Georgia Southern and App State will play each other in the Birmingham Bowl today just a few weeks after facing off in a close contest a couple weeks ago.
Georgia Southern won the “Deeper Than Hate” rivalry in a 25-23 battle. The Eagles jumped out to a 19-0 lead and held on as App State outscored the Eagles 23-6 from that point on.
Neither team’s path was very smooth leading up to this point. The Eagles are 6-6 and 4-4 in Sun Belt play while App State is 5-7 and 2-6 against conference opponents after some teams declined their bowl invitations.
Georgia Southern started the season 2-4, beating Jacksonville State and Maine during that time but losing to Fresno State, USC, James Madison, and Southern Miss. But the Eagles won four of their next six games against Georgia State, App State, Coastal Carolina, and Marshall – with losses to Arkansas State and Old Dominion – to earn bowl-eligibility.
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App State looked like it was well on its way to bowl-eligibility in Dowell Loggains’ first season as head coach. The Mountaineers began the season 4-2 with wins over Charlotte, Lindenwood, Oregon State, and Georgia State while only losing to Southern Miss and Boise State.
But App State lost its next four games to Coastal Carolina, Old Dominion, Georgia Southern, and JMU. While App State snapped that losing streak with a win over Marshall, the Mountaineers closed the regular season with a 30-29 loss against Arkansas State.
Now App State has one more chance to bounce back in the Birmingham Bowl.
Georgia Southern vs. App State Betting Odds
App State is a +10 college football betting odds underdog against Georgia Southern, with the Over/Under being 57.5 as of this writing. The moneyline for Georgia Southern is -375, while it’s +300 for App State.
Georgia Southern vs. App State On TV
The matchup between Georgia Southern and App State will be televised on ESPN.
The game will kick off at 2 p.m. ET on Monday, Dec. 29. The contest is taking place at Protective Stadium in Birmingham, Alabama.
Georgia Southern vs. App State Prediction
I predict Georgia Southern will win but App State will cover the 10-point spread. I also project the game will go Over 57.5 total points.
I’m anticipating this matchup will be similar to the last time these two teams played when Georgia Southern beat App State 25-23 in early November.
While Georgia Southern’s defense hasn’t been fantastic this year, ranking last in the Sun Belt with 465.2 yards per game given up and second-to-last with 34.2 points per game allowed, the Eagles’ offense has been solid. Georgia Southern is sixth in the conference in scoring offense (27.8 PPG) and total offense (400.6 YPG).
So while I do think App State will manage to score some points, I don’t know if the Mountaineers will be capable of keeping up with Georgia Southern’s offense.
