Georgia Southern
Georgia Southern is 5-4 and No. 79 of 138 in the machine's ratings, 3.9 points below an average FBS team. Last game: won 49-13 vs Marshall in Week 10.
Week 11: at Georgia State, Saturday, Nov 14: the matchup, unit by unit
Why Georgia Southern is No. 79
- Georgia Southern's rating is −3.9: the machine's estimate that Georgia Southern is 3.9 points worse than an average FBS team on a neutral field. That is No. 79 of 138. For scale, 0 is an average FBS team: right now the closest to it is No. 68 Arizona State (0.2).
- It started the season at −8.7, ESPN's preseason Football Power Index from July. Its results since have moved it up 4.8.
- The biggest weekly moves: +2.0 after Week 10 (W 49-13 vs Marshall) and +1.8 after Week 6 (L 24-27 vs James Madison).
- Its record is 5-4. The 4 losses were to No. 38 Houston, No. 41 Clemson, No. 51 James Madison, No. 84 Jacksonville State, by 9.0 points on average. The 5 wins came by 19.6 points on average; the best was over No. 102 Coastal Carolina. The rating weighs how much a team won or lost by and against whom, not just the win-loss count.
- Its FBS opponents so far average No. 82 in the machine's ratings.
- Just above is No. 78 Western Michigan (−3.9); just below is No. 80 Louisiana Tech (−3.9).
The rating, week by week
Strengths and weak spots
Head coach
Clay Helton is in his 5th season at Georgia Southern (since 2022). This season: 5-4. At Georgia Southern overall: 32-29, counting this season.
Data provided by CollegeFootballData.com.
Team stats
Season totals and averages over 9 games, each with its national rank among 138 FBS teams (No. 1 = best). The game-by-game story is in the season, week by week.
Passing
| Completions-attempts | 245-357 |
|---|---|
| Passing yards | 2548 |
| Touchdowns-interceptions | 16-3 |
| Yards per attempt* | 7.1No. 87 of 138 |
| Explosive pass rate | 8.9%No. 102 of 138 |
| Sacks allowed (rate) | 2.2%No. 7 of 138 |
Rushing
| Carries-yards | 264-1122 |
|---|---|
| Yards per carry | 4.2No. 78 of 138 |
| 10-plus-yard runs (rate) | 12.5%No. 102 of 138 |
| Stuffed at or behind the line (rate) | 18.0%No. 82 of 138 |
Scoring
| Points per game | 26.6No. 80 of 138 |
|---|---|
| Yards per play | 5.96No. 52 of 138 |
| Third-down rate | 40.5%No. 64 of 138 |
| Red-zone TD rate | 58.1%No. 90 of 138 |
| Giveaways | 7No. 20 of 138 |
Defense
| Points allowed per game | 19.7No. 30 of 138 |
|---|---|
| Yards per play allowed | 5.26No. 45 of 138 |
| Yards per pass attempt allowed | 6.9No. 54 of 138 |
| Yards per carry allowed | 3.7No. 44 of 138 |
| Sack rate | 7.4%No. 24 of 138 |
| Takeaways | 14No. 29 of 138 |
| Third-down rate allowed | 31.9%No. 25 of 138 |
Totals are the official box score. * Yards per attempt and the rates come from the play-by-play, where passing yards count on completions only, so they can differ from the box score by a play or two.
Data provided by CollegeFootballData.com.
Player leaders
The top 3 in each category over the same games. Passing yards count every completion (official box score).
Passing
- Max Johnson209-305, 2199 yds, 15 TD, 2 INT
- Turner Helton29-41, 282 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT
- Weston Bryan6-9, 35 yds, 0 TD, 0 INT
Rushing
- David Mbadinga50 carries, 273 yds, 0 TD
- Tyrese Woodgett43 carries, 217 yds, 0 TD
- Weston Bryan43 carries, 208 yds, 5 TD
Receiving
- Alex Taylor38 catches, 529 yds, 4 TD
- Josh Dallas49 catches, 410 yds, 0 TD
- Jeremiah Ware23 catches, 366 yds, 2 TD
Tackles
- Brandon Tyson50
- Jakyri Jones44
- Aaron Sears40
Sacks
- Anthony Bynum5
- Eli Anders2.5
- Elijah Fears2
Interceptions
- Chace Calicut2
- Chance Gamble2
- Jakyri Jones1
Data provided by CollegeFootballData.com.
Who's playing
Based on who has actually played this season, from the box scores, not the team's published depth chart. Each bar is that player's share of the team's attempts, carries (quarterbacks left out), catches or tackles. The box score lists no positions, so there is no offensive line here.
Throwing
- Max JohnsonMost passes in the last game9 games305 attempts85%
- Turner Helton3 games41 attempts11%
- Weston Bryan7 games9 attempts3%
Carrying
- David Mbadinga8 games50 carries22%
- Tyrese Woodgett5 games43 carries19%
- Weston Bryan9 games43 carries19%
- Taeo Todd9 games32 carries14%
Catching
- Josh Dallas9 games49 catches20%
- Alex Taylor9 games38 catches16%
- River Helms9 games31 catches13%
- Andre Greene Jr.8 games24 catches10%
Tackling
- Brandon Tyson9 games50 tackles10%
- Jakyri Jones9 games44 tackles9%
- Aaron Sears9 games40 tackles8%
- Anthony Bynum9 games40 tackles8%
Data provided by CollegeFootballData.com.
The season, week by week
- Week 1 W 31–0 vs Charleston Southern. Charleston Southern is an FCS team, so there is no FBS baseline to grade this one against. The defense had 5 sacks.
- Week 2 L 7–22 at Clemson. The run game struggled: 1.2 yards a carry, 2.9 less than Clemson usually allows. Its fewest yards an attempt of the season.
- Week 3 L 27–31 at Jacksonville State. No unit was far from the usual. The biggest gap was the run defense: Jacksonville State got 4.3 yards a carry, 0.7 under what it usually gains.
- Week 4 L 28–42 vs Houston. The run game struggled: 2.5 yards a carry, 1.9 less than Houston usually allows. The most yards an attempt it has allowed all season.
- Week 5 W 31–24 at Coastal Carolina. The run game was the strength: 6.4 yards a carry, 1.9 more than Coastal Carolina usually allows. Won the turnover battle by 2.
- Week 6 L 24–27 vs James Madison. The run game was the strength: 4.9 yards a carry, 1.7 more than James Madison usually allows. Lost the turnover battle by 2.
- Week 7 W 23–15 at Old Dominion. The pass defense gave ground: Old Dominion got 8.4 yards an attempt, 2.8 over what it usually gains.
- Week 9 W 19–3 vs App State. The run defense was the strength: App State got 0.4 yards a carry, 2.9 under what it usually gains. Won the turnover battle by 3.
- Week 10 W 49–13 vs Marshall. The run defense gave ground: Marshall got 6.4 yards a carry, 2.1 over what it usually gains. Won the turnover battle by 2.