The Coastal Carolina Chanticleers play host to the Georgia Southern Eagles on Saturday afternoon in crucial Sun Belt showdown from Brooks Stadium. Coastal Carolina is off to an undefeated start on the season and quickly looking like one of the better Group of 5 teams from across the country. For Georgia Southern, an upset over a Big 10 foe just a few weeks ago turned quite a few heads and has looked strong themselves, even despite dropping their matchup last week. The Eagles lead the series between the two teams overall, though with Coastal Carolina having won two in a row in the series, including a 20-point win when these two last played in 2021, Georgia Southern might be hard-pressed to turn things around, especially on the road. With the Sun Belt looking to be tight near the top, both teams know that they need wins in this one.
Georgia Southern has already looked far better with their new head coach, Clay Helton, at the helm. The longtime USC top man has brought quite a bit of experience, as well as unique play-calling, to town, while the wins have been coming. The best result was taking down Nebraska on the road just a few weeks ago, which served as putting the rest of the Sun Belt on notice that this isn't a team that teams will want to take lightly this season. A loss in the last game to UAB did tempter expectations slightly, especially given that they lost by multiple touchdowns, and going on the road yet again could prove to be a challenge for this group. The Eagles haven't played well against Coastal Carolina over the last few seasons but with a new coach leading the way, as well as confidence and momentum building, this is an opportunity for Georgia Southern to prove that they belong.
The Eagles have one injury that they conti nue to monitor heading into this weekend, which is good news for a team that can't afford to lose out on their depth. Sam Kenerson (knee) is out for the season and after putting up 130 yards across two games, the passing game has dropped off slightly.
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“Elite on three!”#HailSouthern | #GATA pic.twitter.com/vPILrvRjn9
— Georgia Southern Football (@GSAthletics_FB) September 29, 2022
Georgia Southern's offense has certainly been helped with the addition of Helton and others to the staff. They rank tenth nationally in total offense and they've been able to do it with a pretty well-balanced attack. They do rank 15th nationally in passing but with a ranking of 42nd in rushing, they have the ability to control the clock as well. Kyle Vantrease (8 touchdowns, 6 interceptions) leads the way under center but if he struggles to take care of the ball, it could be a long night for this group.
The defensive side of the ball has seen this group struggle to turn things around. Even with three wins under their belt, there's little doubt that future opponents won't let them off the hook should they not be able to slow them. The Eagles rank 110th nationally in yards allowed per game, while their inability to stop opponents on the ground has been a struggle. With one of the nation's worst run defenses, Georgia So uthern has benefited from opponents turning the ball over, which is something they aren't likely to see happen against the Chanticleers.