Learning about Georgia Southern...

First, Georgia Southern has hired a new head coach.  They did not pick their interim coach, going for Colorado State DC Tyson Summers.

Here's how their AD described what they were looking for:

"What we get in Tyson is someone who knows Georgia, someone who was born and raised in Georgia, someone who has recruited Georgia his entire career, and someone who has been a part of a ... school that has played on New Year's Day, which is the level we're aspiring to get to,''

FCS--6 time champion, made finals 8 times.  The most.  Football was suspended in 1941 for the war and Georgia Southern did not have football until 1984.   They won their first national title the next year.

This is their first bowl game, which I think does amp up the enthusiasm on their side.

Here's how their season played out.  As we know, they were 8-4, and one of their losses was in OT @Georgia.  They also lost @WVU and @App State, neither of which is a bad loss.  Probably the loss they are most disappointed in is the big loss at home to Georgia State, which is apparently a rival.

They had a blow out win over WMU, but did not beat another team with a winning record for the year.  Most of these games were not close, to Georgia Southern's credit.  They finished 3rd in the Sun Belt.

09/05/2015 @ West Virginia L 0 - 44
09/12/2015 Western Mich. W 43 - 17
09/19/2015 The Citadel W 48 - 13
09/26/2015 @ Idaho W 44 - 20
10/03/2015 @ La.-Monroe W 51 - 31
10/17/2015 New Mexico St. W 56 - 26
10/22/2015 @ Appalachian St. L 13 - 31
10/29/2015 Texas St. W 37 - 13
11/14/2015 @ Troy W 45 - 10
11/21/2015 @ Georgia L 17 - 23 (1OT)
11/28/2015 South Ala. W 55 - 17
12/05/2015 Georgia St. L 7 - 34

They placed 7 players on the All-Sun Belt post-season team.

First Team All-Sun Belt Conference Offense
Matt Breida (Georgia Southern, Jr., RB, Finance)
Darien Foreman (Georgia Southern, Sr., OL, General Studies)

First Team All-Sun Belt Conference Defense
Antonio Glover (Georgia Southern, Sr., DB, General Studies)

First Team All-Sun Belt Conference Special Teams
Derek Keaton (Georgia Southern, Sr., Return Specialist, Justice Studies)

Second Team All-Sun Belt Conference Offense
Andy Kwon (Georgia Southern, Jr., OL, Sport Management)

Second Team All-Sun Belt Conference Defense
Bernard Dawson (Georgia Southern, Jr., DL, Information Technology)
Jay Ellison (Georgia Southern, Jr., DL, General Studies)