Week 4 Preview: Georgia Southern vs Maine

After a rough start to the season on the west coast, Georgia Southern bounced back with a big out-of-conference win last weekend vs Jacksonville State in Statesboro. The 1-2 start is still the worst start the program has endured since 2021.

This weekend the Eagles will be back in Paulson Stadium hosting the Maine Black Bears. This will be the fifth matchup in the history of the series with the last meeting coming in 2019. Georgia Southern has won each of the last four matchups.

“The major thing in watching the tape that stood out to me is continued improvement of the balanced running game.” said coach Clay Helton during his Monday press conference after the win this past weekend. Definitely a welcoming sign for the Eagles as they look to get back on track against an FCS opponent this weekend.

Georgia Southern

After a 41-34 shootout last weekend against Jacksonville State, the offense will look to keep up the momentum. Southern highlighted their performance with 31 first half points and 410 offensive yards for the entire game.

Quarterback JC French IV had his best game of the season throwing for 191 yards and a touchdown. The best part of the Eagles offense was the ground game in which they rushed for 219 yards and three touchdowns. OJ Arnold let the charge with 128 rushing yards and two touchdowns while also carrying the ball for eight yards per carry.

“That’s really supporting our quarterback right now. You had 84 yards in the first game, 145 in the second, and then you rush for 219. I thought it provided some advantage coverages that allowed us to have a little bit more explosive offense.” Said Helton when asked about the rushing attack against Jacksonville State.

Dalen Cobb got active in the passing game for the second consecutive week. He went for 70 receiving yards on six receptions. Camden Brown was the lone Eagle that had a receiving touchdown. The Eagles will want to continue to get those guys involved in the passing game along with Dylan Gary this weekend. This offseason the Georgia Southern wide receiver rooms was looked at as one of the most explosive in the entire Sun Belt. They’ll need to keep the wheels spinning for the offensive momentum to continue.

The Eagles defense was better last weekend than it was in California, but still an area that needs more work, giving up 394 offensive yards last weekend, including 214 rushing yards, three touchdowns, and over five yards per carry. When asked about the defense, coach Helton said, “We’re lining up better, our assignments are better, and our pursuit to the ball is better. The reason Brandon Bailey’s defense is so dangerous is because of third downs. He can get off the field on third down. We’ve got to be able to get out of those third-and-five ranges and be in third-and-seven plus.”

Maine

While playing FCS opponents is usual a pretty pedestrian walk in the park, the Black Bears have been a very solid team in recent seasons including an FCS semifinals playoff run as recent as 2018. The Black Bears did have a bit of a disappointing season last year going 5-7 but have played competitive in this year’s campaign, despite the 0-3 record.

After a 28-7 loss to open the season against Liberty, they suffered another loss to William and Mary, 28-27. followed last weekend by a defensive battle to Stonehill in which they again lost 13-10.

The offense has been the main issue as the Black Bears are only averaging 16 points per game this season. Starting quarterback Carter Peevy has thrown for 324 passing yards, two touchdowns, and two interceptions this season.

The Georgia Southern defense should be able to take momentum out of this game if they can hold Maine too limited explosive plays and points as they have been held this season already. The Eagles offense will have to play a good game though as the Black Bears defense has been solid this season.