The Georgia Southern football team will be back in action after having 16 days off, and the defense will be faced with the challenge of taking on a strong Coastal Carolina offense.

Georgia Southern (2-3, 1-1)

The Eagles collected their first win of the conference against South Alabama in their last contest, and a lot of that victory is due to the defense holding out USA in double overtime.

The defensive side of the ball has proven to be a strength for the Eagles, as the defense has played key roles in Eagle wins with the struggling offense. 

As a team, GS has logged 318 tackles on the season, with junior linebacker Rashad Byrd leading with 38 tackles. The captain also has a forced fumble and a fumble recovery under his belt as well as tallying five tackles for loss and one sack so far this season.

Junior defensive end Raymond Johnson III has also stepped up on Eagle defense this season, being the main reason the Eagles went home with a win against South Alabama. Johnson blocked a potential game-winning field goal in the first stretch of overtime against USA as well as recovering a fumble in second overtime. That fumble put GS in position to win the game. Johnson has logged 20 tackles on the season including three tackles for loss.

As far as injuries go, senior cornerback Monquavion Brinson has been ruled as day-to-day following a leg injury which occurred in the fourth quarter of play against USA. The senior had to be carried off. 

Coastal Carolina (3-3, 0-2)

While being on a losing streak of two, the Eagles still should not underestimate the CCU defense.

The Chanticleers has the top passing defense in the Sun Belt, only allowing for 159.7 passing yards per game, but that’s not much of a worry for the Eagle offense as not many passing plays are run.

Even though the Eagle offense doesn’t run many passing plays, they still need to be aware of redshirt-senior cornerback Chandler Kryst who’s caught three interceptions so far this season. Kryst has also notched 13 tackles on the season as well as two pass breakups. 

While having the top passing defense, CCU still knows how to defend the run offense as they’ve only allowed for 160.2 yards per game.

As a team the Chanticleers has logged 408 tackles on the season, while having 36 tackles for loss. Leading the CCU defense is junior linebacker Teddy Gallagher with 50 tackles on the season. The Los Angeles native has also notched three tackles for a loss of 13 yards as well as one pass breakup.

Kaitlin Sells, The George-Anne Managing Sports Editor, gasports@georgiasouthern.edu