Jerry Moore has been the Appalachian State coach since 1989, so he has seen a lot of great Georgia Southern teams over the years.
There was the Division I-AA (now FCS) championship team in 1989, Erk Russell’s last season as Georgia Southern coach. There have been three other national champions (1990, ’99 and 2000) in that time and five other teams that won the Southern Conference before making postseason runs.
With No. 1 Georgia Southern (7-0, 5-0 Southern) heading to Boone, N.C., on Saturday to face fifth-ranked Appalachian State (5-2, 3-1), does Moore think these Eagles also have a championship look?
“They are a very good football team,” Moore said. “Whether they are national champion like those other teams they’ve had down there, who knows? Only time will tell that. There are always things that can happen.
“But Georgia Southern is kind of back on track, and they were never too far off, to be honest.”
Some relatively lean years for Georgia Southern coincided with Appalachian State’s rise under Moore. The Mountaineers won three consecutive FCS championships from 2005-07 and are the three-time defending conference champions.
But the Eagles gave Appalachian first notice last season that they are ready to challenge them in the conference again. The Eagles, under first-year coach Jeff Monken, ambushed No. 1 Appalachian State 21-14 in Statesboro after falling behind 14-0.
That was the first of six consecutive victories for the Eagles, who returned to the FCS playoffs for the first time since 2005.
“If [the players] didn’t have sense of loyalty that I think our team has developed, the sense of team, they could have folded,” Monken said. “I think our guys really believed they were capable of playing great, championship-level football. It was a great confidence booster for our team.”
The Eagles have been ranked No. 1 since the second week of the season. They defeated Presbyterian 48-14 last weekend in what Monken said was a “very professional effort,” considering the risk of looking ahead to Appalachian.
Monken restored Georgia Southern’s traditional triple-option offense. The Eagles ranked fourth in FCS with 268 rushing yards per game last season and lead with 369.7 yards per game this season.
“I think that’s a little bit their personality,” Moore said. “You can go back to Erk Russell, Paul [Johnson]. ... The people there believe in that. It’s exciting. It’s a good offense. You get caught up a little bit in their offense, but they’ve always played really good defense, too.”
Morehouse eyes bid
Morehouse coach Rich Freeman has told his players they still have a shot at making the NCAA Division II playoffs even if they don’t win the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference championship.
“If we win out, we are 8-1 [in Division II games] and we will be able to go to the playoffs,” Freeman said after Morehouse turned back Benedict’s upset bid last weekend.
But the initial NCAA regional rankings showed that the Maroon Tigers (6-2, 4-1 SIAC) still have work to do. Morehouse is ranked No. 8, and the top six teams in the final rankings will earn playoff invitations.
Morehouse’s strength of schedule, one of the criteria used for the selection committee, should improve if the Maroon Tigers and Albany State (6-2, 4-1) keep winning. Albany State, which beat Morehouse this season, is No. 6 in Super Region Two.
However, if Albany State loses again and Morehouse wins its final two games, the Maroon Tigers would earn a spot in the SIAC title game. That could mean a chance to beat Stillman, which is ranked No. 8 in Super Region 2.
“That’s what we are waiting on, to see what happens, especially the last game of the year with [Albany playing at] Fort Valley State,” Freeman said. “But before we get to thinking about that, we have got to win.”
Morehouse will play at Fort Valley State (2-6, 2-3) on Saturday. When the SIAC decided to split into divisions this season, a scheduling quirk resulted in Morehouse going to Fort Valley for a second consecutive season.
Etc.
Valdosta State’s 36-33 loss to top-ranked Delta State on Saturday didn’t do much damage to its standing. The Blazers (6-2) are ranked No. 3 in Super Region II. ... Albany State kicker Brandon Hamilton (Cross Keys) was named the SIAC special-teams player of the week. He made four field goals to lead the Golden Rams to a 19-13 victory over Clark Atlanta on Saturday.
Quotable
“Punting is an outlet for me. If I’m angry, upset or got a lot of stuff on my mind, I’ll go to music and I’ll go to my punting. After the game, if I punt, it’s usually after we lost the game.” — Fort Valley State punter Marquette King, to the Macon Telegraph. King ranks fifth in Division II with an average of 43.8 yards.
By the numbers
0 Punts by Georgia Southern during its 48-14 victory over Presbyterian on Saturday. The Eagles kicked field goals on the three fourth downs they faced.
18 Plays run by Delta State during its game-winning drive against Valdosta State. Brant Botill scored on a 3-yard touchdown run with 40 seconds left for the 36-33 victory.
Saturday’s schedule
Albany State vs. Benedict College, 2 p.m.
Clark Atlanta at Tuskegee, 2 p.m.
Savannah State vs. Hampton, 2 p.m.
West Georgia at Valdosta State, 2 p.m.
Georgia Southern at Appalachian State, 3 p.m.
Morehouse at Fort Valley State, 6 p.m.
