BOONE, N.C. — A battle of Sun Belt unbeatens takes place Thursday night in Statesboro, Ga., where No. 25 Appalachian State (5-1, 3-0) will face Georgia Southern (6-1, 3-0) in Paulson Stadium.
Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. on ESPNU.
Today, we'll look at how the offense from App State matches up against the defense from Georgia Southern:
App State Offense vs. Georgia Southern Defense
To a degree, the Mountaineers will be looking in the mirror, and Georgia Southern's defense has thrived at forcing turnovers by putting the single "T" in TO.
Bryan Brown is the successful first-year coordinator of App State's 3-4 defense, which ranks as one of the nation's best units in several categories. Also a cornerbacks coach, Brown worked alongside safeties coach Scot Sloan in Boone before Sloan became the Eagles' defensive coordinator on former App State assistant Chad Lunsford's staff in Statesboro.
With
Zac Thomas at quarterback and underclassmen such as
Darrynton Evans and
Marcus Williams Jr. leading the way at running back, the Mountaineers are fifth nationally with only six turnovers. They've lost only two fumbles, a total that's sixth nationally.
Georgia Southern has recovered nine fumbles (of 14 forced) and intercepted eight passes in its first year in Sloan's 3-4 defense.
With so many turnovers forced, the Eagles allow 19.3 points per game (No. 24 nationally, 13 spots behind App State) and 367.6 yards (No. 53 nationally, 45 spots behind App State).
"We're very familiar with their defense, and they've done a great job this year," App State head coach
Scott Satterfield said. "They keep everything in front of them, and they don't give up many big plays. They're running to the football and are good tacklers."
Georgia Southern attempts to control the clock with its option offense, so turnovers can be particularly costly against the Eagles' defense.
South Carolina State and UMass had only nine possessions apiece in Georgia Southern's first two games, and the Eagles limited Arkansas State to 10 possessions in a 28-21 victory against the Red Wolves.
App State's league games have included 12 offensive possessions against South Alabama, 14 against Arkansas State and 12 against Louisiana. Defenses often stacked the box against the Mountaineers during nonconference play, creating opportunities for big gains in the passing game, and the Mountaineers have put up big numbers on the ground in their Sun Belt matchups. They have rushed for 348, 246 and 266 yards in their three league victories, and Georgia Southern is allowing 148.1 rushing yards per game.
