Georgia St Panthers 2023 College Football Preview
July 5, 2023
2022 Recap
Record – 4-8
ATS – 6-5-1
The Panthers got off to a rocky 0-4 start and could never recover. They kept battling tho and won four of their next five games, including triumphs over Army and Southern Miss. The season went GLUG GLUG GLUG down the tubes when they lost at home to ULM, but once again, they remained scrappy in a final pair of road losses to James Madison and Marshall (combined 7 points).
Georgia St booked winning seasons from 2019 thru 2021. Can they get back on track this year?
Georgia St Panthers 2023 Outlook
OFFENSE
The Panthers did a great job on the ground LY (214 YPG, #14 FBS) but didn’t do enough thru the air (#102). Darren Grainger is a legit dual-threat QB that’s on the verge of stardom if he can do a bit more with the THROW GAME (734 rush, led team; 2,443, 18-7 TD to INT). The only loss of consequence at WR/TE is a yuuuge one as the Panthers will be without #1 WR Jamari Thrash (1,122, 18.4, 7 TD) who was a devastating deep threat. Only one of the three-headed monster at RB returns this season (Marcus Carroll, 622, 6 TD) but don’t sleep on RB KZ Adams who looked like a monster in the spring. Three starters and over 80 career starts return up front but they lost some talented doods including their fine center Malik Sumter. Grainger gives them some upside on offense but replacing Thrash is gonna be tough.
DEFENSE
The Panthers have allowed 30+ PPG in four of the last five seasons and they’ll need to be better on this side of the football if they wanna compete in this tough division. They retain the majority of the top-eight tacklers from the 2022 stop unit and the LB unit looks really good. The addition of DE/LB Kevin Swint from Clemson (!) will be a nice addition to pair with DE Javon Denis (4 sacks, 9 TFL, 9 QBH LY). The secondary is probably gonna be an issue as there’s only one starter back for duty and they lost a pair of excellent players including safety Antavious Lane (#2 tackler). The Panthers will be improved vs the run but the pass defense is gonna cause coaches to have some sleepless nights. Maybe the addition of DC Chad Staggs from Coastal Carolina will help?
SPECIAL TEAMS
Yikes. Michael Hayes provided good production at punter and PK last season and the Panthers will be working with new specialists this year. The return units were brutal in 2022 (#99 PR, dead last KR).
Schedule Analysis
Overall – The Panthers have a great shot to start 3-0 with games against Rhode Island (H), Connecticut (H), and Charlotte (A) on the docket. They draw Troy from the West but at least that game is at home. The Panthers BIORHYTHMS should be fine as they alternate pairs of home and away games all season long.
Potential ATS Trouble Spot – Nothing overly-spooky is noted.
Season Win Total
Market consensus July 5
Over 5.5 +120
Under 5.5 -150
MEGALOCKS says:
Lean: Over
The early schedule should help them get into a groove and they’ll win at least one game they shouldn’t have thanks to the QB.
MEGAmazing Tidbits
The Panthers have won their last two bowl games by a combined score of 90-41.
Georgia St is in the top-10 in the USA in terms of student population (>54,000).
MEGALOCKS Forecast:
Head coach Shawn Elliott has done a pretty good job with the program as the Panthers have gone bowling in four of his six seasons at the controls. They were PURE FILTH before he arrived and now we just have to wait for them to take the next step. There are a few too many holes for us to consider them for the division crown but we definitely think they can go bowling. Good luck, Panthers!