The Georgia Southern football team was in the driver's seat for last Thursday's game at Old Dominion. Unfortunately, they were overwhelmed by the Monarchs in a humiliating 47-19 loss, leaving them one win away from bowl qualification and securing the East lead at 3-1.

This week the Eagles are packing their bags and heading to South Alabama once again. Head coach Clay Helton says everyone was disappointed with last week's performance and the team did a lot of reflection in the days following the loss.

“When you have a game like this toward the end of October and beginning of November, it's important to have a tremendous attitude,” Helton said. “We were completely honest in saying what went wrong, identifying the corrections that needed to be made and responding. The good thing is that this team has already shown that they can respond to tough losses with wins over Nevada and Georgia State.”

Since starting the season with six touchdowns and no interceptions, Eagle quarterback JC French has lost six touchdowns, six interceptions and four fumbles. In limited action, Dexter Willaims has led the team to four touchdown drives on five occasions. Helton said he's sticking with French as the Eagles starter, but used a baseball analogy and might go to the bullpen for Williams if he sees him struggling.

“If you look at JC the last few games, he threw five touchdown passes and secured the ball better in this last game than he did in the previous one,” Helton said. “He also had a higher accuracy rate than the guy behind him, so he’ll go out first. It's like a pitcher struggling in the World Series. If he burns, they keep him out. If he has trouble, they bring in a replacement, which we have. When you fight in November, these are the decisions that have to be made and I will make them.”

For the last two years, November has been less fighting and more fighting for the Eagles. Under Helton, the Eagles are 1-9 after October. Helton didn't shy away from that fact, saying the Eagles have prepared differently and hopes the increased depth will help them again this year.

“From a technology standpoint, we had a lot to offer to prepare for the end of a season and stay healthier,” Helon said. “I think that meant there were fewer injuries at the end of the season. We also added more depth. It's hard to lose a Justin Rhodes, but now we can get an Elhadj Fall who plays well. I also think the overall maturity of this team is better than ever.”

Life on the road has been tough under Helton, too, as they are 5-11 on the road. This would be the perfect time to play at Paulson, but instead the Eagles must travel to Mobile to face a South Alabama team that is 3-1 in conference play, including an impressive 46-17 win Saturday against Louisiana- Monroe.

The Eagle defense gave up over 500 yards of offense last week against ODU and this week faces a South Alabama team that was particularly good at running the ball, averaging over 216 yards per game and scoring over 36 points per contest.

“I think we have a chance to right a lot of mistakes this week,” Eagle linebacker Marques Watson-Trent said. “We're in a similar situation to last year and I feel like we looked around last year and got lost. At the moment I feel like we are focused. They are well balanced and a physical team. I feel like we are also a team that is physical and if we play our football we can be a dominant defense.”

On offense, the Eagles know they need to establish the run better. After rushing for 190 yards against the league's toughest run defense in JMU, the Eagles managed just 113 against ODU, including just six yards on two carries for Jalen White.

“I wish there had been more,” Helton said. “We didn’t support our quarterback with a running game on Thursday. This affects all of us, including me. We have to be better in the running game. If you look at us against Georgia State and James Madison, we were very efficient in the run game and won. This week it’s time for us to respond.”

Georgia Southern and South Alabama are scheduled to begin at 7:30 a.m. in Mobile in a game that will air on ESPNU.