Indiana Football week 4 preview: Can Georgia Southern’s defense match up with the Hoosier offense?

In the final nonconference game of IU’s schedule, Indiana will face off against the Georgia Southern Eagles for the first time ever. This game would likely be the last opportunity for Mike DeBord to tune up his defense before getting into the main stretch of Big Ten games.

But what kind of defense should the Hoosiers expect from Georgia Southern? Well, it should appear to be somewhat average, based on 2016 statistics.

The Eagles allowed 4759 yards last season which puts them at 55th best in the nation. Alongside that they ranked 67th in passing yards allowed and 62nd in passing yards allowed. However, those average numbers can’t hide the fact that Georgia Southern struggles to get after the quarterback in multiple facets.

Last season, Georgia Southern ranked third to last with overall team sacks in all of Division I-A with only 11.0. Alongside of that, they were tied for 81st overall in team interceptions at nine. Yet, there is still one more discouraging statistic for the Eagles.

In defensive effiency, the Eagles ranked 94th overall with a score of 36.1 (50 being average, IU had a 60.9 last year ranking 40th). To help give you more perspective, Rutger was more defensively efficient than Georgia Southern last year.

In conclusion, expect Richard Lagow (or perhaps Peyton Ramsey) to handle the Eagles fairly easily when Georgia Southern comes to town on September 23.