Photo by: Frank Fortune - Georgia Southern Athletics
Georgia Southern Closes 2013 Season at Florida
11/19/2013 5:13:00 PM | Football
Tickets available for Saturday's 2 p.m. game at The Swamp
Georgia Southern Eagles (6-4, 4-4 SoCon) at Florida Gators (4-6, 3-5 SEC)
Saturday, November 23, 2013, 2:07 p.m. ET
Ben Hill Griffin Stadium at Florida Field (88,548/Grass) // Gainesville, Fla.
Tickets: Tickets available by calling 1-800-GSU-WINS through Thursday, Nov. 21 at 5 p.m.
Radio: Georgia Southern Radio Network and online at GSEagles.com
TV: PPV in Florida, ESPN GamePlan, WatchESPN
Florida Media Guide / Georgia Southern Media Guide
Game Notes: Florida / Georgia Southern
Live Stats: GatorZone.com or tinyurl.com/GSUFlivestats
Social Media: Twitter @GSAthletics Facebook.com/GSAthletics
All-Time Series: Florida leads 2-0, 2-0 in Gainesville
First Game: August 30, 1986 (UF win 38-14)
Last Game: Sept. 7, 1996 (UF win 62-14)
Streak: Florida, 2 wins
AUDIO BROADCAST OF GEORGIA SOUTHERN-FLORIDA
An audio broadcast of Saturday's game is available as part of GS All-Access on GSEagles.com with packages varying from a day to a full year. A single-day pass is $5.95 and content can be accessed on all Windows, OSX, iOS and Android devices. Eagle Football fans can catch all the action, as well as pre-game and post-game shows on the Georgia Southern Radio Network. The pre-game show begins two hours before kickoff.
TV BROADCAST AVAILABLE AS PAY-PER-VIEW OR ON ESPN GAMEPLAN
Saturday's game is available as a pay-per-view option in Florida and on ESPN GamePlan throughout the rest of the nation. Larry Vettel calls the play-by-play action with Miami Dolphin Pro-Bowl receiver Nat Moore serving as the analyst. Brady Ackerman will report from the sidelines.
QUICK HITS
The Georgia Southern Alumni Association will hold a social at The Swamp Restaurant Friday night in Gainesville from 6:30-8:30 p.m.... Tailgating with WTOC will also be on site at The Swamp Restaurant Friday night with Tim Guidera and Dal Cannady co-hosting the special broadcast beginning at 7:30 p.m. Friday... Brothers Kurt and Kyle Oehlbeck, from Gainesville are two of the 14 Eagles from the state of Florida... Both of Georgia Southern's retired uniform numbers were worn by Floridians (#3 Adrian Peterson, #8 Tracy Ham)... The Eagles hold a 30-11 mark against football teams from the state of Florida... UF Golf Coach Buddy Alexander is a Georgia Southern graduate and will bring his Gator team to Statesboro for the 35th annual Chris Schenkel Invitational Golf Tournament March 14-16, 2014... The Georgia Southern Track & Field team competes in the Pepsi Florida Relays every spring... Prominent Georgia Southern alumni with ties to the state of Florida include James Kennedy (MBA, retired), who served as the Director of the Kennedy Space Center and Hugh Darley, former Disney Imagineer and CEO and founder of International Design and Entertainment Associates.
SLEEPING WITH THE ENEMY
One University of Florida graduate has the inside track on this weekend's game plan — Beth Monken, wife of Georgia Southern Head Coach Jeff Monken. Beth received both her undergraduate and master's degrees from UF and was a Gator cheerleader, but she'll be in Georgia Southern blue and white on Saturday.
WAVE THE BLUE, WAVE THE WHITE...
Richard Bowles, longtime director of bands at the University of Florida and composer of "The Orange and Blue," is not a well-known name on the Statesboro campus, but the late professor composed the Georgia Southern Fight Song. In 1982, when Georgia Southern was preparing to field its first football team in more than 40 years, Bowles was contacted by Jerry Michaelson, then-band director at Georgia Southern and former student of Bowles, to create the iconic piece. His marches "Burst of Flame" and "A Touch of Jazz" have been performed by bands worldwide. His arrangement of "When the Saints Go Marching In" was used in the 2002 movie "Drumline."
BORDER BROTHERS
Three Georgia Southern football student-athletes have had brothers who have played for Florida. Lester Norwood, brother of current Eagle quarterback Jerick McKinnon, won four letters as free safety for the Gators from 1998-2002. Mike Peterson, brother of the Eagles' Adrian Peterson, played for Steve Spurrier from 1995-1998, and both Petersons were drafted to play for NFL teams. Stan (Georgia Southern longsnapper) and Steve Stipe (Florida linebacker), were on opposite sidelines when the two teams played in 1986.
GEORGIA SOUTHERN-FLORIDA SERIES
Georgia Southern and Florida have met only twice with the Gators winning both games. The top-ranked Eagles, fresh off their first national championship, faced Florida in the 1986 season opener for both schools with Florida winning 38-14. In 1996, Georgia Southern faced the eventual NCAA Division I-A and I-AA national champions in Florida (62-14) and Marshall (29-13) in back-to-back weeks after a season-opening win over South Carolina State.
THE COACHES
A 2012 finalist and 2013 candidate for Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year honors, Jeff Monken is in his fourth year as head coach of the Georgia Southern Football program with a 37-16 record for a 69.8 winning percentage. Monken is one of only two coaches in Eagle Football history, the other his mentor Paul Johnson, to record 10 or more wins in each of the first three years of his tenure. With 24 years of coaching experience, including five years as an assistant coach at Georgia Southern during one of its most successful periods, Monken is prepared to navigate the present and the future for this Eagle Football program.
Starting his coaching career as the defensive coordinator for former Eagle Head Coach Chris Hatcher when he was at Valdosta State, Will Muschamp is in his third year as head coach of Florida. Tabbed the coach-in-waiting and defensive coordinator at the University of Texas in 2008, Muschamp spent eight years coaching in the Southeastern Conference with stops at Auburn and LSU, and was a four-year letterman at safety at the University of Georgia. Like Coach Monken, Muschamp is the son of a football coach. The Gainesville native led his team to a 7-6 mark in his first year, 11-2 record and BCS bowl game in 2012 and is 22-14 (61.1) overall.
STATISTICAL COMPARISON
GSU UF
Overall Record 6-4 4-6
Scoring Avg. 34.2 19
First Downs 218 190
Total Offense Avg. 453.7 332.8
Rushing Yards Avg. 353.5 151.4
Passing Yards Avg. 100.2 181.4
Kickoff Return Avg. 15.8 24.6
Punt Return Avg. 8.3 10.6
Net Punting 36.3 36.5
Time of Possession 31:41 34:44
Third-Down Conversions 68/130 (52%) 61/146 (42%)
Fourth-Down Conversions 9/15 (60%) 8/13 (62%)
Points Allowed Avg. 23.5 19.0
Total Yards Allowed Avg. 453.7 288.6
Rushing Yards Allowed Avg. 160.7 115.1
Passing Yards Allowed Avg. 207.9 173.5
ELLISON NAMED SOCON OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Redshirt freshman quarterback Kevin Ellison racked up 267 yards of total offense and ran for a career-best 163 yards for an 11.6 per-carry average and scored a career-best two rushing touchdowns. Ellison also threw for 104 yards for his third game with at least 100 yards in each category. The Cornelia, Ga., native was named the Southern Conference Offensive Player of the Week for his efforts.
THREE BY TWENTY-TWO
Redshirt freshman running back Irving Huggins had three touchdowns – all two-yard bursts into the endzone – against Elon. The last Eagle to score three rushing touchdowns in a single game was William Banks against St. Francis (Pa.) on September 7, 2013. The last first-year player to have three rushing TDs in a game was Jayson Foster vs. Johnson C. Smith in 2004.
RUSHING IS ROLLING
The Eagles averaged 7.7 yards per rush against the Phoenix on Saturday with 398 yards on 52 carries for the second-highest average per attempt this season. Georgia Southern averaged 8.5 yards per carry against Savannah State in the opener. The 398 rushing yards total is the second highest of the year and the 52 rushing attempts rank as the second-lowest total of the year.
FIRST-YEAR CONTRIBUTIONS
Points scored by first-year Georgia Southern players in the 38-20 victory over Elon. Kevin Ellison added 12 to Irving Huggins' 18 and freshman placekicker Younghoe Koo added eight with a field goal and five point-after kicks.
Saturday, November 23, 2013, 2:07 p.m. ET
Ben Hill Griffin Stadium at Florida Field (88,548/Grass) // Gainesville, Fla.
Tickets: Tickets available by calling 1-800-GSU-WINS through Thursday, Nov. 21 at 5 p.m.
Radio: Georgia Southern Radio Network and online at GSEagles.com
TV: PPV in Florida, ESPN GamePlan, WatchESPN
Florida Media Guide / Georgia Southern Media Guide
Game Notes: Florida / Georgia Southern
Live Stats: GatorZone.com or tinyurl.com/GSUFlivestats
Social Media: Twitter @GSAthletics Facebook.com/GSAthletics
All-Time Series: Florida leads 2-0, 2-0 in Gainesville
First Game: August 30, 1986 (UF win 38-14)
Last Game: Sept. 7, 1996 (UF win 62-14)
Streak: Florida, 2 wins
AUDIO BROADCAST OF GEORGIA SOUTHERN-FLORIDA
An audio broadcast of Saturday's game is available as part of GS All-Access on GSEagles.com with packages varying from a day to a full year. A single-day pass is $5.95 and content can be accessed on all Windows, OSX, iOS and Android devices. Eagle Football fans can catch all the action, as well as pre-game and post-game shows on the Georgia Southern Radio Network. The pre-game show begins two hours before kickoff.
TV BROADCAST AVAILABLE AS PAY-PER-VIEW OR ON ESPN GAMEPLAN
Saturday's game is available as a pay-per-view option in Florida and on ESPN GamePlan throughout the rest of the nation. Larry Vettel calls the play-by-play action with Miami Dolphin Pro-Bowl receiver Nat Moore serving as the analyst. Brady Ackerman will report from the sidelines.
QUICK HITS
The Georgia Southern Alumni Association will hold a social at The Swamp Restaurant Friday night in Gainesville from 6:30-8:30 p.m.... Tailgating with WTOC will also be on site at The Swamp Restaurant Friday night with Tim Guidera and Dal Cannady co-hosting the special broadcast beginning at 7:30 p.m. Friday... Brothers Kurt and Kyle Oehlbeck, from Gainesville are two of the 14 Eagles from the state of Florida... Both of Georgia Southern's retired uniform numbers were worn by Floridians (#3 Adrian Peterson, #8 Tracy Ham)... The Eagles hold a 30-11 mark against football teams from the state of Florida... UF Golf Coach Buddy Alexander is a Georgia Southern graduate and will bring his Gator team to Statesboro for the 35th annual Chris Schenkel Invitational Golf Tournament March 14-16, 2014... The Georgia Southern Track & Field team competes in the Pepsi Florida Relays every spring... Prominent Georgia Southern alumni with ties to the state of Florida include James Kennedy (MBA, retired), who served as the Director of the Kennedy Space Center and Hugh Darley, former Disney Imagineer and CEO and founder of International Design and Entertainment Associates.
SLEEPING WITH THE ENEMY
One University of Florida graduate has the inside track on this weekend's game plan — Beth Monken, wife of Georgia Southern Head Coach Jeff Monken. Beth received both her undergraduate and master's degrees from UF and was a Gator cheerleader, but she'll be in Georgia Southern blue and white on Saturday.
WAVE THE BLUE, WAVE THE WHITE...
Richard Bowles, longtime director of bands at the University of Florida and composer of "The Orange and Blue," is not a well-known name on the Statesboro campus, but the late professor composed the Georgia Southern Fight Song. In 1982, when Georgia Southern was preparing to field its first football team in more than 40 years, Bowles was contacted by Jerry Michaelson, then-band director at Georgia Southern and former student of Bowles, to create the iconic piece. His marches "Burst of Flame" and "A Touch of Jazz" have been performed by bands worldwide. His arrangement of "When the Saints Go Marching In" was used in the 2002 movie "Drumline."
BORDER BROTHERS
Three Georgia Southern football student-athletes have had brothers who have played for Florida. Lester Norwood, brother of current Eagle quarterback Jerick McKinnon, won four letters as free safety for the Gators from 1998-2002. Mike Peterson, brother of the Eagles' Adrian Peterson, played for Steve Spurrier from 1995-1998, and both Petersons were drafted to play for NFL teams. Stan (Georgia Southern longsnapper) and Steve Stipe (Florida linebacker), were on opposite sidelines when the two teams played in 1986.
GEORGIA SOUTHERN-FLORIDA SERIES
Georgia Southern and Florida have met only twice with the Gators winning both games. The top-ranked Eagles, fresh off their first national championship, faced Florida in the 1986 season opener for both schools with Florida winning 38-14. In 1996, Georgia Southern faced the eventual NCAA Division I-A and I-AA national champions in Florida (62-14) and Marshall (29-13) in back-to-back weeks after a season-opening win over South Carolina State.
THE COACHES
A 2012 finalist and 2013 candidate for Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year honors, Jeff Monken is in his fourth year as head coach of the Georgia Southern Football program with a 37-16 record for a 69.8 winning percentage. Monken is one of only two coaches in Eagle Football history, the other his mentor Paul Johnson, to record 10 or more wins in each of the first three years of his tenure. With 24 years of coaching experience, including five years as an assistant coach at Georgia Southern during one of its most successful periods, Monken is prepared to navigate the present and the future for this Eagle Football program.
Starting his coaching career as the defensive coordinator for former Eagle Head Coach Chris Hatcher when he was at Valdosta State, Will Muschamp is in his third year as head coach of Florida. Tabbed the coach-in-waiting and defensive coordinator at the University of Texas in 2008, Muschamp spent eight years coaching in the Southeastern Conference with stops at Auburn and LSU, and was a four-year letterman at safety at the University of Georgia. Like Coach Monken, Muschamp is the son of a football coach. The Gainesville native led his team to a 7-6 mark in his first year, 11-2 record and BCS bowl game in 2012 and is 22-14 (61.1) overall.
STATISTICAL COMPARISON
GSU UF
Overall Record 6-4 4-6
Scoring Avg. 34.2 19
First Downs 218 190
Total Offense Avg. 453.7 332.8
Rushing Yards Avg. 353.5 151.4
Passing Yards Avg. 100.2 181.4
Kickoff Return Avg. 15.8 24.6
Punt Return Avg. 8.3 10.6
Net Punting 36.3 36.5
Time of Possession 31:41 34:44
Third-Down Conversions 68/130 (52%) 61/146 (42%)
Fourth-Down Conversions 9/15 (60%) 8/13 (62%)
Points Allowed Avg. 23.5 19.0
Total Yards Allowed Avg. 453.7 288.6
Rushing Yards Allowed Avg. 160.7 115.1
Passing Yards Allowed Avg. 207.9 173.5
ELLISON NAMED SOCON OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Redshirt freshman quarterback Kevin Ellison racked up 267 yards of total offense and ran for a career-best 163 yards for an 11.6 per-carry average and scored a career-best two rushing touchdowns. Ellison also threw for 104 yards for his third game with at least 100 yards in each category. The Cornelia, Ga., native was named the Southern Conference Offensive Player of the Week for his efforts.
THREE BY TWENTY-TWO
Redshirt freshman running back Irving Huggins had three touchdowns – all two-yard bursts into the endzone – against Elon. The last Eagle to score three rushing touchdowns in a single game was William Banks against St. Francis (Pa.) on September 7, 2013. The last first-year player to have three rushing TDs in a game was Jayson Foster vs. Johnson C. Smith in 2004.
RUSHING IS ROLLING
The Eagles averaged 7.7 yards per rush against the Phoenix on Saturday with 398 yards on 52 carries for the second-highest average per attempt this season. Georgia Southern averaged 8.5 yards per carry against Savannah State in the opener. The 398 rushing yards total is the second highest of the year and the 52 rushing attempts rank as the second-lowest total of the year.
FIRST-YEAR CONTRIBUTIONS
Points scored by first-year Georgia Southern players in the 38-20 victory over Elon. Kevin Ellison added 12 to Irving Huggins' 18 and freshman placekicker Younghoe Koo added eight with a field goal and five point-after kicks.
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