For a look at Liberty’s opponent in the Cure Bowl this Saturday against the Georgia Southern Eagles, we caught up with Justin Judy, Publisher of Eagles Sports Insider on the 247Sports network.
ASOR: Georgia Southern is just a few years ahead of Liberty in making the move to the FBS, how has life been in the Sun Belt? Is the fan base generally pleased with the move?
Justin Judy: Life in the sunbelt has been good – GS came in the first year and won the league even though they were on a probation from moving to FBS and could not compete in post season. The last few years under Chad Lunsford have been more of what GS fans expect competing against the best teams and riding a 2 game winning streak against App St. The fans like the move mainly because it generates more attention to the program.
ASOR: Georgia Southern has long been know for its triple option, how much different is the offense now? How is it still similar?
JJ: They are still really run heavy but it is out of the gun now. They will pass it more than in years past but it just depends on if the run game is working or not.
ASOR: How have the Eagles’ defense fared this season against other pass happy teams?
JJ: The strength of the defense coming in was the secondary but a few teams such as Troy found success in the air. GS front 7 have done a nice job of getting pressure on opposing quarterbacks.
ASOR: Are Georgia Southern fans as excited for this bowl game as the first two? What kind of crowd do you expect from the Eagles?
JJ: I think they are excited about the placement and the opponent. It is really cool to be in Orlando and a lot of GS fans are familiar with Hugh Freeze as they faced him at Ole Miss in 2016 and lost 37-27 so I’m sure Eagle fans are ready for the rematch. I expect around 8-10k to make it down.
ASOR: What’s your prediction for the game?
JJ: I think Vegas has the line about right. I will go Georgia Southern 27 and Liberty 17
