The Georgia Southern football team was once again in a great position entering last week’s home matchup with Troy. The Eagles were tied for first place in the Eastern division with Marshall, a team they beat earlier this season and controlled their own destiny in making it to the Sun Belt Championship.

Three games remaining against teams with losing records in the conference were ahead, and if the Eagles were able to win out, they had a chance to even host the Sun Belt Championship. The Eagles have struggled in post-October football games with a 2-10 record and unfortunately that trend continued as they fell 28-20 to a Troy team that came in 2-7 overall and 1-4 in conference play.

The Eagles only committed one turnover, which came late in the game, but really struggled on third down as the defense allowed Troy to go 11-14 and eat up valuable time off the clock, while the Eagles offense only managed to go three for eight on third down.

“We really needed to be better on third down,” said coach Clay Helton. “I thought quarterback Matthew Caldwell did a nice job of getting the ball to his playmakers going 11 for 14 and keeping our offense off the field. They did the things that good ball-control offenses do. They didn’t turn the ball over and limited us to just eight drive possessions.”

While message boards and social media lit up after the game with frustrated fans, Eagle starting defensive lineman Isaac Walker vented his frustration as well on Instagram. Helton announced Monday that Walker was no longer with the team and would not go into the reasons behind it.

 “I can confirm he is no longer on the football team,” Helton said. “We are very fortunate here unlike a lot of places that have a lot of attrition. We have 123 players, men who are pulling really hard in the same direction. They want to win a championship and are fighting like heck. Leadership is always tough, you aren’t going to make everyone happy and that’s the price of leadership.”

Walker no longer being on the roster comes a week after quarterback Dexter Williams decided to leave the team and enter the transfer portal.

Eagle players admit they are as frustrated with losing as the fans are and are trying their best to focus on the game ahead with Coastal Carolina and block the noise the best they can from outside the team.

“The way the fans feel is the same way we feel,” said Eagle defensive back Chance Gamble. “We know we are expected to win here at Georgia Southern. I feel like there are plays I didn’t make on third down and I know I need to do a better job of locking in especially in those situations.”

“It does hurt to hear negativity out there because we want them to love us like we love them,” said Eagle offensive lineman Bryson Broadway. “I love our fans, I love the interactions with the fans and this environment. This is unlike any other place and special. I think sometimes this brings us together and puts a chip on our shoulder and makes us want to work harder.”

 The Eagles are currently tied for second place in the East and with JMU and Marshall still yet to play have a good chance at winning the East but will have to win out which starts with a road game at Coastal Carolina Saturday in Conway S.C.

The Chanticleers come in with a record of 5-5 overall and are 2-4 in Sun Belt play. Coastal is coming off a 38-24 loss to Marshall on the road and are averaging 30 points per game, but giving up over 31 points per contest.

Ethan Vasko leads the Chanticleer offense and has thrown for 1,818 and 11 touchdowns. On the ground Vasko has accounted for 357 yards and four scores. Coastal’s leading rusher is Brayden Bennett with 546 yards rushing and 11 touchdowns.

“You can see coach Tim Beck’s fingerprints on this team,” Helton said. “They have always been that spread-option team, but coach Beck is one of the most elite pro-style minds there are. They have kind of blended into that with tremendous balance. They are running the ball but also Vasko is distributing the ball to some electric playmakers. What really scared me is what they did to a really good running team in Marshall in holding them to only 35 yards that really jumped off the page as far as what they did defensively.”

The Eagles and Chanticleers are scheduled for a 3:30 kickoff in a game that can seen on ESPN+