Start Time: 3 p.m. EST, Nov. 18

Location: Allen E. Paulson Stadium, Statesboro, Ga.

TV/Streaming: ESPN3

Records: Georgia Southern (0-9, 0-5 Sun Belt), South Alabama (4-6, 3-3 Sun Belt)

Weather: 77 degrees at kickoff

Betting Line: USA -4.5, O/U 44

Georgia Southern Outlook

It’s been a season of firsts for Georgia Southern football, and all of them have been bad.

This Saturday, the Eagles will look to avoid adding “first team to go 0-10” to the program’s resume when Southern faces off with a shaky South Alabama team.

To say Georgia Southern put on a poor showing in Boone against rival App. State over a week ago would be an understatement.

Hell, if it hadn’t been for the fact that interim coach Chad Lunsford and Mountaineers coach Scott Satterfield are friends, App could have easily scored in the triple digits if they wanted.

Georgia Southern has yet to put together a game in which it played competent pass defense and was able to run the ball at the same time on offense.

It’s almost as if each unit pulls straws to see who will be worse on alternating drives, which is not a great recipe with a pass-heavy Jaguars team coming into Statesboro.

On a side note, when asked about the head coaching position with the Eagles, Kennesaw State coach Brian Bohannon did not close the door on a potential deal, but rather gave the patented, “I’m focusing on my team right now.”

At least he didn’t outright say no I guess.

South Alabama Outlook

The Jaguars are an impossible team to predict or even figure out.

Each week, USA almost alternates between being one of the worst teams in the Sun Belt with beating the best the conference has to offer.

After scoring just 27 points combined in losses to Georgia State and UL-Lafayette, the Jags rebounded last week, holding Arkansas State quarterback Justice Hansen to 285 yards passing and intercepting him four times en route to a 24-13 win over ASU.

Handing the Red Wolves its first conference loss of the season is no small feat, and could be a huge momentum shift for USA, or it could be another peak to go along with several valleys this season. There’s no way to tell with Joey Jones and his crew.

Quarterbacks Dallas Davis and Cole Garvin help anchor this offensive attack, having combined for 14 touchdowns and 10 interceptions so far this year. It was Garvin that helped lead the Jags past the Red Wolves last week, so look for USA to continue its offensive success against a porous Georgia Southern secondary that has brought a futile effort to each game this season.

Prediction

I don’t think in good conscience I can pick Georgia Southern until maybe the Eagles face off with a struggling Coastal Carolina team in the season finale. GS has shown the ability to be consistently horrible, which I can’t pick over a South Alabama team that changes like the weather.

South Alabama 30, Georgia Southern 13