The Georgia Southern Eagles will play against a Division II opponent, the Campbell Fighting Camels, in an early-season tune-up on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. ET at Allen E. Paulson Stadium. The Eagles were on the positive side of .500 (7-6) last season and are hoping to kick off an even more successful year.

Georgia Southern has the odds in their favor, so they’ll need to guard against complacency. It would take nothing short of a miracle for Campbell to pull off a win, but maybe they can at least keep Georgia Southern from covering the spread.

Why Campbell Will Win

The running game is good, the attack gets back three starters up front, and sophomore Hajj-Malik Williams is one of the best all-around quarterbacks in the FCS. He led the team with 664 rushing yards and nine scores, and he threw for over 2,000 yards for a deep attack with plenty of other options.

Georgia Southern might have the big ground game coming into this, but Campbell should flirt with the 200-yard rushing mark.

Why Georgia Southern Will Win

Can Campbell stop the run? If last year was any indication, nope.

The Camels were 114th in the FCS in run defense allowing 236 yards per game and 5.5 yards per carry. They return seven starters including two linebackers, but only one starter is back on the defensive front.

This is a veteran Georgia Southern offensive backfield that knows what it’s doing. If the option is working from the start, it’s going to take control of the tempo. It’s a deep group of runners around QB Shai Wertz – the Eagle ground game will keep coming in waves.

What’s Going To Happen

The Campbell offense will be good enough to put some points on the board, and LB Justice Galloway-Velazquez and the defense will come up with a few early stops. It won’t be nearly enough as the Eagles get on a roll on the way to over 300 rushing yards.