Georgia Southern goes back to work against New Mexico State
The Georgia Southern Eagles are back in action following an off week that was spent healing for the second half of the season.
The Eagles host New Mexico State on Saturday in their third Sun Belt Conference game of the season, and they are looking to stay undefeated in conference play in their quest for back to back Sun Belt titles.
The Aggies are winless at 0-5, including a 52-3 blowout loss to Mississippi last week.
"I think they are really well-coached, and they have been really close. (Aggies head coach Doug) Martin has been really close to getting a few wins. If they just finished some games, they could easily be 3-2," Georgia Southern head coach Willie Fritz said. "I have told our guys many occasions, 'This is a conference game. This counts as one just like the last two did and the ones after that.' "
The Aggies led by 14 points with less than four minutes to play against UTEP early in the season and lost in overtime after blowing the lead in the final quarter. The Aggies also lost 34-32 to Georgia State and blew another fourth-quarter lead against in-state rival New Mexico.
The Eagles must contain Aggies running back Larry Rose, who has 605 yards rushing and six touchdowns. Rose is second in the conference in rushing yards behind Eagles running back Matt Breida (738 yards).
The Eagles rely heavily on their ground game. They lead the conference with 1,887 yards and are last in passing in the conference (312 yards).
The Aggies enter the game with a much more balanced attack on offense. They are sixth in the conference in rushing with 810 yards and seventh in passing with 1,115 yards. The Eagles are led in their secondary by senior safety Antonio Glover, who is second in the conference in interceptions with four.
Turnovers played a big part in the outcome of this game last season when the Eagles forced four in a 36-28 win.
"I think we can keep the whole playbook open; we don't have to cut things down for these guys. We need to score points because you're not going to shut Georgia Southern out," Martin said.
The Eagles cannot look past this game with their showdown with rival Appalachian State looming Thursday.
"I can do a pretty good job of just focusing on the task at hand and playing them one at a time. That is just something that I have to do a good job of getting our 18-23-year-olds to do, as well," Fritz said.
This story was originally published October 16, 2015 at 5:04 PM with the headline "Georgia Southern goes back to work against New Mexico State ."