Savannah State is coming to “The Rock” after a 54-0 shutout by the hands of Georgia Southern. Southern Miss on the other hand, rode the largest comeback in school history on the way to a 44-35 win over Kentucky.

GSU, coming off a season where they were 9-4, put up 605 yards on offense on the Savannah State Tigers on Sep. 3. On the other hand, the Tiger offense managed just 114 yards on the day.

Offensive struggles

The offensive lull carried over from last season, as the Tigers were only able to score over 30 points in one game last year in their lone win of the season against Florida A&M.

Savannah State also managed only 1.3 yards per rush on the day, led by starter Rashod Saxton who had seven carries for 22 yards. Also, two quarterbacks saw game action for the Tigers. Blake Dever threw for 50 yards on nine attempts, while T.J. Bell threw for 30 yards on nine attempts, also.

The offensive line gave up four sacks for 33 yards, and the running backs saw no space on the first level of the defense evidenced by the lack of production on the ground.

Defensive breakdown

Junior Mulik SImmons was the leader in production on defense, leading the team with 15 tackles. But, 12 of those tackles were assisted. The Golden Eagle offense plays a spread system with receivers all over the field, meaning the opposing team has to make plays in space.

This team will have to make those crucial tackles in space, evidenced by the plays that they failed to make against Georgia Southern.

Player to Watch

Junior running back Ito Smith comes into this game against the Tigers with 173 yards and a touchdown to his name for his performance against Kentucky.

Smith averages 5.4 yards a carry for his career and he is the focal point of the ground game in the Shannon Dawson-led spread offense. Nick Mullens will get his on the day, but Smith should also have a big day with long runs in the holes created by the Southern Miss offensive line.

Prediction: Southern Miss 48, Savannah State 10