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Thursday, Nov. 05, 2009

Eagles counting on getting boost from bye week

STATESBORO — Georgia Southern went into its game at Appalachian State with plenty of momentum.

Momentum, however, refused to get off the bus when the Eagles pulled up to Kidd Brewer Stadium. As a result, the Mountaineers manhandled a Georgia Southern team that was flat from the opening kickoff.

No one in the Eagles’ camp could explain why the team that had played so well against Chattanooga and enjoyed a solid second half at North Carolina was missing in action.

Running back Adam Urbano spoke for the rest of his teammates when he said, “I really don’t know how you come out flat in an atmosphere (26,215 fans) like that.”

Georgia Southern (4-4, 3-2 Southern Conference) had last week off and returns to conference action Saturday when it plays at Samford in Birmingham, Ala.

It was the Eagles’ first weekend off since August. The game with the Bulldogs will be Georgia Southern’s sixth and final road game of the season.

Samford head coach Pat Sullivan has an idea of what happened to the Eagles at Appalachian State. It’s called hitting the wall. He saw it happen to his team.

The Bulldogs had an open date prior to their game with The Citadel last weekend, and Sullivan said it came at a much needed time.

“This has been as frustrating a year as I’ve ever had,” said Sullivan, whose team has been hit by injuries.

Samford was a big surprise last year by going 4-4 in the conference, including beating Georgia Southern 27-17.

“In this conference, you have to be at your best every week to have a chance,” Sullivan said. “Before the Furman game (a 26-24 loss) we had been talking for two or three weeks about how we were a tired football team. The open date came at a good time for us.”

The Bullodgs had a chance to beat the Paladins on the final play of the game but couldn’t pull it off, and the week before they dropped a 14-7 decision to Chattanooga.

“Furman was just a gut-wrenching loss,” said Sullivan, who won the Heisman Trophy as a quarterback at Auburn. “When we played Chattanooga, we had seven starters out.

“That’s not an excuse in any way, shape or form. hat’s just the way the season has gone. For example, at Furman our offensive line only had five guys play, and all five played all 83 plays. That takes its toll.”

Georgia Southern head coach Chris Hatcher is hoping the break will revitalize his team physically and mentally for the stretch drive. After playing at Samford, the Eagles return for home games with Furman and The Citadel.

“Right now, we’re just a middle of the pack Southern Conference team,” Hatcher said. “We’ve played eight straight weeks. We’re a tired football team.”

Based on results to date, the game should not produce any offensive fireworks.

Samford has the conference’s second best defense and is giving up only 14 points per game. The Eagles are scoring only 20 points per game, one more than the Bulldogs.

The Samford offense is paced by Walter Payton Award nominee Chris Evans, who is averaging 92 yards per game rushing. He led the conference in rushing last year with 1,284 yards including 142 against Georgia Southern.

Sophomore quarterback Dustin Taliaferro is averaging 166 yards per game passing but has receivers Riley Hawkins and Jonathan Lowery back at full strength.

“Riley is back for the first time since the first game of the year,” Sullivan said. “Having him and Lowery has given Dustin some confidence in doing some things.”