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Saturday, Oct. 10, 2009

Eagles’ next tour stop: Chapel Hill

STATESBORO — The Georgia Southern traveling circus will hit the road for the third straight week when the Eagles play today at North Carolina.

It’s not the schedule that head coach Chris Hatcher would have preferred for a young team, but he has no choice in the matter.

“It is stressful,” Hatcher said. “You’re missing some classes each week, and just getting on the bus and going through the hotel scene gets old after a while. We don’t know what it’s like to play at home.

“It’s a tough schedule. But we have to deal with it. We knew going into the season it was going to be tough. After this week, we come home for one game and then go on the road again for two more weeks.”

Georgia Southern (3-2) won 26-21 last week at Wofford as it rebounded from a 28-14 loss at Elon the previous week. The Tar Heels (3-2) have lost their past two games after beginning the season ranked 21st in The Associated Press poll. They climbed to No. 19 before losses to Georgia Tech and Virginia.

This will be Georgia Southern’s first game ever against an ACC team. The Eagles are 0-2 against Florida State, having lost to the Seminoles in 1988 and 1990, and the Seminoles did not join the ACC until 1991.

“We are a work in progress,” Davis said. “Let’s not make any mistake about that. We are going to have challenges. We have been challenged more with injuries (this season) maybe more than any team I’ve been around in 35 years.”

Davis, who was 51-20 with three Big East championships at Miami, is 15-15 at Carolina. Graduation and injuries have taken a toll on the Carolina offensive line and receivers, but Hatcher and the Eagles have had their own struggles.

“Offensively they’ve struggled,” Hatcher said, “but they’re big and physical. Their receivers are taller than our linemen.

“Defensively they have one of the top defenses in the country. They’re really, really good on defense. It’s going to be a huge challenge for our entire team. We’re outmanned at every position.”

Georgia Southern will be the second Southern Conference team North Carolina will face this season. The Heels beat The Citadel 40-6 in their opener as they limited the Bulldogs to 153 yards total offense.

The Tar Heels rank eighth in the nation in total defense, fourth in pass defense, fourth in tackles for loss and 15th in scoring defense.

That does not bode well for the Eagles, who gave up 17 sacks in losses to South Dakota State and Elon.

Sophomore defensive end Robert Quinn (6-foot-5, 270) leads the ACC in tackles for losses, and he had three sacks against Virginia. The Tar Heels have 13 sacks this year.