STATESBORO - The Georgia Southern football team kicks off the 2025 season Saturday evening at Fresno State. The first meeting between the two teams also marks the first time the football team has played in California.

For the first time in Georgia Southern head coach Clay Helton’s tenure, the question of starting quarterback is a settled issue. The Eagles return J.C. French, and Helton said the biggest difference is the maturity and growth French has gone through since his season debut last year against Boise State.

The Eagles fell 56-45 to Boise in their 2024 opener, and lost their bowl game to Sam Houston State 31-26. But in between, French led the Eagles to eight wins in 11 games.

“Reps as a college quarterback are so important and to have a guy who went 6-2 in conference play last year and came about one play away from leading us to a conference title game is huge,” Helton said. “He just has such a sense of urgency this year. I remember him coming off the field after the bowl game last year and saying ‘as long as we are together, that will never happen again.’ He has had a chip on his shoulder from that day on. He is in the best shape of his life and has matured so much.”

Since the Eagles play Southern California the following week, their first visit to the West Coast will be extended. They won’t be returning to Statesboro between games. With a long trip and an extended stay for the Eagles, Helton is happy to have a seasoned team to understand the importance of remembering this is a business trip.

“I have been coaching for 31 years, and this is one of the most mature groups I have ever had,” he said. “This has been a three-year project of acquiring high school players, growing them up and retaining them. What you see are third, fourth- and fifth-year players that know our system and understand our standards.”

Among those is junior receiver Josh Dallas, who will be counted on for his talents on the field, but is also proud to have been named as one of the captains this season.

“It is a childhood dream to be named as a captain of a Division 1 football team,” Dallas said. “It is even more special at Georgia Southern. Since I came in as a freshman, I saw the leaders before me and I don’t know that I would have believed as a freshman that I’d be a captain here. It is a huge honor that I will carry the rest of my life. I told my dad the other night that if I never score another touchdown at Georgia Southern, the fact that I have a C on my chest, especially at a place like this, means the world to me.”

Fresno State started the season early with a 31-7 loss to Kansas last weekend. First-year head coach Matt Entz team struggled to run the ball and had trouble against the run. The son of former NFL quarterback Kurt Warner, Fresno quarterback E.J. Warner, who was recruited by Georgia Southern, was pressured all game and threw two interceptions. Helton says that will be what the Eagles will try to do Saturday as well.

Kansas held Fresno to 216 total yards.

“You saw the blueprint, as Kansas was really efficient on first and second down,” Helton said. “The saying is stop the run and have some fun on third down, so that’s what we hope to do. When Kansas marched down the field running the ball and hitting short passes, they were successful. On defense, when they forced Fresno into third and long, they gave them trouble as well. We saw the blueprint last week with Kansas and hopefully we can follow that.”

With a few new faces on defense, having good communication could be a key to the Eagles’ success Saturday.

“We have built a lot of trust with getting to know each other and to be in the right places,” said Eagles defensive lineman Jacob Ferguson. “We have built a camaraderie off the field, and you can see it helping us on the field as well. I trust completely that the guy beside me is going to play to the best of his ability and that goes on down to the second and third string as well.”

Georgia Southern and Fresno State are scheduled for a 9:30 p.m. ET start and the game can be viewed on FS1.