The Georgia Southern football team will be Callin’ Baton Rouge this week when they face off against the Tigers of LSU Saturday. 

Just one year after a 10-3 season that saw the Eagles finish as Camellia Bowl Champions, GS faces a daunting task opening the season at No. 6 LSU. 

LSU too, is coming off of a 10-win season, one that saw them beat five ranked teams, including a Fiesta Bowl victory over former national champions UCF.

With the spread set at 28, the Eagles face a tough task, but are set up in all three aspects of the game, so the potential for an upset is there.

“It’s been a long time coming,” redshirt-senior linebacker Lane Ecton said. “It’s my last go around with these guys. I love these guys and I’m just excited to have the chance to play in a place that’s as historical as Death Valley. We got the Death Valley last year and it was fun to play in, my home state. I’ve heard this one gets pretty rowdy and I know our guys are ready to experience that, go in there and show people what we’ve got.”

Offensively, the Eagles had an up-and-down end to the offseason, when Oklahoma State transfer running back J.D. King was granted immediate eligibility, providing a boost to an already dangerous backfield that’s still looking for more.On the flip side, it was discovered that redshirt-sophomore offensive lineman Brian Miller would miss the entire season due to a hip injury he suffered in the waning weeks of preseason. But with junior quarterback Shai Werts at the helm again, the offense is poised to give that LSU defense a run for their money.

“[LSU’s defense is] very good,” redshirt-junior quarterback Shai Werts said. “They have a very good secondary. They’re fast and physical, but we just have to play Southern football and we should be good.” 

Defensively, the Eagles boast a pair of senior cornerbacks who have been highly-touted in the offseason. Monquavion Brinson and Kindle Vildor will look to anchor the defensive backfield when they are tasked to go against what is poised to be a very dangerous LSU offense. 

Redshirt-senior kicker Tyler Bass returns for his final season after a 2018 campaign that saw him miss just two field goals all season, and with points looking to be at a premium for GS, he could prove rather important come kickoff.

Kickoff between the Eagles and Tigers is set for 7:30 p.m. from Tiger Stadium, where the game will be televised on ESPNU.

Ryan Kostensky, The George-Anne Sports Reporter, gasports@georgiasouthern.edu