The Georgia Southern Eagles swoop into Jonesboro, Arkansas to take on the Arkansas State Red Wolves on Wednesday, October 5th. The contest will get underway at 8:00 p.m. ET and will be telecast on the ESPN2 Network. The Eagles are a -7 point favorite and the over/under is set at 55.
Georgia Southern and Arkansas State had the previous week of football off. They both hope to recharge their batteries after coming off of defeats. Georgia Southern fell to Western Michigan in a shoot-out 49-31. Arkansas State lost their fourth in a row when the fell at home to FCS Central Arkansas.
Georgia Southern (3-1):
This match-up will be the second of four straight road games for Georgia Southern. The Eagles are 2-0 in Sun Belt Conference play so far this year. After their first loss of the season at Western Michigan, Georgia Southern looks to get back to their winning formula of a strong running game and a mistake-free defense.
Quarterback Favian Upshaw is the Swiss Army knife of the Eagles offense. The signal-caller looks to run first, but has completed 21 passes for over 400 yards with four touchdowns and two picks. Upshaw is an effective runner carrying the ball on 43 occasions for over 250 yards and two more scores.
The Eagles rotate the running duties out of the back field between three different tail backs. Matt Breida and two others have combined for almost 150 carries, totaling over 700 yards and seven touchdowns.
Wide Receivers Montay Crockett and B.J. Johnson have reeled in 18 balls for over 300 yards and a score. Both of these wide outs are effective blockers and open the edge for the Eagle’s running backs.
On defense, linebacker Iron head Gallon captains a squad that leads the league in total defense. Furthermore, the Eagles lead the conference in scoring defense and third-down percentage. The unit struggled in their last outing, but Western Michigan also looks to be on their way to the MAC Championship.
Arkansas State (0-4):
The Red Wolves are off to a horrible start to their 2016 season. They got walloped by Toledo, smacked around by Auburn and handled by Utah State. The coup de grace very well might have been their most recent set-back at the hands of FCS Central Arkansas. Unfortunately, the Red Wolves are struggling upfront. That also could spell big problems against Georgia Southern.
The man under center for the Red Wolves is Justice Hansen. He has stepped in for an ineffective Chad Voytik. As of this week, he has 43 completions for nearly 750 yards and four touchdowns with three interceptions.
Warren Wand takes most if not all of the running duties in Arkansas State’s stagnant offense. The tail back has 58 carries for 228 yards and a touchdown. It’s gotten so bad, that they are only averaging 80 yards a game.
Obviously, the receiving core isn’t fairing any better. Blake Mack is Arkansas State’s best producer. Before this Friday, he has 20 catches for 360 yards. The wide out has yet to bring in a touchdown catch. In fact, the Red wolves only have four scores from their group as a whole.
The defense was considered a strength before the year got underway. Nevertheless, that is not the case now. They are on the field way to often, allowing just under 240 yards a game via the ground. Currently, they rank 120th in the nation in total yards against, yielding just under 500 a ball game.
Trends and Notes:
The Eagles are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 road games.
The Under is 6-1 in the Eagles last 7 conference games.
The Over is 22-4 in the Red Wolves last 26 conference games.
The Red Wolves are 4-0 ATS in their last 4 conference games.
Game Prediction:
A week of reflection might be just what Arkansas State needed to clear their heads and regroup. Georgia Southern is coming in with a sour taste in their mouths off their first loss of the year.
The Red Wolves will be at home and a little healthier but their troubles in the trenches could be their downfall. Georgia Southern is going to rotate their plethora of tail backs and pound away at the Red Wolves weakness. This game might be competitive in the first half but I expect the Eagles to wear them down and get the win.
Take the better team over four quarters. Georgia Southern and the -7.
