So for the first time in what feels like a long time, the Tigers open in Death Valley as a heavy favorite against a non-conference opponent from the Sun Belt.

Of course, Georgia Southern is a bit more than the average Sun Belt squad. They’ve been a proud FCS program for a long time. They run a specialized offense that requires a very specific defensive gameplan. They fit into that most cursed of G5 non-conference opponents: pesky.

“Pesky,” as our esteemed Holly Anderson once defined on the Shutdown Fullcast, means “the kind of team that makes you look bad even when you win.”