Arkansas State Red Wolves vs Georgia Southern Eagles Prediction, Odds and Preview - 10/02/2021

Game Time: 4:00 pm ET, Saturday, October 2, 2021

Venue:  Allen E. Paulson Stadium, Statesboro, GA

Where to Watch:  ESPN+

DraftKings:  Point Spread:  Arkansas State +1.5, Georgia Southern -1.5; Over/Under:  65.5 points

Bet365:  Point Spread:  Arkansas State +2.5, Georgia Southern -2.5; Over/Under:  64.5 points

BetMGM:  Point Spread:  Arkansas State +2, Georgia Southern -2; Over/Under:  65 points

 

Arkansas State Red Wolves:  1-3 (4th place, Sun Belt Group B)

Georgia Southern Eagles:  1-3 (5th place, Sun Belt Group A)

 

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Arkansas State Red Wolves:  lost on the road on Sep. 25 against the Tulsa Golden Hurricane 41-34.

Georgia Southern Eagles:  lost at home on Sep. 25 against the Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin Cajuns 28-20.

 

 

 

Arkansas State is coming into this college football game with a 1-3 record overall and they are 0-2 in their road games this season where they will be in this game. This will be their first conference game of the season on their college football schedule. They started their season off on the right foot with a win over the Central Arkansas Bears but they have followed that up with 3 losses coming against the Memphis Tigers, the Washington Huskies, and Tulsa in their last game. James Blackman played a decent game in that one as he completed 23/37 passes for 321 yards, 2 touchdowns, and 1 interception. They had no running game in that one as Johnnie Land led the team in rushing with 27 yards on 4 carries, but they barely even attempted to run the ball in that game. The receiving corps did have a nice day though as Corey Rucker led the team in receiving with 115 yards on 4 receptions while Dahu Green had 82 receiving yards and 1 touchdown on 4 receptions. Elery Alexander led the defense with 7 solo tackles and 7 assisted ones. Kivon Bennett had 5 solo tackles and 6 assisted ones in that game along with 1 sack while JoJo Ozougwu led the defense in sacks with 2. Jarius Reimonenq came away with the only interception for his team in that one. They have scored 127 points in their first 4 games and they have allowed their opponents to score 169 points against them. Their offense is averaging 487.7 YPG while their defense is allowing 538.7 YPG.

 

 

Georgia Southern is coming into this game with a 1-3 record overall and they are 1-1 in their home games this season where they will be in this game as they are the host. This will be their 2nd conference matchup of the college football season as they are already 0-1 in their conference games this year. They started their year off right with a win in their season opener against the Gardner-Webb Runnin' Bulldogs but then they followed that up with 3 losses straight against the Florida Atlantic Owls, the Arkansas Razorbacks, and the ULL Ragin' Cajuns in their last game. Justin Tomlin struggled in their last game as he completed 11/24 passes for 175 yards and 1 interception. Gerald Green had a massive day in the run game as he led the team in rushing with 186 yards and 3 touchdowns on 18 carries. Logan Wright led the receivers with 85 yards on 4 receptions but Wright and Green were pretty much the focal points of this offense in that game. Anthony Wilson led the defense with 5 solo tackles and 3 assisted ones while Justin Birdsong was right behind him with 5 solo tackles. Tyler Bride recorded the only sack in the game for them while no one on the defense came away with an interception. They have scored 66 points in their first 4 games and they have allowed their opponents to score 136 points against them. Their offense is averaging 330 YPG while their defense is allowing 531.7 YPG.

 

Georgia Southern have been struggling on offense in a lot of their games this season as they have not scored more than 20 points against an FBS team yet. They are getting an Arkansas State team that has been putting up a lot of yards and points on offense scoring at least 34 in each of their games except for 1. They were able to put up 50 on Memphis and 34 on Tulsa staying very competitive in both of those games. Arkansas State has looked like the better team in the first few games of the season so the best bet here is to take them to upset on the road here.

 

Arkansas State Georgia Southern Prediction:  Our NCAAF Pick for Saturday, October 2, 2021 (4:00 pm ET start time) is Arkansas State 37 Georgia Southern 24.

Don't miss our champion handicappers free picks and expert football picks today.  And if you enjoyed this Arkansas State Red Wolves Georgia Southern Eagles prediction, be sure to drop by every day for our weekly NCAAF predictions and previews.

 

 

Arkansas State Red Wolves: 142-129 ATS in all games. 83-73 ATS against conference opponents.

Georgia Southern Eagles: 19-27 O/U after gaining 275 or more rushing yards last game. 15-22 O/U after a game where they forced 1 or less turnovers.

 

 

Arkansas State Red Wolves:  M. Murray (RB) day-to-day - Undisclosed injury.

Georgia Southern Eagles:  A. Jones (RB) day-to-day - Leg injury. D. Canteen (CB) out for season - Pectoral injury. T. Bradley-Glenn (LB) out for season - Bicep injury.

 

 

Arkansas State Red Wolves: Corey Rucker is one player to watch here. He leads his team in receiving yards and he has a team-high 4 touchdowns this season. He is coming off of a massive game last week and he will want to carry that over into this game so look for him to get some passes thrown his way.

 

Georgia Southern Eagles: Gerald Green is one player to watch in this one. He leads his team in rushing yards and in touchdowns. He took over in their last game so look for him to repeat that performance as he looks to have a breakout year coming out of nowhere to put up these big performances.

 

“I thought we made a monumental leap this week in the way we approached the week and practiced. We knew we were coming in to play a very good football team who has played a lot of quality opponents, but our kids kept fighting. The next evolution in learning how to win games, especially on the road, is being able to withstand the mental swings and changes. I thought, at times, we didn’t keep that consistent pace.” - Head coach Butch Jones on how his team played after a loss to Tulsa.

 

 

 

“If the product on the field is not to the liking of our fanbase, they have every right to get upset about it. We’re a form of entertainment. We’re a production, and that’s my job. It’s our job to go out there and perform for our fanbase. For them to get upset, thank you. Because if you’re part of a group that doesn’t care, that doesn’t want you to be great, that doesn’t want you to win championships, I don’t want to be there.” - Chad Lunsford on his mentality and his expectations for his players when playing in games.

 

 

 

 

 

WR Foreman, Jeff 

WR Rucker, Corey 

WR Hunt, Te'Vailance 

TE Tyler, Reed 

QB Blackman, James 

RB Lamar, Alan 

 

WR Mcafee, Jjay 

WR Smith, Emil 

WR Hood, Khaleb 

TE Johnson, Beau 

QB Tomlin, Justin 

RB Wright, Logan 

 

 

Passing: J. Blackman (972)

Rushing: A. Lamar (107)

Receiving: C. Rucker (372)

Touchdowns: C. Rucker (4)

Sacks: K. Bennett (3.5)

Tackles: E. Alexander (19)

 

Passing: J. Tomlin (240)

Rushing: G. Green (279)

Receiving: L. Wright (104)

Touchdowns: G. Green (279)

Sacks: T. Bride (2)

Tackles: J. Birdsong (16)

 

Coaches:

Arkansas State Red Wolves: Butch Jones (1st season)

Georgia Southern Eagles: Chad Lunsford (5th season)

 

80 degrees F mostly sunny, 51% humidity, 0% chance of rain, up to 7 mph wind speeds NE.