2017 First Glance: Week Four Georgia Southern Eagles
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Seth Shuman is a two-sport athlete and should be the starter against Indiana Image: Georgia Southern Athletics
Written By Sammy Jacobs (@Hoosier_Huddle)
As we get deeper into June we are now reaching Week Four of the 2017 season in our First Glance Series. Indiana will be back at home in Memorial Stadium in Week Four as the Hoosiers welcome the Georgia Southern Eagles for the first time. The Eagles are a former FCS team that has moved up to FBS after the 2013 season and they will get back to their triple-option roots after experimenting with the “gun-option” a year ago.
Week Four: Georgia Southern Eagles
Date & Time: Saturday, September 23rd, TBA
Venue: Memorial Stadium, Bloomington, IN
TV: TBA
Eagles at a Glance
Head Coach: Tyson Summers
Entering his 2nd year overall and 2nd at Georgia Southern
Overall Record: 5-7
At Georgia Southern: 5-7
Eagles Last Season: 5-7 (4-4)
Eagles Returning Leaders
Passing: Seth Shuman (47.2 pct. 357 yards 1 TDs 3 INTs)
Rushing: Wesley Fields (94 att. 492 yards 5.2 YPC 3 TD)
Receiving: Myles Campbell (31 rec. 384 yards 12.4 YPR 4 TDs)
Tackles: FS Joshua Moon (72 tackles 2.5 TFL 2 INT 1 PBU)
Pre-season Predictions
Athlon’s: 7th in the Sun Belt
Lindy’s: 4th in the Sun Belt
Street & Smith’s: 5th in the Sun Belt
Phil Steele: T-6th in the Sun Belt
Impact Newcomers For The Eagles
Tre Allen, Athlete- Allen was Georgia Southern’s highest rated recruit in the 2017 class as a three-star prospect. Allen is projected to be in the two-deep at linebacker but is slightly under-sized at 6-foot and 217 pounds. Allen has a senior in front of him, but I would expect him to see plenty of snaps against the Hoosiers in reserve and on special teams.
Brian Miller, Nose Tackle- The Eagles have to rebuild their defensive line and incoming freshman Brian Miller is going to be a large part of the project. He is projected as the starter according to Athlon Sports, but he only weighs in at 266 pounds, very small for a nose tackle trying to take on a Big Ten offensive line.
Mike Summers, Wide Receiver- Summers is not a freshman, but is still a newcomer to Georgia Southern by way of graduate transfer from Georgia Tech after the 2015 season. He missed 2016 with a knee injury, but gives Georgia Southern a veteran pass catcher who knows how to play in a triple-option offense. For his career the 6-foot receiver has made 29 career catches for 434 yards and two touchdowns. While the Eagles will not throw the ball too much, Summers is a real threat for a big play.
Why The Eagles Could Win
Funny things happen when running the triple-option offense, and the Hoosiers have been burned before. In 2005 I-AA’s Nicholls State ran the triple-option nearly knocked off the Hoosiers in Bloomington. It took a James Hardy TD catch with under a minute left to get the win. In 2012 and 2013 IU was knocked off by Navy, the kings of the triple-option.
Yes, Georgia Southern was 5-7 in 2016, but that was because they went away from their bread and butter and tried to run the “gun-option”. It was unsuccessful and now the Eagles are going back to what has made them dangerous. The problem with facing a team like Georgia Southern is that IU’s offense will get only so many possessions, probably around 12, and that could be an issue if the offense struggles again turning yards into points and keeping possession of the ball.
The Eagles are also not going to be intimidated by coming into Memorial Stadium. This is a program who, in the last five years has beaten Florida, taken Georgia to overtime, and has had four losses by an average of 6.5 points to NC State, Georgia Tech (twice) and Ole Miss. This team plays a style of ball that will allow them to hang around and if the Hoosiers aren’t clicking, look out.
Why The Hoosiers Will Win
Georgia Southern lost their identity in 2016 and suffered a seven-loss season. This year they have a new offensive coordinator (Bryan Cook) and a young quarterback (Seth Shuman) running the show. The Hoosier defense is much better than those teams in ’05, ’12, and ’13. They know the defense and can adjust to the option attack. The Eagles will have eight new starters on offense, including two on the offensive line, which should be a major advantage for IU.
On the other side of the ball, Indiana should be able to establish the ground game and take advantage through the air of a rebuilt secondary that has one senior in the two-deep. Georgia Southern is so thin up front that they may be starting two true freshmen on the defensive line.
Indiana is bigger, stronger, and faster at almost every position and with the improved defense because of better coaching they should be able to neutralize the advantage Georgia Southern gets from the option.
Final Analysis
Why Fred Glass and the previous staff scheduled another known triple-option team is beyond my comprehension. These games are absolute killers because it’s so different. IU head coach has had his squad working on defending the option since spring ball, but this is game number four and preparation is more difficult when this game comes in the middle of a season. However, the Hoosiers should win this game at home, it just may be more like 31-10 instead of 45-17.