Georgia Southern not looking for moral victories against West Virginia

Georgia Southern preps for a trip to another Power 5 conference program in West Virginia this week, hoping to put the Mountaineers on upset alert.

Georgia Southern beat Florida 26-20 in 2013. Last season, the Eagles lost by a combined five points to two ACC programs: N.C. State (24-23) and Georgia Tech (42-38).

For many programs of Georgia Southern’s status the closes losses would represent moral victories, but for the Eagles, they were just missed opportunities.

“We don’t have moral victories here at Georgia Southern,” head coach Willie Fritz said.

The Eagles have two Power 5 teams on their schedule this year. On Nov. 21, the Eagles travel to Athens to meet Georgia.

Georgia Southern won the Sun Belt Conference title last year with an 8-0 record in its first season of FBS play. The Eagles rushed for a whopping 7.1 yards per carry.

“They are used to winning. They expect to win. They won nine games last year, and they should’ve won two more,” West Virginia head coach Dana Holgorsen said.

West Virginia is aware of the type of talent that will be coming into Morgantown on Saturday, and Holgorsen said his team is not taking the Eagles lightly.

“We know we have a quality opponent coming into town. They are as good as advertised,” Holgorsen said.

This story was originally published September 3, 2015 at 10:31 PM with the headline "Georgia Southern not looking for moral victories against West Virginia ."