Georgia Southern vs Sam Houston Prediction
What: | R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl |
When: | Thursday, December 19, 2024 at 7:00 EST/4:00 PST |
Where: | Caesars Superdome (Turf Nation S5), New Orleans, Louisiana |
Georgia Southern vs Sam Houston Line: | Georgia Southern -6 |
Total: | 48.5 |
TV: | ESPN2 |
Georgia Southern vs Sam Houston Preview
Georgia Southern (8-4, 6-2 in Sun Belt) meets Sam Houston (9-3, 6-2 in Conference USA) in the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl in the Big Easy on Thursday night in the lone Bowl game of the day. The Eagles are 3-2 in their last 5 games, losing to Old Dominion by 28 points (47-19), beating South Alabama by 4 (34-30), losing to Troy by 8 (28-20), and then winning their last 2 Regular Season games over Coastal Carolina by 20 (26-6) and Appalachian State by 9 (29-20). The Bearkats are 4-1 in their last 5, beating Florida International by 3 (10-7) and Louisiana Tech by 6 (9-3) in 2 extremely low-scoring games, topping Kennesaw State by 6 in OT (23-17), losing to Conference USA champions Jacksonville State by 10 (21-11), and topping Liberty by 2 in its last game (20-18). The last 5 Sam Houston games have been decided by just 3, 6, 6, 10, and 2 points.
Georgia Southern Eyes First Bowl Win Under Helton
Georgia Southern (8-3-1 ATS, 5-7-0 O/U) was one of the better ATS teams this season, but the Eagles (-228 Moneyline) have yet to win a Bowl game under Head Coach Clay Helton, losing to Ohio in the Myrtle Beach Bowl a year ago (41-21) and to another MWC team, Buffalo by 2 points in the Camellia Bowl in 2022 (23-21). Georgia Southern is 3-3 lifetime in FBS Bowl games. The Eagles are led on offense by QB JC French (2,619 Passing yards, 16 TD, 7 Interceptions), RB Jalen White (654 Rushing yards, 12 TD, 4.4 ypc) and WR Devis Burgess Jr. (603 Receiving yards). Georgia Southern averages 28.3 ppg (#52) while allowing 27.3 ppg (#84) and average 239.9 Passing yards per game (#52) and 123.2 Rushing yards (#102). The Eagles have a minimal number of players in the Transfer Portal compared to opponent Sam Houston.
Georgia Southern Betting Trends
- Georgia Southern 7-3 SU is its last 10 games overall
- The Under is 3-0 in the Eagles last 3 games
- Georgia Southern is 8-3-1 ATS in its last 12 overall
- The Bearkats were 3-1 ATS as Underdogs this season
- The Under is 8-2 in First Half in last 10 GSU games (+5.65 Units, 50% ROI)
Sam Houston a Live Underdog Here in New Orleans?
Sam Houston (6-6-0 ATS, 3-9-0 O/U) has been a strong Under team this season but the Bearkats saw Head Coach KC Keeler take the job at Temple so OC Brad Cornelson will be serving as the Interim Coach for this one. DC Skyler Cassity was also offered a new job which he took (North Texas), but he is expected to be on the sidelines for this game. Sam Houston has a number of players who entered the Transfer Portal, but most of them are expected to be playing here. Starting WR Simeon Evans and starting Safety Isaiah Cash are two of those guys and both have said that they will play. RB Jay Ducker (719 Rushing yards, 7 TD) and DB Caleb Weaver (86 Tackles) are also in the Portal but there has been no word yet if they will put on the pads on Thursday. On offense, the Bearkats are led by QB Hunter Watson (1,598 Passing yards, 11 TD, 7 Interceptions). This is Sam Houston’s first appearance in an FBS Bowl game.
Sam Houston Betting Trends
- Sam Houston is 8-2 SU in its last 10 games
- The Under is 6-0-0 in the Bearkats last 6 games
- Sam Houston is 1-5 ATS in its last 6 games
- The Bearkats rank No. 19 in the nation in Scoring Defense (20.0 ppg)
- There has been an average of just 27.8 ppg scored in SHSU’s last 5 games
Georgia Southern vs Sam Houston Prediction
The Transfer Portal and who’s playing and who’s not can make handicapping Bowl games an exercise in futility. Toss in Head Coaches, OCs and DCs leaving and Injuries and it seems like a crapshoot at times. The truth is that so many of these players who enter the Transfer Portal end up playing in their Bowl games. Here, with Sam Houston having such a strong defense and playing in so many close games, it seems that looking for and taking the 6 to 6.5 points if you shop around points is the Georgia Southern vs Sam Houston NCAAF pick as this is a game the Bearkats (+188 Moneyline) can definitely win. These two programs once kicked ass at the FCS level, and now playing FBS, it’s a brand new reality. But gone are the days when (most) Bowl games actually meant something and you could count on all key players playing and teams trying to actually win the games. The Transfer Portal really needs to open after the Bowl games for the sake of everyone involved.