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2019 Georgia Southern

7–⁠6 (5–⁠3 Sun Belt Conference), coached by Chad Lunsford.

Schedule and results

Georgia Southern in 2019, game by game: lost at No. 6 LSU 3–55; won vs. Maine 26–18; lost at Minnesota 32–35; lost vs. Louisiana 24–37; won at South Alabama 20–17; won vs. Coastal Carolina 30–27; won vs. New Mexico State 41–7; won at No. 20 App State 24–21; lost at Troy 28–49; won vs. UL Monroe 51–29; lost at Arkansas State 33–38; won vs. Georgia State 38–10; lost vs. Liberty 16–23+34−52Lost 3–55 at No. 6 LSU-52No. 6 LSUWon 26–18 vs. Maine+8MaineLost 32–35 at Minnesota-3MinnesotaLost 24–37 vs. Louisiana-13LouisianaWon 20–17 at South Alabama+3South AlabamaWon 30–27 vs. Coastal Carolina+3Coastal CarolinaWon 41–7 vs. New Mexico State+34New Mexico StateWon 24–21 at No. 20 App State+3No. 20 App StateLost 28–49 at Troy-21TroyWon 51–29 vs. UL Monroe+22UL MonroeLost 33–38 at Arkansas State-5Arkansas StateWon 38–10 vs. Georgia State+28Georgia StateLost 16–23 vs. Liberty-7Liberty
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 31at6LSUL 3–⁠5526%
Sep 7vsMaineW 26–⁠1870%
Sep 14atMinnesotaL 32–⁠3535%
Sep 28vsLouisianaL 24–⁠3755%
Oct 3atSouth AlabamaW 20–⁠1763%
Oct 19vsCoastal CarolinaW 30–⁠2769%
Oct 26vsNew Mexico StateW 41–⁠782%
Oct 31at20App StateW 24–⁠2119%
Nov 9atTroyL 28–⁠4947%
Nov 16vsUL MonroeW 51–⁠2964%
Nov 23atArkansas StateL 33–⁠3843%
Nov 30vsGeorgia StateW 38–⁠1064%
Dec 21Bowls & playoffvsLibertyCure BowlL 16–⁠2361%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Liberty 23–⁠16 in the Cure Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 3rd in the Sun Belt Conference.

In program history: The 7th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 38 on file).

Record
7–⁠6
Conference
5–⁠3 tied for 3rd in Sun Belt Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
366–⁠366
Coach
Chad Lunsford
Elo
1510 −16 this season
SP+ rating
-4.5 No. 86 of 130; offense No. 101, defense No. 61, special teams No. 42
SRS
−1.9 No. 72 of 130 in FBS
Returning
75% of last season’s EPA, No. 30 of 130
Recruiting class
No. 121 roster talent No. 102 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Bob DeBesse
Defensive coordinator
Scot Sloan
Offense
Pistol
Defense
3–⁠4

How good, play by play

  • Offense87th of 130
  • Defense71st of 130
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted104th of 130
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted55th of 130
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.0640%1.1787th of 130
Defense0.1243%1.3271st of 130
Opponent-adjusted0.04 off
0.08 def		38% off
41% def		—104th off
55th def
How these are measured

Play-weighted averages over games against FBS opponents; raw numbers, not adjusted for the strength of the opponent. EPA (expected points added) measures how much each play changed the expected score; success rate counts plays that kept the offense on schedule; explosiveness is the average EPA on successful plays. Lower is better on defense. Ranked by EPA per play among teams that were FBS that season. The opponent-adjusted row (offense / defense) is CollegeFootballData.com’s WEPA, which accounts for who each team played.

Drives and havoc

Points per trip inside the 40Average startHavoc
Offense3.4own 3017% allowed
Defense3.6own 2922% caused

CORE rating -0.0, 58th of 130 (offense -3.0, defense -3.0).

A trip inside the 40 is a drive that reaches the opponent’s 40-yard line; points per trip is how many it scored on average (allowed, on defense). Average start is where drives began (the defense’s line is where its opponents started). Havoc is the share of plays ending in a tackle for loss, a forced fumble, an interception or a pass broken up. CORE is CollegeFootballData.com’s context- and opponent-adjusted rating (points better than an average team; lower is better on defense). From CollegeFootballData.com.

Leaders

Passing yardsShai Werts WR799 yds
Passing touchdownsShai Werts WR9 TD
Rushing yardsWesley Kennedy III RB864 yds
Rushing touchdownsWesley Kennedy III RB11 TD
Receiving yardsMark Michaud WR271 yds
Receiving touchdownsMark Michaud WR4 TD
TacklesRashad Byrd LB85 tkl
SacksDillon Springer DL4 sacks
InterceptionsKenderick Duncan Jr. DB2 INT

Top recruits in the 2019 class

David Spaulding CB★★★No. 1306
Jaden Jenkins DUAL★★★No. 1895
Beau Johnson TE★★★No. 1926
Javonte McGriff OG★★★No. 1968
Milton Jackson WR★★★No. 2254

247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.

The 2019 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks13.00.825
Running backs22.00.787
Receivers42.80.801
Offensive line72.10.793
Defensive line22.50.784
Linebackers12.00.779
Defensive backs42.50.803
Athletes and specialists32.30.795
Whole class242.40.796

High-school signees by position group, with their average stars and 247Sports composite rating (out of 1), via CollegeFootballData.com. Athletes are signees with no set position.

Drafted in 2020

The 2020 draft
Rd 5Kindle Vildor CBChicago Bears
Rd 6Tyler Bass KBuffalo Bills

Roster 127

The 2019 roster

127 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2019 line; 55 have a stat line. See the roster

2019 Sun Belt Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
App State7–⁠113–⁠119
Louisiana7–⁠111–⁠3
Arkansas State5–⁠38–⁠5
Georgia Southern5–⁠37–⁠6
Georgia State4–⁠47–⁠6
UL Monroe4–⁠45–⁠7
Troy3–⁠55–⁠7
Coastal Carolina2–⁠65–⁠7
Texas State2–⁠63–⁠9
South Alabama1–⁠72–⁠10

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.