Transition complete. The program is a major Sun Belt player.

By Pete Fiutak | @PeteFiutak

Georgia Southern was a superpower at the lower level with six national titles from 1985 to 2000, but could the high-octane rushing offense work after moving up into a full-time FBS role? Could Willie Fritz keep the Eagles winning after Jeff Monken took off to Army?

Fritz took Sam Houston State to the 2011 and 2012 FCS national championship games and he rolled right out of the box taking over GSU and coming up with a terrific first year going 9-3 with a Sun Belt championship – even if the program couldn’t reap the rewards.

It’s not like the Eagles jumped up into the SEC, but still, they ripped through the Sun Belt with their devastating rushing game with everything working better than anyone could’ve hoped for.

This was supposed to be a good team with a lot of potential, but it was even better losing to NC State by one and Georgia Tech by four before cranking out eight straight conference victories and taking over its new world by storm.

The best part about the first year is that the system and the machine is in place to keep it all going. Everyone knows what Georgia Southern is going to do, but it doesn’t matter. Even with six starters gone off the offense, this is still going to be among the nation’s most dangerous rushing attacks that’s going to give everyone fits.

The offensive line will be the concern with four starters gone, but QB Kevin Ellison and RB Matt Brieda are back – which means everything will keep on rolling. The top four rushers are back, the lost receivers are replaceable considering what the offense does, and in terms of the O line, the system is in place to revamp in a hurry.

While everyone cares about the offense, this time around in the Sun Belt there’s going to be more defense with eight starters back from a group that allowed 28 points or fewer nine times. It’s going to be a dangerous group that hangs out behind the line on a regular basis again, and there’s more than enough depth to hold up better in some of the bigger games.

It took just one season, but it’s the Sun Belt’s new star. It’s a fun team, it’s a devastatingly relentless team, and as West Virginia will find out early and Georgia will in late November, this isn’t a team anyone is going to want to deal with.

What You Need To Know About The Offense: The devastating offensive attack should keep on rocking and rolling with one of the nation’s best ground games. QB Kevin Ellison and RB Matt Breida should once again combine for over 2,500 yards on the ground, and there’s more production where that came from in the triple-option attack that works out of the Pistol formation. The receiving corps just makes a few big plays a game, and the options are there to do that even after losing two of the top three targets. The big concern is the line that loses four starters and could need a little while before the timing is down.

What You Need To Know About The Defense: Overall, the defense held up well. It needs the offense to control the game and the clock, and it’s not going to be great against the better passing teams, but it should be more consistent with eight starters returning. The pass rush should be okay with the production coming from several different spots, and the run defense has the potential to be more consistent with four of the top five tacklers back. Overall, this was young group building the depth across the board last season – now it should payoff.

What to watch for on offense: Can the O line come together right away? The Eagles will continue to run their triple-option attack, but they’ll still try to mix it up a bit from past teams with the Pistol formation trying to add a different look and tweak to the already successful style. However, it’s still an offense that’s all about timing, and losing four key starters from last season’s front five is going to be a problem. Guard Darien Foreman is the lone returner, but there are others who fit the type ready to step in. Everything is expected to be okay, but that’s going to be the one big question mark. How much time will it take for it all to gel? Unfortunately, West Virginia is up first.

What to watch for on defense: The secondary has to be stronger. To be fair, most teams had to try to throw and throw some more to keep up the pace with the dangerous Georgia Southern ground game, but it was a problem at times. However, the Eagles usually won when they were bombed on, they lost to Georgia Tech and Navy because they couldn’t handle the opposing ground attacks. New Mexico State completed 70% of its passes and stayed in the game it had no business of hanging around in. Three starters return in the defensive backfield, and if they can be a wee bit better, then the pressure will be taken off the other side.

The team will be far better if … it really, really owns the time of possession margin. The Eagles owned the ball throughout last season with their style and their ground game helping to keep the ball for over 32 minutes per game. However, they were out-Georgia Southerned by Georgia Tech, who had the ball for 34:42 – over nine minutes more. New Mexico State somehow stayed alive helped by keeping the clock margin relatively close, having only 4:12 less. The Navy blowout win was relatively close in time, and Texas State had the ball for almost 33 minutes in the close loss. If Georgia Southern wins the time of possession battle by more than six minutes, forget about it.

The schedule: It would’ve been nice to get a warm-up game or three before dealing with West Virginia, but that’s the break. The Mountaineers get time to prepare for the season-opener, and the GSU O line has to be ready.
– The Western Michigan game will be an interesting test. The Broncos are talented and dangerous by MAC standards. Georgia Southern is talented and dangerous by Sun Belt standards. Both teams are going to chalk this up as an early must win.
– Missing Arkansas State and Louisiana-Lafayette in Sun Belt play is about as massive a plus as it gets. There’s a road game at Appalachian State, and going to ULM will be difficult, but there’s no excuse to not win the conference title.
– Will Georgia be napping? The Bulldogs go to Auburn and finish up against Georgia Tech, and in the middle is the Georgia Southern game as sort of a tune-up for the Yellow Jackets. It’s going to be Senior Day for the Dawgs, but it’s also a perfect sandwich game.
– WATCH OUT FOR … the road trip to Troy. It might be a sneaky-tough game considering the Eagles won 42-10 last year. It comes just before a week off and with Georgia up next, and right after back-to-back tough dates with Appalachian State and Texas State. This could be an easy letdown moment.

Best offensive player: Junior QB Kevin Ellison. There are other parts to the rushing puzzle, but he’s the one who makes it all go. He might not be the best passer – even when he gets his chances to push the ball down the field in single coverage – but he’s a terrific runner and a veteran leader who has been through the wars. He’s the guy who led the program to a win over Florida in The Swamp. He’s the guy who led the program to the Sun Belt championship. He’s a wizard running the option, and now he’s expected to be the star of conference stars.

Best defensive player: Senior FS Matt Dobson. The secondary was the concern throughout last season, at least against the pass, but Dobson did his part as a key part of the run defense. He made his share of plays when the ball way in the air, too. At the very least, the secondary is full of experience and should be stronger. He’ll be the statistical star and All-Sun Belt performer.

Key player to a successful season: Junior OG Darien Foreman. With four starters missing from the O line, Foreman will have to be the leader and the mistake-free performer no matter where he works. He’s build to be a guard, but he’s athletic enough to work on the outside. The line will be fine, and the tackle situation is the biggest question mark. However, it’s Foreman who’ll have to lead the way.

The season will be a success if … the Eagles win the Sun Belt title. There’s absolutely no excuse to not at least take a share of the thing. There are a few interesting conference battles, but missing Arkansas State and Louisiana-Lafayette is enough of a break to roll through Texas State, South Alabama, at ULM and, potentially …

Key game: Oct. 22 at Appalachian State. Assuming there’s no brain cramp along the way, it’s roughly a two game Sun Belt season for GSU. The Eagles are better than ULM – they can’t biff that road date – and the tough game against Texas State is at home. Appalachian State is dangerous, and it’s the end of a run of three road games in four dates and five days after playing New Mexico State.

2014 Fun Stats:
– Rushing TDs: Georgia Southern 55 – Opponents 19
– Time of Possession: Georgia Southern 31:18 – Opponents 27:42
– First Quarter Scoring: Georgia Southern 110 – Opponents 44

Players You Need To Know

1. QB Kevin Ellison, Jr.
Ellison is a decent passer, completing 56% of his throws for 1,001 yards and five touchdowns with three interceptions, but his real worth is as the leader for the high-powered rushing attack, taking off for 1,082 yards and 12 touchdowns averaging over six yards per dash. Always great with the ball in his hands on the move, he’s extremely quick, can cut on a dime, and can get up the field in a hiccup, but his best attribute is his decision-making ability. With two years as the main man, he knows what he’s doing, and it shows. While he’s not all that big at 6-0 and 190 pounds, he can handle the workload at times and can tear off yards in chunks, running for 151 yards against Appalachian State and 145 against New Mexico State. If he can do a bit more as a downfield passer, look out.

2. FS Matt Dobson, Sr.
The 6-2, 200-pound third-leading tackler turned into a strong all-around defender with 62 stops and 3.5 tackles for loss, but he made his big splash on the way to all-star honors with three interceptions, taking two back for scores. He hit Idaho for a pick six from 26 yards out, and came up with one of the Sun Belt defensive plays of the year with a 100-yard interception return for a touchdown in the 28-25 win over Texas State. The leader of the secondary, he’ll do anything to make a play and come up with a pop.

3. RB Matt Breida, Jr.
QB Kevin Ellison might be the star of the offense, but he needs someone else to get the ball off the pitch to run the option, leading the way for 1,485 yards and 17 touchdowns, averaging 8.68 yards per dash. Unstoppable on the outside, he came up with 100 yards or more in a stretch of seven of nine games, blowing past Georgia State for 201 yards and four touchdowns – averaging 16.75 yards per run – and coming up with more than ten yards per pop in five games. A phenomenal athlete, he’s a flash when he gets the ball on the move, and while he’s only 5-10 and 185 pounds, he can deliver a bit of a punch when he has to.

4. NT Jay Ellison, Jr.
After getting in a little bit of work in his first few years, he took over the interior as the man on the nose with 6-1, 305-pound size and next-level strength – he’s one of the strongest players on the team. Great at eating things up inside, he came up with 36 tackles with two sacks and four tackles for loss, but stats aren’t that big a deal – his job is to anchor the line and not get shoved around.

5. LB Antwione Williams, Sr.
The team’s second-leading tackler, Williams has impressive 6-3, 245-pound size and good pass rushing quickness on the weakside, coming up with 66 stops with three sacks and eight tackles for loss. Always active, he came up with ten tackles against Georgia Tech and was steady throughout the year. A tremendous prospect, he has defensive lineman strength and great quickness off the snap – he might blow up and turn into an unstoppable all-star if he puts it together.

6. RB Alfred Ramsby, Soph.
At 5-11 and 210 pounds, Ramsby is a little more of a popper than the other top rushing options. The former quarterback moved over to running back, and he found a home with 691 yards and 12 touchdowns to go along with six catches for 100 yards. The speed is there, but he averaged under five yards per carry and did a little more of the dirty work, coming up with a touchdown in each of the last ten games, and 136 yards against New Mexico State. If need be, he can be a No. 1 rushing option.

7. SS Antonio Glover, Sr.
Able to play either safety spot, the 6-1, 195-pound speedster was used in several ways last year, coming up with 60 tackles at his strong safety spot, picking off a pass, and coming up with five tackles for loss. Known mostly for his big plays in the upset over Florida two years ago, he can hit – making 11 stops against New Mexico State last season – and is one of the team’s fastest players.

8. OG Darien Foreman, Sr.
The lone returning starter up front, the 6-2, 305-pound senior spent last year working a left guard and now needs to be one of the leaders of the line right away. Banged up for the first part of his career, he came through last season with great strength for the interior along with just enough athleticism to get on the move. However, he’s not really a tackle – he’s better suited for the inside.

9. WR B.J. Johnson, Sr.
The Eagles do throw the ball once in a while, and it was Johnson who led the team with 23 catches for 312 yards and three scores. Kentrellis Showers was the most dangerous option averaging 21.3 yards per catch, but Johnson did a wee bit more with five catches for South Alabama and four against Appalachian State highlighting a steady year. At 6-1 and 210 pounds he has good size and outstanding all-around athleticism – he has the team’s best receiver combination of strength, speed and leaping ability.

10. QB Favian Upshaw, Jr.
In the Georgia Southern offense, the quarterback is going to take big shots – Kevin Ellison isn’t big enough to hold up for lots and lots of carries. Upshaw is more than ready to step in and produce with the skills and speed to be a force. Originally a FIU Golden Panther, he might be the team’s fastest player to go along with track star leaping ability. In his limited time, he completing 70% of his passes for 285 yards and two scores with a pick, and ran for 385 yards and two touchdowns – the coaching staff will want to figure out how to get his skills on the field.