Offense

Two weeks ago after the Eagles whipped up on Troy, I wrote about how Troy planned perfectly against the Eagle offense. Last week, I explained that Texas State planned well and executed. This week I am writing about how Navy stopped it.

Statistically, the Eagles seemingly had another impressive performance, 375 yards on the ground, Brieda broke 200 yards and had two scores, and they even passed for 75 yards. However, it was apparent to whoever watched the game that the Eagles were struggling.

The first drive was a thing of beauty. Ellison and Ramsby rammed their way down field and scored on a seven minute drive to suck the air out of Navy. After that, the offense was stalled for three consecutive drives. There was no one person to blame as there were slip-ups all over the field, most notably; a wide open drop by Walker in the middle of the field, Ramsby’s fumble near the end of the first half, and the interception thrown by each quarterback.

Mistakes were a problem, for sure; however, it is obvious Navy was well prepared for everything that Georgia Southern threw at them. The outside option plays were all snuffed out almost immediately. The areas that saw the most success were early runs from Ramsby up the middle and Brieda finding his second gear in the second half with his 36 and 88 yard touchdown runs.

Questionable calls from the officiating crew, the fumble, and the interceptions were too much for the Eagles to rebound from. This looked like a completely different team from the comeback against Georgia Tech and the two 600+ yard performances earlier in the season. For most of the season the Eagles have been one of the best teams in the country in the turnover department, with 7 total coming into the game.

Despite the preparation by Navy and the mistakes by the Eagles, there was one shining light from the offense. It didn’t seem like there was ever a moment where things looked like a lost cause. Even on the final drives, Ellison and Upshaw were hurrying their offenses to the line and running heroically. Everyone ran with a purpose, but it was just not the Eagles’ day.

Defense

The Eagles’ defense gave up a season high 52 points while allowing almost 400 rushing yards.

After taking a lead early in the game, Georgia Southern allowed 31 unanswered points.

The Eagles inability to stop Navy’s junior quarterback Keenan Reynolds played a key role in the 33-point defeat. Reynolds combined for seven touchdowns on the day, six of which were rushing touchdowns. He also ran for 277 yards on 30 carries while adding 71 yards passing.

Despite holding the Midshipmen to under 100 yards passing, the Eagles were unable to force a turnover for the first time this season, while giving the ball up three times.

Navy continued to get better as the game went on and scored 21 points in the final quarter, tying the most points GS has given up in a single quarter all season.

Georgia Southern has an off week this week before taking on UL Monroe. A win against the Warhawks would guarantee at least a share of the Sun Belt Conference title.