SoCon Notebook: Week Three Previews (Part 2)

Western Carolina (0-2, 0-0) at Georgia Southern (1-1, 0-0)

— Georgia Southern and Western Carolina will kick off SoCon play on Saturday evening at Allen E. Paulson Stadium, where the Catamounts have never claimed a victory. This will mark the 20th meeting between the two SoCon rivals, with the Eagles holding a commanding 17-2 all-time advantage in the series, including having won 14 straight.

A win by the Eagles this evening will tie the league’s longest active streak of consecutive victories over an opponent, as the Furman Paladins defeated the Chattanooga Mocs for the 15th straight time last Saturday in the Scenic City. The last time the Eagles dropped a game to the Catamounts was way back in 1994, when the Catamounts were able to notch a thrilling 35-31 win on that particular Saturday.

Though the Catamounts have never claimed a victory in Statesboro, they have come close on a couple of occassions, getting clipped by the Eagles, 19-18, in 1993, and dropping a hard-fought, 31-25, decision a decade later.

— Both teams are coming off difficult losses, with the Catamounts suffering a 27-20 home-opener loss to Gardner-Webb last week. Georgia Southern went on the road for the first time in the ‘09 season last Saturday, visiting nationally ranked South Dakota State and came away 44-6 losers to the Jackrabbits.

It was Georgia Southern’s lowest point total in a loss since getting blanked 45-0 on the road in the FCS playoffs to eventual national champion Montana. The Georgia Southern offensive line was accountable for nine sacks in last Saturday’s debacle in Brookings, S.D.

— The two teams produced one of the greatest games in Southern Conference history last season. The Eagles, who were trailing 31-3 with a little over 11 minutes remaining in the game, reeled off 28 unanswered points to force overtime and proceeded to win the game on their first offensive possession in the overtime after recovering a Western Carolina fumble. Georgia Southern running back Adam Urbano ripped off a 25-yard TD run to deliver the Eagles a 38-31 win, which accounted for the largest come-from-behind victory in SoCon history.

— Georgia Southern comes into Saturday evening’s SoCon opener led by one of the league’s emerging signal-callers, sophomore Lee Chapple, who has already produced a streak of 18-consecutive pass completions this season.

In ‘09, Chapple has connected on 55 of 82 pass attempts for 433 yards, two TDs and three interceptions. In last season’s victory over the Catamounts, it was Chapple’s coming-out party, as he was simply brilliant in the second half. Chapple shared time with starter Antonio, completing 10-of-14 passes for 140 yards, with a TD pass and an interception. Chapple also rushed for 14 yards in the amazing comeback.

— The Eagles are led on the ground by sophomore running back Adam Urbano, who has rushed for 75 yards on 11 attempts this season. He’s averaging an impressive 6.8 YPC. The running game must show improvement Saturday evening if the Eagles hope to keep their streak intact against the Catamounts.

The Eagles were limited to just 11 total rushing yards in last week’s loss at South Dakota State. Urbano was the Eagles' leading rusher in last season’s victory over Western Carolina in Cullowhee, finishing that afternoon with 83 yards on 11 rush attempts, including the all-important game-winning score in overtime. Urbano also catches the ball extremely well out of the backfield for the Eagles, having hauled in 11 passes for 72 yards in ‘09. 

— Another significant part of the the Georgia Southern running game this fall could be Dameion Robinson. The grayshirt freshman was one of the most impressive young players on the offensive side of the football during fall camp. The 5'9" 185-pound product of Bishop, Ga., ranks as Georgia Southern’s second-leading rusher, rushing for 55 yards on 13 attempts so far in ‘09. Robinson has also caught 11 passes for 12 yards this season.

— The Georgia Southern offensive line has four starters returning from a year ago, including three senior veterans. The Eagles offensive line is anchored by senior offensive tackle Cole Fountain, who garnered preseason Second Team All-SoCon accolades.

Trey Dunmon started eight games at center last season. Fifth-year senior Jonathan Loving, who started all 11 games as a member of the defensive line last fall, returned to his original right guard position on the offensive line, which he held down early in his Georgia Southern career.

— Leading the receiving options so far in ‘09 for Georgia Southern has been freshman wideout Jamere Valentine. Valentine earned SoCon Freshman-of-the-Week accolades for his efforts in the season-opening win over Albany. Valentine caught six passes for 79 yards in the season-opening 29-26 win over Albany.

He produced perhaps Georgia Southern’s offensive highlight of the season, with a one-handed grab on a 26-yard TD pass from Chapple. Valentine is also Georgia Southern’s leading receiver this season, with 11 receptions for 124 yards and two TDs, averaging 11.3 YPR.

— Two other receivers that have yet to really get going this season are Mitch Williford and Garryon Taylor. Both Williford and Taylor have identical statistics this season, with eight receptions for 83 yards.

— One of the concerns on defense for Georgia Southern entering the ‘09 season was the defensive line. The line had to replace the league’s leader in quarterback sacks, Dakota Walker at defensive end, and Damon Suggs, a veteran defensive tackle.

Leading the new line so far in ‘09 have been veteran senior defensive end Harland Bower and redshirt freshman defensive tackle Brent Russell. Bower, a former linebacker, has 10 tackles, 2.5 tackles-for-loss, and a sack this season. Russell has put up the most impressive defensive totals of any of the players along the Georgia Southern defensive front this season, recording 13 tackles, 1.5 tackles-for-loss and a blocked kick.

— The Eagles had a young defense in ‘08 that was able to make some noise, with Dion Dubose being one of those young players at middle linebacker that garnered SoCon All-Freshman team accolades. Dubose currently leads the Eagles defense in tackles, with 24 stops and half-a-tackle-for-loss.

— Joining Dubose in the linebacking unit this fall will be veteran linebacker Terrione Benefield. Benefield is off to a slow start this season, with only four tackles in two games.

— The Georgia Southern secondary is another extremely young unit on the defensive side of the ball, anchored by a talented trio of sophomores in K.R. Snipes, Derek Heyden and Darrel Pasco. Heyden has put together the best season of the three thus far, ranking second on the team’s tackle ledger, with 14 tackles to go along with a pass break-up.

K.R. Snipes and Darrel Pasco were both All-Freshman selections last season for GSU. Snipes is off to another fast start in ‘09, having recorded 12 tackles, a tackle-for-loss, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery. Pasco has registered 10 tackles, a pass break-up and a fumble recovery.

— Darius Eubanks and LaRon Scott round out the starters in the Georgia Southern secondary. Eubanks will start at the "rover" safety position for the Eagles, while Scott will hold down one of the cornerback positions. Eubanks has put up some solid totals so far in ‘09, having contributed 10 tackles, half-a-tackle-for-loss and a pass break-up. Scott is also off to a strong start in the ‘09 season, having contributed nine tackles and returned an interception 15 yards for a TD in the season-opener.

— Western Carolina is off to an 0-2 start for the second time in the past three seasons and will be looking to avoid getting off to an 0-1 start for the fourth-straight season.

— After being shutout in the season-opener against Vanderbilt, the Western Carolina offense rebounded to turn out a pretty solid performance last Saturday in a 27-20 home-opening loss to Gardner-Webb. The Catamounts were actually able to out-gain the Bulldogs by a 349-320 margin in the victory.

— The Western Carolina offense is led by sophomore quarterback Zach Jaynes, who took over the starting job for the Catamounts midway through the ‘08 season. In last season’s heartbreaking setback to Georgia Southern, Jaynes put forth a solid performance as he connected on 13-of-35 passes for 144 yards and two TDs without throwing an interception.

In two games this season, Jaynes has completed 34-of-57 passes for 351 yards, two TDs and an interception. He’s currently helping orchestrate an offense that’s averaging 217.5 YPG. this season, with 175.0 of that yardage coming through the air.

— Jaynes’ favorite target in the passing game this season has been Marquel Pittman, and the junior wideout has some of the best hands of any receiver in the SoCon. Pittman had a big night in last Saturday's setback to Gardner-Webb as he was able to haul in nine passes for 113 yards and a couple of TDs.

In all this season, Pittman has caught 11 passes for 133 yards and a couple of TDs, averaging 12.1 YPR. With his performance last Saturday, Pittman eclipsed the 1,000-yard receiving milestone for his career and has 1,192 receiving yards in his third season with the program.

— One of the better young receivers that will team with Pittman at wide receiver Saturday night is redshirt sophomore Josh Cockrell. Cockrell is the Catamounts’ second-leading receiver this fall, having caught four passes for 72 yards, averaging an impressive 18.0 YPR.

— In two games this season, the Catamounts have struggled to really get anything accomplished in the running game. Leading the running game in ‘09 has been impressive freshman running back Michael Johnson. The 5'11", 200-pound battering ram leads the Catamounts in rushing this fall, having amassed 74 yards on 23 carries. Western Carolina is still in search of its first rushing score of the ‘09 season.

— The offensive line, which welcomed back three starters for the ‘09 season, is anchored by senior center Victor Aquilina and junior left tackle Matt Winter. Both players are all-conference-caliber performers.

— The defensive line was dealt a blow with the graduation of all-conference defensive tackle Jeff Bradley, but the Catamounts have a couple of seniors on the defensive interior that are two of the veteran leaders of the purple and gold defense.

Gene Singletary and Justin Collins anchor a strong defensive interior for Western Carolina. Singletary has eight tackles and a couple of tackles-for-loss so far this fall, while Collins has chipped in with six tackles on the young season.

— A strong linebacking corps has been led by middle linebacker Ricky Schwarz in ‘09. The 6'1", 210-pound sophomore is the team’s leading tackler so far this fall, contributing 21 stops and a tackle-for-loss.

— Schwarz team’s with two of the best flanking linebackers in the SoCon, as both Chris Collins and Adrian McLeod are both legitimate all-league performers. Collins, a defensive ball-hawk, has 20 tackles, three tackles-for-loss, a sack and a forced fumble already this fall. He has now forced seven fumbles in his Catamount career, including forcing six alone last fall. McLeod, a senior weakside ‘backer, has 19 tackles and half-a-tackle-for-loss this fall.

— The secondary is also an experienced unit, anchored by senior cornerback Antoine George and free safety Mitchell Bell, who are both all-league candidates. George has racked up 15 tackles and blocked a kick so far this eason, while Bell has recorded 13 tackles and broken up a pass this season. 

Final Analysis and Prediction

— This is a huge game for both the Catamounts and the Eagles, who are both coming off what are seemingly demoralizing losses. Both Western Carolina and Georgia Southern, therefore, know how important it is to put last week behind them and get focused on getting off to a 1-0 start in league play.

With an 0-9 record all-time in Statesboro, it’s no secret that the Catamounts have had trouble winning in Allen E. Paulson Stadium. However, the Eagles are no longer the juggernaut they once were inside the friendly confines, having lost six of eight home games to conference opponents over the past two seasons.

That includes a loss to Chattanooga in 2007, who had never won in Statesboro previously—just like Western Carolina. With the 44-6 loss to South Dakota State last Saturday and a struggle to win the opener against Albany, the problems may be more pronounced than first realized in South Georgia. Dennis Wagner will have the purple and gold hungry to avenge last season’s heartbreaking defeat, and that’s just what they will do by shocking the Eagles.

Western Carolina 24, Georgia Southern 20