Football Championship Subdivision Semifinals
Georgia Southern Eagles at Delaware Fightin’ Blue Hens, Delaware Stadium, Newark, DE
Saturday, December 18, 2010, 12:00 pm Eastern, TV: ESPNU
Opening Line: Delaware -8 1/2
Current Line: Delaware -8 1/2
Opening Total: 40
Current Total: 40
Money Line: Delaware -330 / Georgia Southern +270
Georgia Southern finished the regular season 7-4 and has reeled off three playoff wins in a row to make it to the FCS semifinals. They beat South Carolina St at home 41-16 then upset 2 seed William & Mary 31-15 and then held on to beat Wofford on the road 23-20 in the quarterfinals. Up next for the Eagles is a trip to Delaware to take on the 11-2 Delaware Fightin’ Blue Hens. Delaware is the 3 seed in the tournament and beat Lehigh 42-20 and New Hampshire 16-3 to advance to the semifinals. The winner of this game will play the winner of the Eastern Washington-Villanova game in the Championship game. The Championship game will not be played until January 7 because of the Christmas and New Year’s holidays.
Georgia Southern is no stranger to advancing this far in the tournament as they have won 6 national championships but none since 2000. Georgia Southern has 4 losses on the season but isn’t as bad as their record indicates. Their 4 losses are by a total of 23 points, and they lost to Navy, Wofford, Chattanooga, and Samford. Since the loss to Samford, Georgia Southern has rolled off 6 wins in a row. Last week in the rematch vs Wofford, GSU was up 20-3 at the half and held on for 23-20 win as Wofford fought back. The Eagles have outscored their opponents 29-18 on the season. The Eagles average 385 yards of offense per game, including 262 yards rushing. Georgia Southern runs a triple option offense and might only throw 10 passes a game if that. The Eagles give up less than 285 yards a game on defense, including 123 yards a game rushing. The Eagles have forced 31 turnovers and have a turnover margin of +7. The offense is led by quarterback Jaybo Shaw, who has a combined 1,684 passing and rushing yards, 21 touchdowns (16 rushing), and 4 interceptions. Besides Shaw, the rushing attack is led by Robert Brown who has 955 yards on 200 carries with 6 touchdowns. Keep an eye on J.J. Wilcox as he has over 1,000 combined receiving and rushing yards, and 9 touchdowns.
Delaware has two losses on the season, at William and Mary 17-16 and 28-21 in overtime at home versus arch-rival Villanova in the regular season finale. The Blue Hens would love to avenge that loss to Villanova in the Championship game in 3 weeks, but first things first. The Hens can’t overlook a dangerous Georgia Southern team playing their best football of the year. Delaware’s strength is a dominant defense that only gives up 12 points a game and 275 yards a game, including just 100 yards a game rushing. The Hens have a turnover margin of +12 and have forced 26 turnovers. On offense, Delaware averages 29 points a game and 407 yards a game on offense, including 184 yards a game rushing. The offense is led by quarterback Pat Devlin. Devlin has thrown for 2,675 yards, 20 touchdowns and 2 interceptions. He also has a rushing touchdown on the year. The Blue Hens spread the ball around as 6 Delaware receivers have at least 25 catches. Nihja White is the leading receiver with 53 catches, 649 yards, and 6 touchdowns. Andrew Pierce is the leading rusher with 275 carries, 1,327 carries, and 13 touchdowns. Pierce also has 3 touchdown catches.
Temperatures will be in the mid 20’s but no snow is predicted. Stopping the run is a a strength for the Blue Hens, but the triple option is tough to stop for even the toughest run defense. Both of these teams are great at forcing turnovers. Delaware is the stronger team especially playing at home, but Georgia Southern is playing very well right now. Georgia Southern had to play an extra playoff game, and the stress of playing three straight road games might be too much for the Eagles to overcome.
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