Georgia Southern tries to take advantage of odd break in schedule

STATESBORO -- When teams lose, players and coaches typically say they can't wait to get back on the field as soon as possible in order to erase the taste of defeat.

That was the case when Georgia Southern lost to Appalachian State two weeks ago in their Sun Belt Conference showdown.

A week later, the Eagles became bowl eligible for the first time when they unleashed their frustrations on Texas State with a 37-13 decision.

Now, due to some quirky scheduling that included consecutive Thursday night games followed by an open date, Georgia Southern will go 16 days before playing again when it visits Troy on Nov. 14.

So much for building on momentum.

But head coach Willie Fritz and his players openly embrace the break as they believe it gives them a chance to heal and get refreshed for a season-ending stretch drive that includes a Nov. 21 visit to Georgia.

"This gives us a chance to heal up," Fritz said. "We're like a lot of football teams this time of year. We're beat up. People like (Matt) Dobson can get healthy."

Dobson is the Eagles' all-conference free safety who has missed the past two games. His presence on the field provides experience and leadership in a young secondary.

"We need this break," star running back Matt Breida said. "This gives us a chance to get some people healthy at some positions where we don't have as great a depth as we do at some others. Getting Dobson back will be a big lift for all of us. Everyone's banged up in some way."

The Eagles practiced Tuesday and Wednesday and will practice Thursday before getting the weekend off. And while the win over Texas State did secure the Eagles' first bowl trip in program history, the players said that did not lead to an outburst of celebration.

With four games remaining, the goal remains to win out and hope for some help from other teams against Appalachian State and Arkansas State, which would give the Eagles a shot at repeating as conference champions, or at least a chance to share the title.

"It's great, and we're excited," Fritz said of being bowl eligible. "But we've still got to get to one. We've got to keep winning. We don't want to be last in the choices.

"Another goal is to win the conference, but we've got to get some help now to do it, but it's certainly something we're thinking about."

This story was originally published November 4, 2015 at 8:55 PM with the headline "Georgia Southern tries to take advantage of odd break in schedule ."