Five Key Takeaways After Week One
Photo from Georgia Southern Athletics
After a tough 56-45 loss to Boise State to open the 2024 season, the Eagles have a lot of work to do before heading out west to face Nevada next week. Here are five key takeaways after Week One:
1) The Georgia Southern defense looks slightly improved in the secondary, but the front seven got dominated.
Boise State RB Ashton Jeanty, who may be a Heisman contender, ran 20 times for 267 yards and 6 touchdowns which is a school record and RB Sire Gaines cleared the century mark as he had 100 yards and a touchdown of his own
Boise State QB Maddux Madsen completed 22/31 passes for 280 yards and a touchdown but did throw one interception as he was picked off by DB Tyrell Davis
No team is going to win many games giving up 651 yards off total offense
2) The Eagles passing offense looks very good, but the run game is almost nonexistent except in goal line situations.
QB JC French completed 28/50 pass for 322 yards, and two touchdowns and also added 39 rushing yards and a touchdown
RB Jalen White only got 11 touches in the game and ran for just 35 yards but he did finish off drives with 3 short touchdowns in goal line situations which was good to see
Play calling must be more balanced and Jalen White needs to be utilized more for long term success this season
3) The Eagles offense looked great on 3rd Down
The Eagles offense was 12/19 (63%) on 3rd Down
Putting drives together, converting on third down, and scoring 45 points should be enough to win games but the defense was just that bad against Boise State
4) K Gavin Stewart should be a weapon in the kicking game this season
Stewart was 1/1 FG and 4/4 XP in Week One
He does a great job of placing the ball where he wants it on kickoffs and has great hang time on kicks to allow his coverage team to make plays
5) The Eagles defensive line is undisciplined in gap assignments and the whole defensive unit needs to work on tackling
The Eagles defense gave up two 75+ yard touchdown runs to Ashton Jeanty and both were because the defensive line didn’t fill gaps and the second level missed tackles
Nearly any FBS running back can run through arm tackles, so it is crucial for the defense to use proper form and wrap up the ball carrier
The team should have a lively week of practice before packing the plane to head to Nevada. Nevada has played two games already because they participated in Week 0 against SMU. They are 1-1 with a close loss to SMU and a 28-26 win over Troy on the road. Nevada is much improved from last season and this game is not going to be easy for the Eagles, but is teetering on “must win” territory. After the second half of last season, starting 0-2 gets into decision making time for the administration.
