Oct. 18, 2004

Charleston, SC - The media and head football coach John Zernhelt gathered at a press conference at the Altman Center in Johnson Hagood Stadium Monday afternoon to discuss last week's 33-14 loss to Furman University and how the team is preparing for the Georgia Southern game this Saturday.

The offense in the Furman game was lacking as the team could not generate a first down and only gained 42 total yards in the first half.

"I was most disappointed in the play on offense," commented coach Zernhelt. "It was just a lack of execution in the group up front. We worked awfully hard in practice and there should not have been anything that we weren't prepared for."

The Bulldog defense forced the Paladins to attempt many third down conversions, but Furman continued to up the score as they captured 551 total yards on the day.

"Our defense is pretty stout against the run," said Zernhelt. "We forced them to many third downs, but when your defense is out there that much, they never get a break. To put it all together, the total inconsistency in the first half has an effect on how the game plays out."

Georgia Southern steam rolled Appalachian State last weekend 54-7. The Eagles average 52 points a game and the Bulldog defense has to work on slowing down their momentum.

"Georgia Southern is very patient on offense. Its not like they are taking giant chunks of real estate," remarked Zernhelt. "They run for two yards, then they get three yards, then five and half. Historically, we play pretty well against running teams, so we hope to force them to throw the ball more."

The Bulldogs will host Georgia Southern this Saturday, October 23 at Johnson Hagood Stadium at 2 pm.