The Georgia Southern Eagles (4-4, 3-2 Southern Conference) couldn’t quite figure out why they came out flat in Saturday’s 52-16 loss at Appalachian State, but one thing was for sure – it wasn’t the start they were planning on.

“I don’t know,” said GSU running back Adam Urbano, who had 16 carries for 41 yards. “I just feel like we came out in shock I guess. I don’t really feel good about the way we played. I feel like we could have played much better. There’s just something about it.

“I don’t really know how you can come out flat in an atmosphere like this. It’s a great place to play. It’s loud. It’s what you dream of, playing in an environment like this.”

The game was played on “Blackout Saturday” at Appalachian State (5-2, 4-0) in front of 26,215 loud Appalachian fans. Something about it had the Eagles playing slow.

“I’m not sure,” said quarterback Lee Chapple, “but we came out slow. In an atmosphere like this, you can’t do that.”

Speechless

Georgia Southern coach Chris Hatcher couldn’t find the words for the team after the game.

“I didn’t really have much to say to them after the game,” Hatcher said. “I said we’d talk about it on Monday. We need some guys to start stepping up if we want to get back to the top of this conference.”

The Eagles didn’t need to be told what has to happen from here on out.

“You’ve got to stay motivated,” Chapple said. “This is college football, and every Saturday is an opportunity.”

“I don’t know what happens from here on out,” said Urbano, “but we’ve at least got to win out if we’re going to give ourselves a chance.”

A safe return

Defensive back Hudson Presume was rushed to the Watauga Medical Center where reports indicated he was conscious and able to move after suffering an injury late in the second quarter.

He was tested for a spinal injury. The tests came back negative and he remained under observation, before he was cleared and permitted to return home with the team.

“It’s freaky, you know? It’s surreal because that could be anybody,” said GSU defensive lineman Harland Bower. “That could be me. I mean, I got hurt (Saturday), too. You don’t think about it until it happens. It’s bad seeing you’re teammate laying on the ground like that. We thank God that he’ll be able to ride back on the bus with us and he’ll be alright.”

The boot

Punter Charlie Edwards set a career high with a 68 yard punt in the first quarter. He’s upped his net average to 40.4 yards per kick.

Even that didn’t motivate the Eagles.

“I was hoping maybe that big punt would have fired us up,” said Edwards. “Special teams is just as important as everything else. It’s a big momentum changer.”

It’s in the mind

While Chapple was sacked five times in the game, it could have been worse.

The sophomore quarterback avoided several more losses by scrambling and unloading the football – either by throwing it out of bounds or finding a receiver.

It was the only positive Chapple could find.

“I think the internal clock is going off a little better for me – just knowing when it’s time to get out of the pocket,” he said. “If you can draw anything out of (the loss), I wasn’t doing that earlier in the year. It’s another phase of the offense. It helps the guys protection wise, because they don’t know where you’re at. You’ve got to get out of the pocket, throw the ball away and play another down. I was able to do that – sometimes.”

Exposing weakness

The Eagles have avoided down-field passing and risk-taking so far this season while trying to adapt to the youth on the offensive side of the ball.

The Mountaineers took full advantage.

“It’s kind of been smoke and mirrors,” Hatcher said. “Each week we’ve been trying to hide weaknesses and expand on some of our strengths, and when you play a good team, you’ve got to be strong on all phases.”

The Eagles are off this weekend before returning to action the following Saturday on the road at Samford.

Matt Yogus can be reached at (912) 489-9408.