Georgia Southern looks to get back on track

Coming off their third loss of the season, the Georgia Southern Eagles are looking to bounce back Saturday.

Standing in the way of the Eagles' sixth Sun Belt Conference win and eighth overall is South Alabama.

"I was really proud of our guys. I thought we competed and played really hard. Unfortunately, things didn't go exactly the way we wanted them to," Eagles head coach Willie Fritz said of the team's overtime loss last week to Georgia. "I am very happy we get the opportunity to come back home this week against this good South Alabama team.

"We are going to put this behind us and move on and play very very important conference game here Saturday at Paulson Stadium."

The Eagles have won multiple games in a row after their other two losses this season. They have not lost back-to-back games since the 2013 season with losses against Appalachian State and Furman.

The Jaguars are coming off of a 24-10 loss against Georgia State and currently sit 5-5 on the season, including 3-3 in Sun Belt play. The Jaguars' offense had only 284 total yards against Georgia State, and they rank 10th in the 11-team conference in scoring offense.

The Eagles' defense has forced 14 interceptions, which is the second most in the conference. The Jaguars have thrown 11 interceptions, which is tied for fourth most in the conference.

The defense and special teams are the strengths of the Jaguars as they sit fifth in total defense. Georgia Southern is second in the conference in total defense. The Jaguars are first in kickoff returns with 786 yards and one touchdown. Georgia Southern is second in kickoff returns.

South Alabama is giving up 186 yards per game on the ground while Georgia Southern is rushing for 364 yards per game.

"Defensively, I think they bring challenges with that odd front that they run, with the nose on the center a majority of the time," Fritz said. "They are really good in the kicking game. Idaho was doing a pretty good job with them, and then they returned a kickoff for a touchdown and blocked a punt. Very dangerous and very talented team."

This story was originally published November 27, 2015 at 7:17 PM with the headline "Georgia Southern looks to get back on track ."