Georgia St Panthers 2022 College Football Preview
July 17, 2022
2021 Recap
Record – 8-5
ATS – 9-4
The Panthers faced a really tough early season schedule and won just a single game in their first five contests. They were much better when the level of difficulty subsided and went on a sweet little HEEETER winning six of their final seven regular season games. That winning streak included a yuuuge upset road win over the mighty Chanticleers of Coastal Carolina. Georgia St CREMATED Ball St in the Camellia Bowl (W 51-20) and head into 2022 with lots of momentum.
Georgia St Panthers 2022 Outlook
OFFENSE
Georgia St did the vast majority of their damage on the ground LY (227 YPG, #8 FBS) and there’s bad news for Sun Belt competitors on the horizon as the 1-2 RB combo of Tucker Gregg and Jamyest Williams (combined 1,812 yards, 18 TD LY) is back to dominate along with QB Darren Grainger (660, 3 TD). Grainger also posted a fine 19-4 TD to INT ratio and the offense was markedly better once he took over the starting gig. They don’t have an imposing group of THROW GAME targets but #1 WR Jamari Thrash (32, 452, 14.1, 3 TD) is back this year. The key to the ground game working so well is their excellent offensive line and they bring back four starters and over 140 career starts. SWEET.
DEFENSE
The Panthers yielded fewer than 30 PPG for the first time since 2017 LY (27.1, #6 Sun Belt) but still have some improving to do if they wanna be considered a legit contender in the division. The stop unit brings back seven starters and the overwhelming majority of their top participants from LY’s squad so there’s reason to anticipate even more improvement in 2022. Georgia St is less-experienced and a bit small up front but the LB crew is in great shape with the return of the team’s top-two tacklers in Jordan Veneziale and Blake Carroll who also combined for 19.5 TFL in 2021. The secondary is well-stocked with four returning starters including 1st Team Sun Belt honoree safety Antavious Lane. This has the makings of a really good defense, especially if they can continue to put heat on the QB (38 sacks LY, #2 Sun Belt).
SPECIAL TEAMS
RUH ROH. This will likely be a problem area (again) as they lose ace PK Noel Ruiz (13/15 FG LY) and they usually don’t get much out of the return game.
Schedule Analysis
Overall – The Panthers start with a pair of tough games (at South Carolina, UNC) and then get Coastal Carolina and Army in weeks 4 and 5. Yikes. The schedule eases up in November but they only have one home game that month. Thankfully, they get a good draw from the West and avoid the Cajuns and Troy.
Potential ATS Trouble Spot – October 1 – at Army
This tilt pops up between a pair of yuuuuge Sun Belt games (Coastal Carolina, Georgia Southern) and recall that Army ripped them apart 42-10 LY in an unfortunate 66,000 STAR MEGALOCKS FOUR POUND STEAMER LOCK loser.
Season Win Total
Over 7.5 +120
Under 7.5 -150
MEGALOCKS says:
Lean: Under
This team is very talented but the schedule doesn’t do them any favors.
MEGAmazing Tidbit
The Panthers’ best ATS roles over the L10Y have been as a road dog (27-14-3, 66%!) and in conference action (37-28-6, 57%).
MEGALOCKS Outlook:
Shawn Elliott has done a great job with this program and has led them to a bowl game in four of his five seasons in Atlanta. The roster looks solid and they have one of the best QBs in a tough division. We can’t help but cringe when looking at that schedule and fear that this team might be better on paper than their eventual win-loss record would indicate. We’d love to see them upset the APPLE CART but will call for seven or eight wins and to fall just short of a division title. Go Panthers!
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WEBSITE
https://georgiastatesports.com/sports/football
FORUM
http://georgiastate.247sports.com/Board/Georgia-State-Panthers-Message-Board-Forum-59462
NEWS
https://www.ajc.com/sports/georgia-colleges/
http://www.espn.com/college-football/team/_/id/2247/georgia-state-panthers