The Georgia Southern Eagles (-7.5) are set to take on their SBC nemesis Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks at JPS Field at James L. Malone Stadium. ESPN 3 will televise the action and kickoff will take place at 3:00 p.m. ET.
Georgia Southern Eagles at Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks Betting Preview
In this Saturday Sun Belt game, Georgia Southern is projected as the favorite and is currently giving up 7.5 points. The Eagles are also receiving -330 moneyline odds while the Warhawks are +250. If one squad can find paydirt early it would create a reasonable live betting scenario. Oddsmakers have placed the over/under (O/U) at 56.5 points.
The line opened at 8. The game’s O/U hasn’t moved since it opened at 56.5.
Both of these teams have rewarded gamblers this season as the Eagles have gained 8.6 units and the Warhawks are up 1.6 units.
The Eagles have gone 7-1 straight up (SU), including 4-0 SU against SBC opponents. The Warhawks are 4-4 SU overall and are also 2-2 SU in conference play.
The Eagles hope to keep things rolling after a 34-14 victory over Appalachian State last week. The Eagles defense allowed the Mountaineers to rush for 149 yards on 36 attempts, along with one rushing TD. On the offensive side, the Eagles completed 1-of-3 passes for 57 yards and one touchdown. Shai Werts went one-for-3 for 57 yards and one touchdown while Davarius Bargnare completed -of- for yards. Wesley Fields (98 yards on 18 rush attempts, two TDs) and the signal-caller Werts (129 yards on 14 carries, one TD) mounted the ground attack. Darion Anderson (one receptions, 57 yards, one TD) handled the receiving duties in the win.
Louisiana-Monroe just earned a 20-14 win over Texas State. Caleb Evans completed 13-of-29 passes for 124 yards and one touchdown. Evans (85 yards on 14 rush attempts) and Derrick Gore (27 yards on 11 carries) handled the running game while Marcus Green (three receptions, 36 yards) and Markis McCray (two catches, seven yards) led all Louisiana-Monroe pass-catchers in the win.
Georgia Southern has run the ball on 88.2 percent of its offensive possessions this year while Louisiana-Monroe has a rush percentage of 49.4 percent. The Eagles have produced 276 rush yards/game (including 271 per game versus Sun Belt opponents) and have 25 scores on the ground this year. The Warhawks are totaling 175 rushing yards per game (199 in conference) and have 13 total rush TDs.
If the numbers so far this season are any indication, then the Eagles might own an edge in all aspects of the ground game. Their running backs has generated 5.4 yards per carry while the defense is allowing a YPC of 4.1 to opponents. The Warhawks have ran for 5.1 yards per carry and given up a YPC of 4.9 to opponents.
The Eagles offense has averaged 74 yards in the air overall (67 per game against conference opposition) and has five passing scores so far. The Warhawks have recorded 230 pass yards per contest (193.8 against SBC competition) and have 10 total pass TDs.
Georgia Southern appears to possess an advantage in both areas of the defense. The team has allowed opponents to rush for an average of 148 yards and pass for 209 yards per game. The Louisiana-Monroe defense has allowed 287.4 yards per game to opposing passers and 195.9 yards per game on the ground. The Eagles are allowing an adjusted net yards per pass attempt (ANY/A) of just 4.09 to opponents, while the Warhawks have given up an 8.47 ANY/A.
Passing-wise, Werts has put up 471 yards this season, and has connected on 27-of-50 attempts with five passing scores and has yet to throw an interception. Werts has a pristine 8.88 adjusted net yards per pass attempt overall, although that number sits at 18.38 over the last two games.
Caleb Evans has managed to complete 143-of-246 passes for 1,522 yards, eight TDs and six INTs for Louisiana-Monroe. His ANY/A sits at 5.16 for the season and 7.23 over his last two outings.
These two SBC adversaries did not get a chance to face each other in 2017.
RELATED: Week 10 College Football Betting Odds and Predictions
NCAA Pick: Georgia Southern Eagles vs. Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks
SU Winner – Louisiana-Monroe, ATS Winner – Louisiana-Monroe, O/U – Under
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Notes
Team Betting Notes
The Louisiana-Monroe defense has sacked opposing QBs 23 times this year. Georgia Southern has registered 20 sacks.
Louisiana-Monroe has lost nine fumbles this season while Georgia Southern has lost three.
The Eagles offense has tallied five pass plays of 40 or more yards, while the Warhawks have put up four such plays.
The Georgia Southern defense has allowed two pass plays of 40 yards or more, while Louisiana-Monroe has given up six such plays.
The Georgia Southern offense has created 20 rushing plays of 20+ yards, while Louisiana-Monroe has created 11 such runs.
The Eagles defense has allowed seven rushing plays of 20 yards or more, while the Warhawks have given up 18 such runs.
The O/U for Louisiana-Monroe’s previous game was set at 61. The under cashed in that 20-14 victory over Texas State.
In its last three contests, Louisiana-Monroe is 1-2 ATS and the under cashed in two of those three.
Over its last three matchups, Georgia Southern is 2-1 ATS and the over cashed in two of those three.
The Over/Under for Georgia Southern’s previous game was 47.5. The over cashed in the team’s 34-14 triumph over Appalachian State.
As a team, Georgia Southern has averaged 5.1 yards per rush attempt over its last three contests and 6.0 over its last two.
Louisiana-Monroe has averaged 5.2 yards per carry over its last three matchups and 6.1 over its past two.
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