Eagles face major road task

After cruising to easy victories in his first two games at Georgia Southern, Tyson Summers faced adversity for the first time as the Eagles head coach in a 23-21 win over Louisiana-Monroe.

Summers was happy with the way his team responded.

“I am very proud of our players for showing a lot of resiliency being down two scores early,” Summers said. “We were able to go out and get a good win.”

The Eagles blocked a field goal in the final minute and a half of the game Saturday to seal the victory. Summers said that having experiences in three different types of games will be beneficial to his team in the long haul.

The Eagles blew out Savannah State to open the season and followed it up with a game that they had to fight to maintain the lead against South Alabama.

The win over Louisiana-Monroe was the only one that was in doubt in the final minutes of the game. It required the Eagles to make plays until the end to pull it out, but the game gave them the chance to face a different situation.

“We knew how we needed to manage the game to give ourselves a chance to be successful,” he said. “It's gives us confidence that we can win in three different ways.”

The Eagles are averaging 356.3 yards rushing a game, led by Favian Upshaw (72.0) and Wesley Fields (72.33). Matt Breida and Kevin Ellison add 65 and 60 yards, respectively.

The Eagles are set to take on Western Michigan on the road. Coming off of the win, Summers is confident that his team is prepared, having faced adversity for the first time this season.

“I think it gives us the preparation that we need to have some of these bullets live and in game situations, not just at practice.” he said.

The Eagles dominated the Broncos a year ago 43-17. But Western Michigan has gotten off to a 3-0 start with key wins over Northwestern and Illinois. The Eagles are prepared for a tough road test.

“A good football team that has had us circled ever since their game with us last year,” Summers said. “We look forward to getting our opportunity against one of the better teams in college football.”

The Broncos average 42 points a game and allow 17.3. They’ve given up 77.3 rushing yards a game and 239 passing.

Running back Jamauri Bogan is averaging 141 yards a game on the ground, and quarterback Zach Terrell is 50-of-71 for 623 yards and five touchdowns with no interceptions. Robert Spillane and Asantay Brown have teamed for 48 tackles.

This story was originally published September 21, 2016 at 10:20 PM with the headline "Eagles face major road task."