The Georgia Southern schedule is spread out pretty well. There are three tough games beside three games that the Eagles should win in each half of the season.
You can check out the first half of the schedule here.
Second Half of Georgia Southern Schedule Breakdown
If Georgia Southern makes it through the first half of their schedule unscathed, then their rivalry with Appalachian State should decide who will win the Sun Belt.
Take a look at our predictions for the first half here.
Can the Eagles claim their second Sun Belt title?
After Appalachian State comes an intriguing game against Ole Miss. The Rebels are good, but they seem to struggle in November. Plus the Eagles did upset Florida in 2013 and nearly upset Georgia last year.
Louisiana-Lafayette is a mystery since their blow up last year was so unexpected. Can they return to challenge Georgia Southern, Appalachian State and Arkansas State for a conference title, or will they fade to the background?
Georgia State shocked the Eagles last year, but they do not appear ready to compete for a championship. Georgia Southern has been hard at work fixing the passing game that was an issue in 2015 causing their loss to the Panthers.
Saturday, October 22nd: New Mexico State
You will be hard pressed to find two FBS programs as vastly different as Georgia Southern and New Mexico State. Where as the Eagles were a FCS powerhouse for almost three decades and have been great in two FBS season’s, New Mexico State doesn’t have the same winning tradition.
Since Georgia Southern began playing NCAA again in 1984, they’ve only had three losing seasons. In that span of time, New Mexico State has only had three winning season. Their last one came in 2002.
They were also polar opposites in recruiting this past year. Georgia Southern had the best class in the conference while the Aggies had the worst. New Mexico State isn’t getting any better, but the Eagles are quickly ascending the ladder in the Sun Belt and in FBS football as a whole.
Last meeting: 2015, Georgia Southern 56, New Mexico State 26
Series record: Georgia Southern leads 2-0
Thursday, October 27th: Appalachian State
One of the biggest rivalries from the FCS level is now a probably the premier rivalry in the Sun Belt Conference. While they were in the FCS, Georgia Southern won six National Championships and Appalachian State won three. They both competed heavily for the Southern Conference and for FCS national championships, now they are just fighting over a different trophy.
The Mountaineers play with more balance offensively, so if they can get a good lead early, they can take the Eagles away from their game plan. If Georgia Southern scores first or manages to keep up offensively, it could be a good day to be an Eagle.
Last meeting: 2015, Appalachian State 31, Georgia Southern 13
Series record: Georgia Southern trails 13-17-1
Saturday, November 5th: Ole Miss
By far the most challenging game of Georgia Southern’s schedule, but it couldn’t come at a better time. The Eagles could be coming off a huge win over their biggest rival and control the Sun Belt as a result. Ole Miss bookends their meeting with Georgia Southern with games against Auburn and Texas A&M.
The Eagles could catch the Rebels off-guard as they look ahead to the Aggies. It’s also important to note that since Hugh Freeze took over the program, Ole Miss is 7-8 and have been prone to upsets in November.
However, with most of Ole Miss’s biggest games in 2016 coming either at home or on neutral turf, the Rebels could be on too big of a roll for the Eagles to slow down. Ole Miss possesses one of the SEC’s toughest defenses, and their offense has the potential to light up the scoreboard. If Freeze keeps his team focused, they will be too much for the Eagles to handle.
Last meeting: Never
Series Record: Tied 0-0
Thurday, November 10th: Louisiana Lafayette
The Ragin’ Cajuns are a difficult team to judge in 2016. From 2011 to 2014, they looked like a program on the rise with four 9-4 seasons and prepared to compete for and win their share of conference championships.
Then came 2015, where their offense let them down in a major way, while the defense doubled their futility. They fell to 4-8, losing their final four games. That’s not how they planned for last season to go, and headed into 2016, Mark Hudspeth has a lot to fix in Lafayette.
Their defense should be better with mostly all of their starters coming back. Elijah McGuire returns to lead the Cajun backfield. How close this game will be depends on how much Lafayette improves defensively.
Georgia Southern will be really good up front with six returning starters in an already stout front seven, in addition to defensive end/linebacker Ukeme Eligwe from Florida State. They will make life hard for McGuire, and he’s the only spark on that offense.
Last meeting: Never
Series record: Tied 0-0
Saturday, November 19th: Georgia State
Modern Hate received a surge of excitement when the Panthers upset the Eagles 34-7 last season. That win was the biggest of the young program’s seven-year history, and in 2016 they have the motivation to earn more historic victories. But Georgia Southern is program with a ton of pride and history. They have the motivation to impose their dominance over the Panthers.
Georgia State won’t be able to sneak up on Southern again and the Panthers were desperate, needing that win to become bowl eligible. Georgia State is improving every year, but the Eagles are still in the Sun Belt’s upper echelon.
Last meeting: 2015, Georgia State 34, Georgia Southern 7
Series record: Tied 1-1
Saturday, December 3rd: Troy
The Trojans long for the days of which they were the powerhouse of the Sun Belt. They dominated from 2006-2010, but since then, their decline has been steep. The emergence of Arkansas State and the arrival of Georgia Southern and Appalachian State have further pushed Troy down the conference hierarchy.
In 2016, Troy gets a shot at all of them, but they shouldn’t consider that a good thing. They still have a long way to go before they are back to competing for the conference title. It doesn’t help at all that they play those three teams in their final four games of the year.
Georgia Southern has the last crack at Troy after a 15-day break. Troy’s air raid is built to wear teams out, but the Eagles should be rested and prepared for it.
Last meeting: 2015, Georgia Southern 45, Troy 10
Series record: Georgia Southern trails 5-10
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