Georgia Southern Eagles 2023 College Football Preview
July 5, 2023
2022 Recap
Record – 6-7
ATS – 7-6
“And I’m spent.” <Austin Powers> <The Spy Who Shagged Me> <1999>
That was a crazy ride. The Eagles picked up some impressive wins (James Madison, CORN) whilst accumulating a lot of yards and points in the process. The last gasp for bowl eligibility came in the final week of the regular season when they hosted Appalachian St, and by golly, they won the game in 2OT to get to the postseason. They were upset by the Bulls in the Camellia Bowl and finished with a record of 6-7.
Georgia Southern Eagles 2023 Outlook
OFFENSE
The Eagles moved the ball thru the air like a TREMENDOUS MACHINE last season behind the arm of Kyle Vantrease who threw for over 4,000 yards (!). The new sheriff in town is QB Davis Brin who played a lot of football at Tulsa (5,675 career passing yards, 37-24 TD to INT) and the Eagles also added a few interesting backups. Brin will be happy to know that the top-two targets from LY’s squad are back in action including #1 man Khaleb Hood (925, 3 TD), and don’t sleep on Kentucky transfer TE Keaton Upshaw in the red zone. Two of the top three RBs are retained including #1 option Jalen White (914, 10 TD, 5.6) and four starters come back on the offensive line. This has the potential to be the best offense in the Sun Belt. <grabs popcorn>
DEFENSE
Georgia Southern had problems on defense LY and none were bigger than trying to stop the run (231 YPG, #128 FBS). They also had trouble achieving PENETRATION (20 sacks, #104). It’s tough to know what to expect this year as the Eagles bring back a mere four starters (is that good or bad?), but it’s nice to know that they retain the excellent LB duo of Marques Watson-Trent (#1 tackler LY) and Khadry Jackson (#3). The DL still looks a bit shaky to us and the secondary is in total rebuild mode. The good news is that they poached some secondary pieces thru the transfer portal including a pair from Power 5 teams.
SPECIAL TEAMS
RUH ROH. Georgia Southern has to replace their P/PK combo and recall that PK Alex Raynor went 18/20 on FGA in 2022. PR Amare Jones also needs to be replaced (9.3).
Schedule Analysis
Overall – We LIKEY LIKEY. The non-conference schedule is soft outside of the trip to Wisconsin and they got the sweetest draw imaginable from the West (ULM, at Texas St). Note that three of their final four games are ON THE HIGHWAY and two of those tests are tough (at Marshall, at Appalachian St).
Potential ATS Trouble Spot – at Appalachian St (Nov 25)
This will be the Eagles’ third road game of the month and the Mountaineers will be looking to avenge the 2-OT defeat they suffered LY in Statesboro. The weather will likely be FROSTY ** which theoretically favors the home team.
** Karen, it’s called “late-November weather”, not “climate change”.
Season Win Total
Market consensus July 5
Over 6 -120
Under 6 +100
MEGALOCKS says:
Lean: Over
You’ve gotta believe these guys will score enough points along the way to win six games, AMIRITE? The schedule certainly gives them a helping hand.
MEGAmazing Tidbit
Georgia Southern scored just 20 PPG in 2021 with their traditional “option-style” attack, but in Clay Helton’s first season as HC, they put up 33 PPG with their high-octane passing scheme. Not many (any?) teams can make that drastic of a change in one season and see such great results. Fun fact: the OL allowed just 7 sacks in 612 (!!) attempts in 2022.
MEGALOCKS Forecast:
GET CHO CALCULATORS, yo. We see lots of points on the horizon during Georgia Southern games as the offense should be PURE FIRE whilst the defense has a lot of holes. We don’t think they’ll compete for a divisional crown as the Sun Belt East is quickly becoming as nasty as the SEC West, but we’ll call for six or seven wins and a trip to a bowl game. Let’s do itttttt!