STATESBORO — It’s been a rough November for Georgia Southern’s secondary.
The Eagles started the month ranked fourth in the Football Championship Subdivision in pass defense — allowing 147.75 passing yards a game.
Equally impressive was a pass efficiency defense that rated ninth in the nation at 107.21.
But in its last three games, Southern’s secondary has allowed 383 passing yards and three touchdowns to Appalachian State, 259 yards and a touchdown to Howard and 354 yards and five touchdowns to Georgia.
Now the Eagles rank 63rd among 121 FCS teams in pass efficiency defense (128.28 rating) and 41st in pass defense (198.0 yards per game)
But there is good news for Georgia Southern against its second-round playoff opponent Central Arkansas, another team that likes to throw.
Kickoff is Saturday, Dec. 1.
“There’s no secret, we have to improve,” Eagles defensive coordinator Jack Curtis said. “We’ve made some plays back there, but we have to prevent the big play. That’s been our Achilles heel.”
Appalachian State receiver Sean Price said GSU defensive backs were overly aggressive in their Nov. 3 matchup. And when a Mountaineer receiver beat an Eagle defender, it often resulted in a big play.
Same thing happened at Georgia where the Bulldogs had six pass plays of 20 or more yards. Quarterback Aaron Murray threw four touchdown passes in a span of 12 minutes and 25 seconds and before you could say “chop block” a 10-7 UGA lead ballooned to 38-7.
Before the November knockdowns, Georgia Southern’s rebuilt secondary was holding up just fine. The unit lost three starters from 2011 including NFLer Laron Scott, but strategic changes appeared to make the group stronger.
Senior J.J. Wilcox moved from slotback to strong safety, and linebacker Darius Eubanks moved to free safety.
Lavelle Westbrooks shifted from safety to corner, and Valdon Cooper took over at the other corner after transferring from Illinois.
“Everything concerns me when we don’t do it perfect,” GSU coach Jeff Monken said. “We’ve made some mistakes in the secondary, but those are easy to see. When a guy makes a mistake back there, it’s magnified. We have some good athletes back there. They’re going to be fine.”
Southland Conference champion Central Arkansas is next in line to try and take advantage of the air waves.
The Bears, led by standout quarterback Wynrick Smothers, threw for 268 yards a game (22nd in the FCS) with a pass efficiency rating of 152.46 (eighth in the FCS).
Smothers, the Southland’s offensive player of the year, had 2,852 passing yards and 31 touchdowns with just nine interceptions.
Three Central receivers caught 50 or more balls.
“You have to get mentally ready,” Wilcox said. “The Southern Conference has run-heavy teams. Appalachian State did a great job finding weaknesses in our defense, and they capitalized. That’s college football.”
Injury report
A bye week came at a good time for Georgia Southern. Monken said several players who have been slowed by injuries should be a full strength Saturday.
Reserve quarterback Ezayi Youyoute (ankle) and all-conference offensive tackle Dorian Byrd (ankle) could be back for the Bears on Saturday.
Cooper suffered a dislocated finger against Georgia and missed much of the second half but has worked out and will play against Central Arkansas.
GSU holiday gifts
Former-Georgia Southern star running back Adrian Peterson has an autobiographical book “Don’t Dis My Abilities” is on sale at the University Store for $23.99 or online at gsustore.com. Autographed copies are available for $38.99.
Along with tales of key moments in GSU football history, Peterson brings attention to on-going challenges with stuttering and standing in faith through his infant daughter’s medical crisis.
The foreword is written by Tracy Ham.
Also, the second set of Georgia Southern’s custom dark blue camo jerseys went up for auction Monday. The proceeds will be donated to the school’s Military Resource Center and ROTC Eagle Battalion. The bidding starts at $200 for any jersey. The current auction of 27 jerseys ends Sunday.
GSU wore similar jerseys during its 17-9 victory over Wofford on Oct. 13, marking the first time the Eagles wore colors other than blue or white.
The list of jerseys can be viewed at charityauctionstoday.com/store/GSUAthleticFoundation.
And fans can register to bid on any of the available numbers. The number-1 jersey went for $1,400.
This and that
Georgia Southern pocketed $475,000 to play Georgia in Athens on Nov. 17. The Eagles meet Florida next year, LSU in 2014, Georgia Tech in 2015 and Georgia again in 2016. … In his last four games, GSU quarterback Jerick McKinnon has run for 569 yards and eight touchdowns and thrown for two other touchdowns. … Georgia Southern leads the FCS in rushing offense with 392.18 yards a game. The Eagles have finished eight seasons as the division’s rushing leader since 1989.
CENTRAL ARKANSAS AT GEORGIA SOUTHERN
Records: Central Arkansas (9-2, 6-1 Southland Conference), Georgia Southern (8-3, 6-2 Southern Conference)
When: 2 p.m. Saturday
Where: Paulson Stadium, Statesboro
TV/radio: No TV/WZAT 102.1 FM in Savannah; WBMZ 103.7 FM in Statesboro
ON THE WEB
Go to savannahnow.com/sports to watch a video of Georgia Southern coach Jeff Monken talking about Saturday’s matchup with Central Arkansas.