The Georgia State Panthers battle the South Alabama Jaguars this week in a game that will feature the SBC’s top passer, Nick Arbuckle (3,135 yards, 20 TDs). Coming into the game, the Panthers are 3-6 while the Jaguars are 5-4. The game kicks off Saturday, Nov 21 at 2:00 p.m. ET and will be shown on ESP3.
In last week’s game, Georgia State easily got past Texas State 41-19. Nick Arbuckle had an outstanding performance passing the ball in the win, connecting on 23 of 34 passes for 471 yards, four TDs and two interceptions. Robert Davis also had a big day, contributing 177 receiving yards and a TD on five catches. South Alabama was victorious in last week’s performance as well, defeating Louisiana-Lafayette 32-25. Gerald Everett had a good game for the Jaguars, catching four balls for 59 yards and one TD. Cody Clements had a great game as well, adding 281 yards and a TD through the air.
Georgia State is a slim one-point favorite at home against the Jaguars.
Sitting at 3-6 Straight Up (SU) and 5-4 Against The Spread (ATS), the Panthers will look to improve heading into Week 12. In their five most recent matchups, the Panthers went 2-3 SU and 3-2 ATS. The Georgia State passing attack has averaged 350.2 yards per contest over their last five games. During their last five games, the Panthers have also improved their pass coverage, giving up an average of 232.4 passing yards. The Panthers defense will be hungry against South Alabama, who rank 116th in the nation with 2.1 turnovers committed per game.
As for their opponent, the Jaguars have 5-4 SU and 3-6 ATS records this season. In the previous five games, South Alabama has a record of 3-2 SU and 2-3 ATS. Averaging 191.4 rushing yards over their last five games, South Alabama’s running backs have turned it on lately. For the season, they’ve only averaged 165.1 yards per game. Lately, the Jaguars have had a better pass defense. They’re allowing only 191.4 passing YPG over their last five matchups. The Jaguars may be aware that the floodgates tend to open on the Panthers during the fourth quarter, when they allow 9.3 points per game.
Predictions: SU Winner – Georgia State, ATS Winner – Georgia State
Notes
Georgia State is 3-17 SU in its last 20 games.
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Georgia State’s last 5 games.
Georgia State is 0-5 ATS in its last 5 games at home.
Georgia State is 0-5 SU in its last 5 games at home.
South Alabama is 3-1 SU when leading at the start of the 4th quarter this season. Georgia State is 3-2 SU when leading at the end of the third quarter.
Georgia State is 1-2 SU in games where it wins the turnover battle, and winless (0-2 SU) when losing the turnover battle.
According to overall FBS team rankings, South Alabama is rated higher in the ground game on both sides of the ball. Its 74th-ranked rushing attack will face the 101st-ranked run defense of Georgia State, while its 99th-ranked run defense will look to contain the 125th-ranked rushing game of the Panthers.