Why Georgia Southern Will Win
– The running game should get rolling from the start. The Eagles run, and they run some more. The running backs are deep, the O line should be fine, and the system is the system. The Eagles were able to run for 200 yards or more against everyone but Army, Coastal Carolina and Louisiana.
Get to 250 yards, and the team is 7-1. Louisiana Tech has allowed over 330 rushing yards in two of the last three games.
– Georgia Southern plays a little defense, too. The Eagles are terrific against the run – Army is the only team to get past 200 yards on the ground – and they led the Sun Belt in third down stops. Great at forcing takeaways, they came up with two or more in each of the last six games and in seven of the last eight. On the flip side …
– Louisiana Tech can’t keep things moving. There’s no running game, there’s no downfield passing attack, and the team is miserable at coming up with third down conversions. This isn’t a team built for comebacks. If Georgia Southern gets up early and starts controlling the clock, this could be over. However …
Why Louisiana Tech Will Win
– Georgia Southern starting QB Shai Werts is questionable, at best and backup Justin Tomlin is out. Miller Mosley was an option quarterback for Wofford’s attack, but he’s still a backup who might be thrown into the mix to make the O go. He got in a little bit of work against Appalachian State, but Werts not being healthy is a big problem.
– Louisiana Tech might not have a whole lot of big stats or great wins, but the losses came to BYU, Marshall and TCU. Okay … at UTSA, but that was on the road in a close fight. The Bulldogs managed to beat eventual Conference USA champion UAB and battled well enough to get through a rebuilding season. It has been tested.
– The Georgia Southern defense has been strong, but the pass rush isn’t there to be much of a problem. The Louisiana Tech offensive line has struggled all season long, and now it gets a wee bit of a break. The backfield needs time to work, and it’ll get it.