More Than One Option Saturday with Terriers and Eagles
10/9/2010 6:07:00 AM | Football
STATESBORO, Ga. - Two Southern Conference foes meet Saturday at 6 p.m. in Paulson Stadium with identical overall records and with one win in the league. The Eagles (3-1, 1-0 SoCon) and Terriers (3-1, 1-0 SoCon) both recorded wins over a ranked conference opponent in their last game prior to today's contest. Georgia Southern had a bye weekend after defeating No. 10 Elon 38-21 two weeks ago while last Saturday Wofford posted a 38-17 win over Furman, ranked 23rd in the Coaches poll at the time.
KICKOFF: 6 p.m., Saturday, October 9th, at Paulson Stadium (capacity 18,000)
TICKETS: Reserved tickets are still available in sections J and K. Reserved tickets are $25. General admission tickets are $25 for adults and $10 for youth (3-12 years of age). Children under the age of three are admitted free.
1985 REUNION
Recognizing the 25th anniversary of the 1985 NCAA Championship, Georgia Southern will honor members of the Eagles' first title team who are in attendance at today's game between the first and second quarters.
FAMILY WEEKEND
In addition to welcoming back members of the Eagle football family, Georgia Southern University celebrates "Family Weekend," on campus this weekend.
"BLUE OUT" T-SHIRT UNVEILED
The 2010 edition of the "BLUE OUT" T-shirt design will be unveiled on the video board at halftime of today's game. The "BLUE OUT" T-shirt, $10 at the University Store, will be available immediately following announcement of the winning design. After designs were submitted last month and the selections narrowed to three finalists, the Georgia Southern Football team chose the winning "BLUE OUT" T-shirt design. The "BLUE OUT" game is slated for Homecoming vs. Appalachian State on November 6th.
WHERE TO LISTEN
In his fifth year as the "Voice of the Eagles," Chris Blair will call all the action for Saturday's 6 p.m. matchup on the 17-station Georgia Southern Radio Network. Former Eagle standout Terry Harvin provides the color commentary and Ryan Chambers brings the sideline experience to the broadcast. The game can be heard locally in Statesboro on 102.9 WPMX-FM or globally online at GeorgiaSouthernEagles.com/Eaglevision. A complete list of affiliates can be found at GeorgiaSouthernEagles.com/radionetwork. The broadcast will be available at 88.1 FM inside Paulson Stadium.
THE SERIES
In the 15 previous meetings, the Eagles have a 9-6 all-time advantage over the Terriers, though the road team has earned the victory in the last four contests. The last three games have been decided by a total of nine points. Georgia Southern earned a five-point victory in 2009 (26-21) and three-point win 38-35 in 2007, both in Gibbs Stadium. Wofford came away with a one-point overtime win at Paulson Stadium in 2008 (38-37).
THE RANKINGS
The Eagles moved up to 13th in the Coaches poll and 16th in the Sports Network/Fathead.com poll after their bye week. Wofford entered the national rankings for the first time this year after defeating a ranked Furman team last week. The Terriers are 21st in the Sports Network/Fathead.com poll and have a No. 25 ranking from the coaches.
OPTION vs. OPTION
Last year, Wofford was the only team in the Southern Conference running the option, but with the return of Coach Monken, the option returned to Georgia Southern and the banks of "Beautiful Eagle Creek." The two teams are ranked closely in the SoCon's offensive statistical standings with Georgia Southern at number two in scoring offense (34.0 ppg) and Wofford right behind in third (32.5 ppg). The Terriers are tops in the conference and the nation in rushing offense with 322.25 yards per game while the Eagles are second in the league at 273.0 ypg and ranked fourth nationally.
"D" IT UP
Georgia Southern has the edge on Wofford in three of four team defensive categories, (total defense, scoring defense and rushing defense) with the Terriers sitting in second behind the Eagles in total defense and scoring defense. While Georgia Southern is first in rushing defense (Wofford 4th), Wofford is second in pass defense with the Eagles ranking fourth on that chart.
THE COACHES
Jeff Monken, with 21 years of coaching experience, is in his first year as head coach of the Eagles. Monken served for five years as an assistant coach on Paul Johnson's staff at Georgia Southern from 1997-2001. During that time, 62 victories were recorded against only 10 losses. The Eagles won five straight SoCon championships and won two national championships during that stretch.
The winningest football coach and longest-serving coach in Wofford history, Mike Ayers is in his 25th season as a head coach and 23rd year at the Terrier helm. A four-sport athlete at Georgetown College, Ky., Ayers spent three years as an assistant coach at Wofford before heading to East Tennessee State as defensive coordinator. He took the reins of the Buccaneer program in 1985 before returning as Wofford's head coach in 1988 where he brought the Terriers to a 1990 postseason appearance, their first since 1970.
ONE MORE FOR MORA
Junior kicker Adrian Mora (Dalton, Ga.), thankfully not one for superstitions, is just one PAT from tying the Georgia Southern career record for consecutive PATs made currently held by Reed Haley (67 from 1992-1994). Mora has been perfect in PATs in his career, 66-66 (31 in 2008, 19 in 2009, 16 so far in 2010).
THIS DAY IN EAGLE FOOTBALL HISTORY
On October 9, 1999, Georgia Southern amassed a program record 732 yards of offense (591 coming on the ground) in a single game in a 70-7 win over Western Carolina. The Eagles finished the season with undeniably the most potent offense in the nation. Georgia Southern ranked first in rushing offense (419 ypg), total offense (551.7 ypg) and scoring offense (50.0 points per game).
DONATE TICKETS FOR MILITARY PERSONNEL
The October 30th game vs. Samford has been designated "Military Appreciation Day" and the University will honor members of the Armed Forces by providing free tickets to the game to military personnel. Fans may donate tickets that might otherwise go unused or purchase tickets to donate to this campaign. Please contact the Georgia Southern Athletics Ticket Office at 800-GSU-WINS or 912-478-9467 or Athletics Marketing at 912-478-1500 for more information.
SUPPORTING THE GULF COAST: Southern Conference football teams will show their support for those being negatively impacted along the Gulf Coast by wearing helmet decals with the initials "GC" during the 2010 football season. More than 170 SoCon football players come from states that share a coastline being affected by the oil spill. The nine institutions that play SoCon football agreed to display the decals to express their support and encouragement for the people living in the region.
GAME UPDATES: Live stats can be followed on GeorgiaSouthernEagles.com website by scrolling to the schedule at the bottom of the home page and clicking on the "Live Stats" link. Score and quarter updates will also be available on twitter.com/GSScores.
