re: Does Georgia Southern still run the option offense?

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They tell me it's a gun option, which is apparently a triple option out of the shotgun with more pistol and zone reads option.

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That scares me more than the traditional Paul Johnson wishbone-like triple option offense. Mainly, because now they have the threat of those quick slants over the middle that have been our Achilles' Heel for years. But even with that prospect, I like our chances against them on both sides of the LOS.

Florida's loss to GA Southern in '13, back when GSU was relied almost exclusively on the run, was more due to the Gators' inability to move the ball offensively, especially in the RZ. The Eagles had ~100 yards and had lost two turnovers through the 3 minute mark in the first half, but UF was only up 10-0 after 3 possessions inside the 20. Over their next 4 possessions, they netted a whopping 20 yards, and all of sudden they were down 20-10 and GSU (and the crowd in the Swamp) was smelling blood in the water.

Last year's GSU team was much more balanced on offense, but was pretty gawdawful on defense. How bad, you ask? They gave up 6.15 yards per play against FBS teams. To put that in perspective, Arky State, who we torched for 8.3 yards per play in Game 2 while setting a school record for most yards in a game, allowed only 5.0 per play against FBS teams playing a very similar schedule to GSU. And when the two teams met three weeks after AU trounced stAte, the Red Wolves outgained the Screamin' Eagles 525-365 (and 6.82 yards per snap to 5.37).

So, unless our OL fails miserably at run blocking AND pass protection, we should be able to score plenty of points on them based on talent alone. I expect a closer game than we played against Arky State, but more because we're playing it close to the vest in advance of our road trip to the Mistake on the Lake the following week. In any case, GA Southern shouldn't to pose much of a challenge no matter what offense they run.