For teams with momentum a bye week can come at a bad time. The Georgia Southern Eagles picked up an impressive 38-28 win over Coastal Carolina the last time they were on the field two weeks ago at Paulson Stadium. That victory came after a 40-3 win over Ball State, but despite the two wins Eagle head coach Clay Helton was happy to have an extra week to heal up as well as prepare for undefeated James Madison.
“It was a much-needed bye week after nine weeks of football with four weeks of practice and five hard-fought football games,” Helton said. “It allowed us to get a little healthier and recover some body wise to help with depth. It also allowed us to get a little more advanced with this game plan against James Madison, and develop some of our younger players who could be playing for us if injuries continue to happen.”
Among the injuries Helton has had to deal with are his top two running backs who have already missed time this year. Jalen White with an ankle injury and O.J. Arnold with a shoulder issue as well as tight end Bo Johnson.
“It was good to be able to take a little bit of the physicality off of Jalen and O.J. while still getting in the game plan,” Helton said. “They looked great in our opening practice and I think you will see two healthier backs walking into this game and I think both will be at a high level. Bo is advancing and is running. He is about 50/50 to play but I think we will learn more come game day.”
The Eagles didn’t gain an advantage with a bye week as JMU had last week off as well. James Madison and Georgia Southern duked it out last year at Paulson Stadium with the Eagles knocking off the 25th ranked undefeated Dukes 45-38.
This year JMU is once again undefeated at 5-0 as they come in as one of the top G5 teams in the country with an undefeated 5-0 record including a Power-5 win at Virginia. Helton knows it will be another battle as the Dukes look for payback from last year’s Eagles win.
"They are 50-3 in their last seven years at home," Helton said. "Coach Curt Cignetti does a great job of bringing in talent as well as coaching his team and developing his team. If you want to contend for a championship, you have to find a way to go 1-0 against a tough team like this Saturday."
James Madison once again comes into the game with the top rushing defense in the nation as they hold opponents to just 38 yards rushing per game. The Eagle offense ranks in the top-20 in many categories, primarily through the air, but players and coaches know the importance of not being one dimensional.
“We have to try and continue the balance we feel we have with Jalen and O.J.,” Helton said. “Even though we throw more than we run, if you look at our efficiency in the run game this year that has been the leading edge for us. If you look at our red zone efficiency (24-29 scoring, 16-29 touchdowns) a lot of that is due in large part due to our run game.”
White and Arnold are currently nearly tied statistically. They have three touchdowns a piece with Arnold having a slight edge in rushing at 269-261 and 66 yards receiving. White knows it will be tough to go up against the top rushing defense in the country.
“It is a challenge but it’s something I have talked to the offensive line about,” White said. “We are looking to find anything we can on them because last year they held us to 20 yards rushing and we know you can’t be one dimensional. Even if we aren’t running and say we are running a swing route we know from our coaches that five hard steps can take a player out. That can open a space to get a receiver the ball and that is as important as us getting the ball on a run.”
While much of the talk since Helton took over has surrounded the offense, the Eagle defense is currently ranked in the top-20 in both third down efficiency and turnovers forced, something Helton felt would happen this year under defensive coordinator Bradon Bailey.
This week Bailey and the defense are going to have their hands full with JMU quarterback Jordan McCloud who has thrown for 1,160 and 11 touchdowns and rushed for 108 yards and two scores.
“Coach Bailey is putting us all in a position to make plays and everyone on the defensive side is bought in,” said Eagle defensive lineman Isaac Walker. “Usually when you execute coach Bailey’s game plan, we don’t have to worry too much about things. We know they have a solid offensive line and very good quarterback who can extend plays so we know we have to try and contain him.”
Helton has stressed the importance of this game to his players in order to continue to build a national brand in what could arguably be seen as the top G-5 game in the country Saturday.
“Coach Erk Russell and Paul Johnson helped build Georgia Southern as a national brand on the FCS level,” Helton said. “When we took over our goal was to do that on the FBS level. You have to go earn that by getting it done on the field. We had a great crowd and played well on national television on the NFL Network in our last game. This time we are playing a 5-0 JMU team on ESPN2 at noon and we are the game. This game is the most important thing at this time.”
