After a thorough win over Charleston Southern in their opener, the Georgia Southern Eagles defense looked to have taken a step forward – but there may be still some work to do on offense.
The Eagles, who thumped the visiting Buccaneers 31-0 last week, face a more stringent task tonight against Clemson (0-1), a two-time FBS national champion under coach Dabo Swinney. Kickoff at Memorial Stadium in Clemson is set for 7:30 p.m.
Eagles head coach Clay Helton liked his defense’s aggressiveness throughout the opener and thought the team responded to defensive coordinator Mike Mutz’s schemes. There was much for Helton to like from his offense in the first quarter, with touchdowns on the first three drives, and the start of the third quarter – but the offense also missed some opportunities.
“We left too much meat on the bone Saturday,” Helton said. “We started the game in a great flow and Max Johnson was very efficient, but we have to finish drives and get points when we have opportunities. I told the team this is a good starting point, but it is not the finish line.”
Though the Tigers suffered a resounding opening 51-10 loss to No. 8 LSU, Helton knows this will be a difficult challenge for his squad.
“Dabo Swinney has done a magnificent job of in his career is having his teams ready for adversity and how they respond to adversity,” Helton said. “He is still one of only two coaches in FBS right now to have two national championships. He will have his team prepared and have worked on some things they struggled with from Saturday.”
Johnson faced Clemson last year when he was at North Carolina. He went 26 for 42 passing for 213 yards and had 10 yards rushing in a game played in Chapel Hill. While this year may have a few different faces, Johnson believes his experience against the Tigers could be a benefit.
“I think I can take what I learned last year with the kind of coverages they run. They have a really good defense with their three guys up front,” he said.
Johnson, who played at North Oconee High School, also is friends with Clemson standout linebacker Sammy Brown, who played at Jefferson High School.
and I am with their linebacker Sammy Brown and I am looking forward to competing with these guys.”
The Eagle players know they don’t have the same personnel as LSU but defensive back Aaron Sears was intrigued by what he saw watching the game and thinks the Clemson offense may be vulnerable.
“Some of the things I saw from their offense had me smiling and I was pretty happy about,” Sears said. “A game like this is one of the reasons I came to Georgia Southern. I came here to play on the biggest stage and display my talent, so I am excited to show what I can do on this level.”
The Tigers gave up 644 total yards with 335 through the air and 309 yards on the ground. Helton knows they will be better on both sides of the ball this Saturday.
“Teams make the most growth between games one and two,” Helton said. “I expect a much different team this week. You look at their personnel and it is so impressive. They have weapons on offense - I think they just never got in a flow with the two quarterbacks, but I expect that area to really improve this week as well.”
Georgia Southern and Clemson can be seen on the ACC Network.