The end of the 2023 campaign was not good to Georgia Southern.
After going 6-2, the Eagles lost their final five games of the season, including a 41-21 loss to Ohio in the Myrtle Beach Bowl. The stretch didn’t give the Eagles very much momentum heading into the offseason, and expectations weren’t high heading into 2024.
The Eagles were selected to finish ninth in the Sun Belt in the Preseason Coaches Poll and college football betting odds had their win total at 5.5.
Following a rough finish to the season like that, the motivation and belief in the program could have wavered for some players. Still, Georgia Southern hardly lost any of its production to the transfer portal and brought back three all-conference selections, including Marques Watson-Trent.
A player of Watson-Trent’s caliber could have easily hit the portal and probably landed at a Power Four program, but he chose to stay.
The decision paid off as he was selected as the league’s Defensive Player of the Year after finishing second in the Sun Belt with 110 tackles. The linebacker added 7.5 tackles for loss and four forced fumbles.
Watson-Trent helped Georgia Southern go 8-4 and almost reach the Sun Belt title game. Two of the Eagles’ losses came to Boise State and Ole Miss. They were even leading the Broncos in the fourth quarter before Boise State scored three touchdowns in the final 15 minutes.
Georgia Southern knocked off some of the top teams in the Sun Belt this season, including Marshall, James Madison, South Alabama, and Coastal Carolina.
Next up is a trip to the New Orleans Bowl where the Eagles will face Sam Houston. Georgia Southern is a six-point favorite.
As of this writing, the Eagles have only lost two players to the transfer portal recently — wide receiver DeAndre Buchannon and backup quarterback Dexter Williams.
It’s obviously a positive sign that there have been hardly any players transferring from this program over the past few seasons. I think it’s a testament to the culture that head coach Clay Helton has established in Statesboro. It could be an indicator the Eagles could begin to regularly compete for Sun Belt championships.
The Eagles had four players selected to the All-Sun Belt teams who are eligible to return next season. That includes a pair of junior defensive backs in Chance Gamble and Marc Stampley II and a pair of offensive linemen in Caleb Cook and Pichon Wimbley.
They’re also expected to return redshirt sophomore quarterback JC French and potentially eight other players who will be starting in the New Orleans Bowl.
It’s an excellent foundation of returning players to build on entering next season. It’s an opportunity a lot of teams don’t have anymore.
The vibes seem to be high surrounding the Georgia Southern program right now. The team is taking care of its players by flying the graduating seniors back for winter commencement and flying them back to the bowl game.
And the mindset for the players seems focused on ending the season the right way.
With there being some coaching turnover in the Sun Belt, and with a few of the top players in the league moving on, Georgia Southern could be in line to become one of the teams to beat in the league.
Finishing 2024 with a win over Sam Houston could be a step in that direction.
New Orleans Bowl Prediction
I predict Georgia Southern will win and cover the six-point spread.
Sam Houston was hit hard by the portal and lost former head coach KC Keeler to Temple. And like I mentioned, I think the Georgia Southern players are still very much invested in what’s left of their season.
