Is it a rivalry? Plus more to know when Georgia Southern football plays Georgia State

Georgia Southern and host Georgia State enter Saturday's Sun Belt Conference clash with a lot of positivity.

The host Panthers are only 1-4 overall and 0-1 in the Sun Belt, but their spirits are high after notching their first victory a week earlier on the road at Army.

The Eagles are 3-2, having fallen to 0-1 in the SBC with a last-minute loss at undefeated Coastal Carolina 34-30 last Saturday. While tremendously disappointed in the end result, Georgia Southern feels it's making progress from the 3-9 team of 2021.

"The one thing I did tell them, and I think they feel, too, is the confidence level growing," Georgia Southern's first-year head coach Clay Helton said Monday. "Here's a three-win team last year that's already competing against who's supposed to be the No. 1 team in the conference (in Coastal Carolina).

"We walked into that stadium expecting to win that game and fell short. I think it's another proof to our kids that you can run with anybody, you can compete with anybody and win against anybody. That's the talent level on this football team."

Here are five things to know about Georgia Southern at Georgia State at 2 p.m. Saturday at Center Parc Stadium in Atlanta (ESPN3):

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Eagles vs. Panthers: Rivalry or not a rivalry?

Ask Georgia Southern football fans for the Eagles' biggest rival, and they're likely to answer Appalachian State.

It makes sense. The teams have played 31 times in a series that goes back to Dec. 5, 1987, and became an annual battle starting in 1993. The rivalry has lasted through their membership in the FCS Southern Conference and their move together to the FBS Sun Belt Conference.

There have been many classic battles in the series, which the Mountaineers now lead 18-13, including winning the last two.

Another rivalry that feels like it has intensified in the last three years is Georgia Southern and Coastal Carolina, with the Eagles holding a 5-4 edge.

But what about Georgia Southern's opponent this Saturday, Georgia State? Teams within the same state, same conference, same division — seems like a natural, geographic and Sun Belt rivalry. Plus, that whole thing about which school calls itself GSU (State) and which is GS (Southern, though for the longest time its sports teams went by the GSU abbreviation).

Georgia Southern coaches and players in previous years have chosen not to put Georgia State in the category of rival. Perhaps it's because the series dates back only to 2014. Perhaps it's about earning respect. Well, State now has a 5-3 edge, including victories in the two most-recent of the annual contests.

Georgia Southern redshirt-sophomore linebacker Marques Watson-Trent is clear how he feels about playing Georgia State this Saturday.

"It's definitely going to be a physical game being a rivalry game. We see it that way as a rivalry game," Watson-Trent said Monday. "We're coming in attacking with the same mindset we should have any game. We teach a faceless opponent, but we know this game means a little bit more to us."

Helton called the game special for both sides. He noted the teams also battle on the recruiting trail.

"This game is a rivalry game, without question, and it's an important game within the conference because it's the next one," Helton said. "We're one game back now being 0-1 in conference.

"This is an exceptionally important game for many reasons. One, for conference play. Two, because it's the next game. And you're always trying to go 1-0 each week. Obviously, when you play Georgia State and you play a team within your own state, it does have significance. Our kids know that; they're smart."

When asked if it's a rivalry, Georgia State head coach Shawn Elliott took the tact that while they're both in the Peach State, his Panthers wouldn't be treating this week differently than for any other opponent.

"It is Georgia Southern, so I guess there's a little more incentive because they're just right down the road in state," Elliott said Monday.

New challenge for Georgia Southern's opponents

Georgia Southern's history as a run-heavy option offense is in the past. Opponents have had to prepare for an Eagles attack that's not hesitant to use passes to set up the run.

Quarterback Kyle Vantrease spreads the ball around to many receivers, whose routes include quick screens to get the ball in their hands with potential big chunks of yards after the catch.

The Eagles rank 14th in the FBS in passing offense at 314.8 yards per game (1,574 yards in five games).

Georgia State's Elliott noted the change in Statesboro, and that the Panthers had just played a run-dominant squad in Army.

"A week ago, (Army) threw for 11 yards with one completion. This week is going to be totally different," Elliott said Monday. "You may see the ball in the air 35, 40 times. The (Georgia State) secondary last week had to be physical, really physical, and to keep their eyes in good position. The secondary this week is still going to have to have great concentration with their eyes and focus, but our coverage skills are really going to have to come into play. We've got to rush the passer really well this week. We've got to handle the RPO schemes."

Elliott compared the Georgia Southern to another team — in another sport — the "Showtime" Los Angeles Lakers.

"They're going to spread the field and they're going to play basketball, pick and choose where they want to go," Elliott said. "It looks like the Lakers coming down the field: you've got a pass here, a pass there. The next thing you know, you've got a drive and dunk in the middle."

The teams are in a virtual tie in terms of passing yards allowed. Georgia State is tied for 77th in the FBS at 238.2 yards per game, while Georgia Southern in 79th at 238.8.

Both teams have struggled to stop the run

Though Georgia Southern has inched its way up in rushing defense, after five games it still ranks only 122nd of 131 FBS programs in yielding 202 yards a game. Opponents have rushed 186 times for 1,010 yards, a 5.43 average, and 11 touchdowns.

Georgia State hasn't been much better, ranking 118th (197.6) while yielding 988 yards on 220 carries, a 4.49 average, and nine TDs. Having Army on the schedule (354 rushing yards, 11 passing yards) ontributes to that.

The challenge this week for both is that they're facing very good rushing offenses. Georgia State ranks 19th in the FBS with a 214.2 average per game (228 caries, 1,071 yards, 4.79 ypc, seven TDs). Georgia Southern is 41st  at 185.2 yards per game (164 carries, 926 yards, 5.65 ypc, 14 TDs).

The Panthers' Tucker Gregg is a battering ram with a nose for the end zone. An All-SBC second-team pick last season and third team in 2020, the 5-foot-10, 220-pound super senior is State's career leader in rushing TDs (20) and is second with 1,909 yards in his career. Not bad for a former walk-on who ranks seventh in the SBC this season at 69.8 yards per game.

Redshirt senior Jamyest Williams (5-9, 185) is an All-SBC honorable mention selection who is elusive and ranks 15th in the league (54.8 ypg).

"It starts with a physical run game; that's the basis," Helton said of the Panthers' offense. "Then it's another quarterback this week (Darren Grainger) just like Grayson (McCall of CCU) last week that can spin it, has an elite arm and has weapons on the outside. It makes it a hard offense to defend because you have to choose. Are you going to stop the run? Are you going to stop the pass? It's a little bit of a chess match back and forth."

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Helton also complimented his rushing offense led by junior Jalen White, who is third in the SBC with 90 yards per game (74 carries, 450 yards, 6.1 ypc). Redshirt junior Gerald Green is 13th at 58 yards per game (50, 290, 5.8). True freshman OJ Arnold has chipped in 19 carries for 111 yards, a 5.8 average.

Helton called the running backs probably the most productive group on the team.

"There's a lot of confidence not only in the running back room but in our offensive line," Helton said. "A run game is the best friend to a quarterback and takes a lot of pressure off of Kyle (Vantrease). That's what this running game has done."

Getting a lead and closing

When two good teams are playing, the last five minutes will determine the winner. So said Helton after the loss at Coastal Carolina.

He noted his team's solid play down the stretch in winning at Nebraska 45-42, when the Eagles had a 10-7 edge in the fourth quarter; and in a 34-23 win over Ball State, when GS had a 14-3 advantage in the final period.

CCU, on the other had, outscored GS 20-13 in the fourth quarter and won by four points, 34-30. The Chanticleers had trailed 24-14 with 12:09 left in regulation and finished with three touchdown drives.

"I thought for three quarters and three minutes, we played our best team football, all three phases — especially special teams was elite in that area," Helton said. "Now we've got to be able to put a full game together, especially when you're talking about championship football. Here's one of those teams competing for a championship in Coastal. We felt like we are, too. We've got to put that last phase together."

Eagles' special teams are special

Having confidence in the kicking game figures into play-calling decisions, and that has been true for Georgia Southern, which is tied for 30th in the FBS in red-zone offense. The Eagles have scored on 22 of 24 red-zone attempts (91.7%): 10 rushing touchdowns, seven passing TDs and five field goals.

"We've been really good in the red zone when you look at us scoring points," Helton said. "A lot of it has to do with our field-goal team right now that I think has been exceptional. When you look at Alex Raynor and what he has accomplished on field goals, he's perfect in field goals and extra points. It makes that percentage go up."

Raynor, a redshirt junior, has made all 24 extra-point kicks and is 7 for 7 on field-goal attempts. He's 1 for 1 from inside the 20, 3-3 from 20-29, 1-1 from 30-29 and 2-2 from 40-49. Raynor leads all SBC kickers in scoring with 45 points.

Redshirt senior Anthony Beck II has 15 punts for a 44.53 average and four punts of 50-plus yards, including a long of 58. He ranks third in the SBC. The South Effingham High graduate was All-Sun Belt third team in 2020 and second team in 2021.

Michael Lantz, a transfer from Minnesota, has booted 35 kickoffs, including 11 touchbacks and two out of bounds.

Nathan Dominitz is the Sports Content Editor of the Savannah Morning News and savannahnow.com. Email him at ndominitz@savannahnow.com. Twitter: @NathanDominitz

This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: What to know about Georgia Southern football vs. Georgia State