For the third-straight season under head coach Clay Helton the Georgia Southern Eagles have started the year with a 2-1 record. Saturday the Eagles hit the road to take on No. 5 ranked Ole Miss in Oxford MS.
Saturday the Eagles walked away with a 42-14 win over FCS member South Carolina State. The Eagles managed just 211 yards passing and 140 yards rushing but once again played a clean game with no interceptions for the third-straight game for first year starting quarterback J.C. French.
“I think the reason we stand here at 2-1 is because we are protecting the football,” said Eagle head coach Clay Helton. “We are also being explosive on offense. J.C. is moving the ball downfield while protecting it. He has 110 throws without an interception. They say if you have one interception for every 100 throws you are in an elite category. I’m proud of the way he is playing and he is going to have to continue to have that consistency Saturday against Ole Miss.”
The offense continues to come through with some big plays from their receivers, but have been held in check a bit on the ground. Of their 140-yards rushing against SCSU 56 of that came on their final drive of the game. Senior running back Jalen White leads the Sun Belt in touchdowns with five, but the Eagles are 12th in the league in rushing offense. For the season White has 103 yards rushing on 31 carries. Last year against ULM alone White tallied 164-yards on 26 carries. The Eagles have yet to have a back go over 50-yards this year, but Helton isn’t concerned about the run game.
“I think our running backs have really shined in the red zone,” Helton said. “We have also used our receivers to make big plays running the ball. We have also used our running backs to catch passes out of the backfield. Jalen is still dealing with an ankle. He is able to play on it and be effective for us but he is doing all he can to get fully healthy. I feel like as he gets healthier it’s going to get better and better.”
The running issues don’t look like they will be helped Saturday as Ole Miss is giving up just 33-yards rushing per game which is first in the nation. The Rebels are also second in the nation in scoring defense giving up a total of only nine points in three games.
“We just have to go out there and do what we are trained to do,” said Eagle offensive lineman Caelan Williams. “Ole Miss is obviously a great program as they are ranked No. 5 in the country. No one is expecting us to do much against them but I believe in us and think we can surprise them. I think we have plenty of depth on our offensive line and that will come into play.”
The Rebels are also second in the nation in scoring at 56 points per game giving the defense plenty of reasons to be on alert Saturday.
“Obviously they are really big,” said Eagle defensive back Cam Williams. “That plays a big role when you get into the third and fourth quarters of a game. You have to have depth to play against those teams and I feel like this year we do have the depth and the size to play with that kind of team. If they score, we can’t get our heads down and talk negative to each other. They may score and we may score, but at the end of the day we have to come together as a team.”
In 2010 Helton was hired by Rebel head coach Lane Kiffin to be the quarterbacks coach at USC. In 2013, Kiffin promoted Helton to offensive coordinator. Helton went on to serve as USC's interim head coach twice before being named the permanent head coach in late 2015.
“Coach Kiff changed my life,” Helton said. “Giving me the opportunity to come to USC. I also learned a lot about football from him. He is one of the most brilliant offensive minds there is in college football. He does a tremendous job of not only recruiting personnel but to fit his system. He taught me a lot about the game and a lot about recruiting and it was a great time there with him.”
Helton also recruited current Ole Miss quarterback Jaxson Dart who transferred from USC. Dart currently leads the nation in yards passing with 1,172 and has eight touchdown passes.
“Jaxson is near and dear to my heart,” Helton said. "We signed him at USC out of Utah. He is an unbelievable young man with a great family. There is no surprise by how well he is playing this year. He is a Heisman Trophy candidate and has always had that 'it' factor about him back to his days winning a state championship in Utah.”
Georgia Southern and Ole Miss are scheduled for a 7:45 kickoff in Oxford in a game televised on the SEC Network.
