a staple of every Mike Ayers coached team is the offensive line, and once again, the Terriers have one of the SoCon’s premier unit. Two returnees along the offensive line that carry on the lineage and tradition of the dominant offensive fronts of the past are center Jared Singleton and left guard Ty Gregory, who will contend for All-SoCon All-America accolades this fall.

Saturday Final Prediction: Georgia Southern 31, Wofford 20