The first half of last week’s Sun Belt Game of the Week lived up to expectations when James Madison and Old Dominion were trading blows. Unexpectedly, the two best defenses in the league surrendered a combined 55 first-half points.
JMU ran away in the second half, though, after its defense held ODU scoreless and it took advantage of turnovers. Quarterback Alonza Barnett III finished with 448 total yards and six total touchdowns as the Dukes won 63-27 and cemented themselves as the best team in the Sun Belt right now.
This week’s Game of the Week features a cross-divisional matchup.
How To Watch Georgia Southern-Arkansas State
The game kicks off at 7 p.m. ET on Saturday and will air on ESPN+.
Georgia Southern-Arkansas State Betting Odds
Arkansas State is a 1.5-point college football betting odds favorite over Georgia Southern, as of this writing. The Over/Under is at 63.5.
Georgia Southern-Arkansas State Coaches & Records
GASO: Clay Helton (69-47 overall, 23-23 at GASO)
ASU: Butch Jones (106-89 overall, 22-35 at ASU)
Last meeting: GASO won 59-33 in 2021 at home. The series is tied 3-3.
Georgia Southern Preview
It’s been a disappointing season for the Eagles so far this season. They entered the year as one of the favorites to win the conference but are just 3-4 and 1-2 in league play. They’re coming off a 41-24 win over Georgia State last week while their other wins came against Jacksonville State and Maine.
There’s still time to turn things around and finish above .500, but the defense will need to play better if that’s the case. Georgia Southern has allowed 34 or more points in all but two games this season and is second-to-last in the Sun Belt, allowing 35.6 points per game. They’re allowing 237 rushing YPG and 5.8 yards per carry. Tackling and missed assignments have haunted the Eagles for much of the season.
The secondary has been steady but has taken a hit with redshirt senior Chance Gamble being forced to miss the remainder of the season with a torn labrum he suffered two weeks ago. Redshirt freshman Jaquari Brown started in place of Gamble last week.
Linebackers Brandon Tyson and Brendan Harrington lead the Eagles with 54 total tackles apiece.
One of the lone bright spots for GASO this season is wideout Camden Brown, who leads the league with eight touchdown receptions and is third with 85 YPG. Dalen Cobb has 34 receptions for 301 yards and three scores. The Eagles’ wideouts have also been shorthanded for much of the season with Josh Dallas being sidelined since Week 2.
QB JC French IV is averaging 209.9 YPG and has 16 total TDs while OJ Arnold is pacing the Eagles with 439 yards on the ground.
Arkansas State Preview
The Red Wolves could very well be 1-5 instead of 3-4 right now. Their last two victories have each come by one point after they scored in the waning seconds following missed kicks by their opponents.
Against Texas State two weeks ago, QB Jaylen Raynor ran in the game-tying touchdown with seven seconds left and the PAT from Clune Van Andel won the game 31-30. Texas State missed an extra point less than a minute earlier.
Last Tuesday, Van Andel drained a 38-yard field goal to lift the Red Wolves to a 15-14 win over South Alabama. The Jaguars missed a field goal the previous possession.
That was already the fourth one-possession game ASU has played in this season.
With those two wins, the Red Wolves sit alone in third place in the Sun Belt West. Now they have a real shot at improving to 3-1 in conference play.
I expect GASO’s defense will have its hands full with the dual-threat Raynor, who has over 1,900 yards of total offense and 13 total TDs this season. He is the Red Wolves’ leading rusher. ASU only averages 124 rushing YPG, so it’ll be interesting to see if they can find success against the Eagles’ poor rush defense.
The Red Wolves have four players with at least 20 receptions this year and are led by Chauncy Cobb’s 40 receptions and 474 yards. After a slow start to the season, second-team All-Sun Belt selection Corey Rucker has 35 catches for 392 yards and one TD.
Like the Eagles, ASU’s defense has also struggled. Only Georgia State and Georgia Southern are allowing more yards per game than ASU, which is surrendering 446.3 YPG.
Georgia Southern-Arkansas State Prediction
I predict Arkansas State wins and covers the spread.
I think both defenses struggle in this game but Raynor makes a few more plays down the stretch to will the Red Wolves to a win like he’s done the past two weeks.
