LITTLE ROCK — The triple option, and national success, have returned to Georgia Southern football.

“It’s an offense that I believe in,” Coach Jeff Monken said. “It’s the mind-set, the toughness and the importance placed on running the ball.

“There’s such an identity at this school with this offense.”

Former coaches Erk Russell and Paul Johnson made triple-option offense a staple of the school’s Football Championship Subdivision record six national championships (1985-1986, 1989-1990, 1999-2000).

Triple-option offense faded away, as did national success, when coaches Brian VanGorder and Chris Hatcher installed traditional passing offenses after Johnson, and Monken, left for Navy after the 2001 season.

But Monken, 45, just did what came naturally to him when he was hired by the Eagles in 2010 after serving 13seasons as an assistant coach under Johnson from 1997-2009 at Georgia Southern, Navy and Georgia Tech.

He reinstalled triple-option football and Georgia Southern’s tradition of running and winning has returned.

Monken is 29-11 in his third season as Georgia Southern’s head coach, having led the Eagles to two consecutive FCS semifinals appearances,losing to Delaware and eventual national champion North Dakota State.

Georgia Southern, which hosts Central Arkansas (9-2) in a FCS second-round game at 1 p.m. Central on Saturday, will be appearing in its 19th postseason since joining the FCS (formerly Division I-AA) in 1984. The Eagles are 43-12 (.782) in the postseason, including a 32-3 record at Paulson Stadium.

UCA, an FCS member since 2006, is making its second playoff appearance since becoming eligible for postseason play in 2010.

Georgia Southern (8-3 in 2012) finished in a three-way tie for the Southern Conference championship with Appalachian State and Wofford at 6-2, but earned the league’s automatic berth based on the conference’s tiebreaker system.

The Southern Conference was one of four conferences to receive three bids. The others were the Big Sky Conference, Colonial Athletic Association and the Missouri Valley Conference.

The Eagles’ losses were to The Citadel and Appalachian State in Southern Conference play and at BCS No. 3 Georgia on Nov. 17 in their regular-season finale.

Monken said the strength of the Southern Conference is its depth.

“You can find great teams in every conference,” Monken said. “This is a very competitive conference. There’s a lot of parity. A lot of teams could have been a playoff team. The Citadel went 7-4 and beat us and Appalachian State. Samford was 7-4 and had Appalachian down to the wire.”

The Eagles, who average 35.5 points and 453.7 yards of total offense per game, are led by 5-9, 208-pound junior quarterback Jerick McKinnon, who has rushed for 1,162 yards and 13 touchdowns and passed for 412 yards, 5 touchdowns and 2 interceptions.

“He’s been able to get some experience,” said Monken of McKinnon, who backed up Georgia Tech transfer Jaybo Shaw at quarterback and started for the Eagles in the secondary during their first three FCS playoff games last season. “He was in our first recruiting class. He was so impressive. He’s a talented kid. He’s dynamic in terms of being a leader.”

Georgia Southern, the No. 5 national seed in the FCS bracket, and UCA each earned first-round byes.

“With Paul Johnson, we had some games where we sat our starters in the second half,” Monken said. “Now, I wouldn’t call us a rested team.”

Up next CENTRAL ARKANSAS AT GEORGIA SOUTHERN WHAT Second round of FCS playoffs WHEN 1 p.m. Central on Saturday WHERE Paulson Stadium, Statesboro, Ga.

RECORDS Central Arkansas 9-2, 6-1 Southland Conference; Georgia Southern 8-3, 6-2 Southern Conference COACHES Central Arkansas: Clint Conque (98-53 in 13 seasons); Georgia Southern: Jeff Monken (29-11 in three seasons)

SERIES Central Arkansas leads 1-0 RADIO KHLR-FM, 106.7, in Benton/Little Rock; KUCA-FM, 91.3, in Conway; KCNY-FM, 107.1, in Conway INTERNET ESPN3.com, ucasports.com

Sports, Pages 15 on 11/27/2012