STATESBORO — For top-ranked Georgia Southern, the scenario is simple. Win today against Appalachian State, and the Eagles are Southern Conference champions for the second straight season.
The Mountaineers also have conference championship aspirations, but getting there is anything but simple. ASU must win today and later in the season needs Chattanooga to defeat Wofford.
But each path to a championship starts the same way for the Eagles and Mountaineers: Win today at 2 p.m. in Paulson Stadium.
Appalachian State, ranked No. 14, has been one of Southern’s toughest opponents. The Mountaineers have won five of their last seven games against the Eagles, including last season 24-17 in Boone, N.C., when Southern was also No. 1 in the FCS.
“They’re a well-coached, talented football team, and they made a bunch of plays,” GSU coach Jeff Monken said. “We didn’t run the ball effectively and a lot of it had to do with them. They were doing a good job shutting us down.
“Defensively, we didn’t do a bad job, but they hit us with a couple of big plays.”
Wide receiver Brian Quick came up with two back-breaking touchdown receptions, but he won’t be a concern of the Eagles. Quick finished his eligibility last season and was a second-round pick of the St. Louis Rams.
But ASU continues to give opposing defensive coordinators trouble. The Mountaineers are led by sophomore quarterback Jamal Jackson, who has thrown for 2,190 yards and 15 touchdowns.
Jackson suffered a knee injury last week against Western Carolina but is expected back today.
ASU’s running game is led by senior running back Steven Miller, who has 1,077 yards. Sean Price paces the team with 51 receptions for 683 yards and seven touchdowns.
The Appalachian victory avenged Georgia Southern’s win over the top-ranked Mountaineers in Paulson Stadium in 2010.
The Eagles came up with a sterling defensive effort that day, forcing a fumble on the final play of overtime to clinch the game.
It started GSU’s winning streak of 14 games at Paulson and began a run of 24 victories in 29 games, including two trips to the FCS Final Four.
The Eagles enter today’s game with a 7-1 record, 6-1 in conference play. They’ve won six in a row, but have been tested. They rallied in the second half to beat Furman 38-17 in Greenville, S.C., two weeks ago.
Southern was pushed to three overtimes on the road against Chattanooga in a 39-31 win last week.
Junior quarterback Jerick McKinnon, who has a team-high 734 rushing yards with eight touchdowns, has been GSU’s offensive catalyst since being injected into the starting lineup in the third game of the season against Elon.
Southern’s triple-option offense is second nationally, producing 387.1 rushing yards a game. The Eagles can be encouraged knowing the Mountaineers played a couple of their worst defensive games against triple-option teams.
ASU lost to The Citadel 52-28 and Wofford 38-28.
“I think The Citadel game, things just got away from them,” Monken said. “But I thought they played Wofford tough.”
APPALACHIAN STATE AT GEORGIA SOUTHERN
Records: Appalachian State (6-3, 4-2 SoCon); Georgia Southern (7-1, 6-1 SoCon)
When: 2 p.m. today
Where: Paulson Stadium, Statesboro
TV/online/radio: No TV/ESPN3/WZAT 102.1 FM in Savannah; WBMZ 103.7 FM in Statesboro
ON THE WEB
Go to SavannahNow.com/sports to see a video of GSU coach Jeff Monken talking about the Eagles matchup with Appalachian State.