Georgia Southern head coach Clay Helton said there would be times this season when the offense bails out the defense, and sometimes the defense would bail out the offense.
After a season opening loss to Boise State in which the Eagle offense scored 45 points, and the defense gave up 56 points, including 650 yards, it looked doubtful the defense would be able to come through. A week later, Helton’s words rang true as the offense sputtered a bit and the defense had to make a couple key plays, including causing the first turnover of the season for Nevada and coming up with a big fourth down stop as the Eagles knocked off the Wolf Pack, 20-17.
“We had far fewer critical errors as we did in week one,” Helton said. “In a relatively clean game it was huge for our defense to be able to force that turnover. It was neat to see our two captains T.J. Smith and Marquise Watson-Trent combine to create that key turnover when they were driving. Credit to our defense and defensive coordinator Brandon Bailey as I think they did a great job.”
Things didn’t look great for the defense early on as they allowed Nevada to score on their first two drives, but from there the defense stiffened up and allowed only three more points the rest of the game.
“I thought early in the game our emotions were up and sometimes when your emotions are up, your intelligence goes down,” Helton said. “I thought once we got into the game our emotions came down and we settled in on defense. We need to continue to improve on third down and create a few more turnovers, but I liked the way we settled down after the first quarter.”
The offense had their moments as quarterback J.C. French completed 23 of 37 passes for 243 yards and two touchdowns with no turnovers. The only real concern for the offense is where the Eagle running game has gone. Touted as the strength of the offense in the preseason by Helton the Eagles gained only 42 yards on 19 carries for an average of only 2.2 yards per carry.
“I think J.C. has played as well as can be expected for a first-year starter,” Helton said. “He found eight different receivers and made the most of one-on-one opportunities down the field. I thought we had the opportunity to get the ball on the outside and missed a shot or two with the RPO game. There are a few other areas of improvement but when you look at just taking care of the football and making sure the offense is moving J.C. is doing a great job.”
Preseason All Sun-Belt first team running back Jalen White scored three times in the season opener, but only rushed for 35 yards. Saturday at Nevada White was held to just 21 yards on seven carries. Helton said some of that had to do with a slight ankle injury.
“Jalen had a good game against Boise State with three touchdowns but he had a little bit of an ankle issue during the week,” Helton said. “He really fought through that this past week, so credit to him. He made a great toughness run for us when we needed him on a bad ankle in the fourth quarter. Hopefully we can get him healthy this week and get him into empty spaces Saturday.”
Saturday the Eagles return home where they will host South Carolina State. The Bulldogs are 1-1 on the season having lost to Florida A&M in their season opener 22-18, and rebounded last week with a 23-20 win over The Citadel. Offensively the Bulldogs are averaging just over 20 points per game and while the Eagle defense knows they can’t overlook them they are encouraged by how well they played last weekend at Nevada.
“Every offense has a script to start the game, but I feel like when we settled down and stopped some big drives really helped us,” said Eagle defensive back Chance Gamble. “South Carolina State is a tough team and they are fast. Their receivers are a little smaller than what we have faced the first two games, so it will be a little different challenge for us in the secondary.”
As for the Eagle offense, coming off a 44-point performance against Boise State they know Saturday’s two touchdown performance against Nevada wasn’t their best and are eager to get back to multiple trips to the end zone.
“Our culture is toughness, discipline and united,” said Eagle receiver Josh Dallas. “I think we have displayed that the last two weeks. I think you will see that grow every week because of how we are coached. I think you get confidence in preparation so this week will look like every other week because of our process and our routine. I think J.C. has done a great job protecting the ball and our offensive line has done a fantastic job I just think we have all played really united and that will continue this week.”
The Eagles and South Carolina State are scheduled for a 6 p.m. start Saturday at Paulson Stadium. The game may be seen on ESPN+.
