2012 FCS Playoffs: North Dakota State's defense a tall test for Eagles

The last time the North Dakota State defense allowed a touchdown in the FCS playoffs, it was to Georgia Southern's Dominique Swope. That was a year ago, when the Bison defeated the Eagles 35-7 in the semifinals en route to the FCS championship. The Eagles will go back to the Fargodome on Friday night for the FCS playoff quartfinals, and will again try to get around the extremely tough NDSU defense.

Georgia Southern is coming off an emotional 49-35 comeback win over Old Dominion, in which they erased a 14 point deficit in the fourth quarter to win by 14. The Eagles rushed for 602 yards against the Monarchs, but should face stiffer resistance versus the Bison. However, NDSU's defense isn't the only thing Georgia Southern has to worry about, as the Bison offense is more than capable of doing damage as well:

"What I can tell you for sure is their quarterback, their o-line, their offense, they were able to do some things against us last year," said GSU defensive tackle Brent Russell, who was named a Sports Network All-American on Monday. "This year, we're going to have to play big. It's going to be a battle for 60 minutes, and I don't think anybody doubts that."

The Eagles and Bison will kick off at 8 p.m. ET on Friday night, and the game can be seen on ESPN2.