(Credit image to the Chicago Tribune)
As a fan and graduate of Middle Tennessee State University, I’m familiar with the GoDaddy Bowl, and let me tell you: as stupid as the bowl name sounds, it is far from a meaningless bowl. It’s so important.
My Blue Raiders lost to the mighty RedHawks of Miami (OH) in 2011. The 35-21 drumming left me happy I stayed in Tennessee, opting out of an early January trip to Mobile, Alabama. Believe me – I’ve felt the sting of that game.
So, on Wednesday, when Georgia Southern and Bowling Green took the field, I knew a barnburner was brewing. It didn’t matter to me that Bowling Green was an eight-point favorite on most books.
This was the GoDaddy Bowl.
Bowling Green raced out to a 20-9 lead, but the mighty Eagles of Georgia Southern weren’t intimidated.
After a 26-yard Wesley Fields touchdown run, quarterback Kevin Ellison threw a 31-yard bomb to Montay Crockett to go up 23-20. I remember thinking, “Nice play, Eagles. Way to stay in the game!”
Now, I understand why they call the Sun Belt the “Fun Belt.”
Then, ESPN told me that that was Georgia Southern’s 4th passing touchdown of the season.
Season.
What is this, 1906? Is Georgia Southern just now mastering the forward pass? HOW DOES THAT HAPPEN? And, wait – what? They’ve scored 54 rushing touchdowns? This doesn’t make sense – why even recruit and play receivers?
Georgia Southern is the passing equivalent of UCF’s rushing attack. Chew on that fact for a moment.
Damn – the GoDaddy Bowl, am I right?
Sure enough, ESPN was right – The Eagles didn’t throw a touchdown pass until Kevin Ellison did it against New Mexico State on October 17, 2015. That was their sixth game, no less! Almost half the season went by before they had scored a touchdown though the air.
What’s more, Georgia Southern amassed 592 yards of total offense. 507 of those came on the ground, and five different players scored rushing touchdowns in that game.
But, hold your britches, folks – there’s more. The Eagles tallied seven passing yards against Western Michigan (a game they won 43-17). Ten different players earned a carry against Idaho. Three different rushers had two touchdowns each against Louisiana-Monroe.
This team also took the mighty Georgia Bulldogs of the hallowed SEC to overtime, hanging 233 rushing yards on them before losing 23-17.
This team’s 4,719 rushing yards are first in NCAA’s FBS, a solid ~600 yards better than 2nd place Air Force. The Eagles’ 54 rushing touchdowns are six better than Navy’s 48. Plain and simple: nobody runs the football like Georgia Southern. Hell, Mike Mularkey might want to spend some time in Statesboro to learn a thing or two to teach his Tennessee Titans.
The concept that a team could succeed in college football today with such a nonthreatening passing game blows my mind. In this day and age, college football is loaded with spread offenses and gimmick plays. But, the Eagles obviously don’t give two shits about our preconceived notions of football.
It’s like watching a blue and white steamroller do work, and the Sun Belt defenses provide the way to be paved.
At one point in the GoDaddy Bowl, I started to feel bad for Bowling Green and its stud quarterback, Matt Johnson. The guy has NFL aspirations, but the Eagles pretty well took a dump on his chance to shine in a bowl game.
Interim Georgia Southern coach Dell McGee started putting four people in the backfield and running the quadruple option. How does a team from the MAC defend that? It’s not even fair. I don’t even know if they play with a full 11-man defense in the MAC.
Bold prediction: If there’s a team in the Big 12 that can master this offense and keep those Big 12 offenses off the field, they’ll own that conference for years.
In the end, the Eagles from Statesboro, GA came to play and put on a really impressive show. It’s their first bowl win in their first appearance – congrats to those who saw this program through the successful transition to the FBS.
Happy Bowl Season! I know nothing of American football.
Stoney Keeley is the editor of the SoBros Network, Tennessee Titans Featured Analyst for Pro Football Spot, and covers the WWE for WrestlingNews.co. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley, @PFSpot, @WrestlingNewsCo
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