The South Alabama Jaguars (3-2, 2-0 Sun Belt) visit the Georgia Southern Eagles (3-2, 1-2) Thursday at 7:30 p.m. ET at Allen E. Paulson Stadium in Statesboro, Ga. We analyze the South Alabama-Georgia Southern college football betting odds and lines, with picks and predictions.
South Alabama at Georgia Southern: Betting odds, spread and lines
Odds via BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated Tuesday at 5:21 p.m. ET.
- Money line: South Alabama +175 (bet $100 to win $175) | Georgia Southern -213 (bet $213 to win $100)
- Against the spread/ATS: South Alabama +5.5 (-110) | Georgia Southern -5.5 (-110)
- Over/Under: 51.5 (O: -115 | U: -106)
South Alabama at Georgia Southern: Three things to know
- South Alabama is coming off back-to-back straight-up and against-the-spread victories, and the Jaguars enter Thursday’s game with a 4-1 record ATS. The two-headed quarterback play of Chance Lovertich and Desmond Trotter has paced a passing game which has tallied 240-plus yards and multiple touchdown passes in four of the team’s five games.
- Georgia Southern ranks 13th in the nation in rushing (248.6 yards per game) and 30th in run defense (122.6). The Eagles outrushed the Jaguars 310 yards to 53 yards in last year’s meeting between the directional-southern-state schools, a 20-17 OT win for Georgia Southern. In 2020, the Eagles – led by senior RB J.D. King (490 rushing yards, 4 TD) – have four players who have compiled 5.5 YPC with multiple TDs.
- The Jaguars are playing their first road game since their Sept. 3 season opener. They’ll be up against an Eagles program that has won seven straight on its home turf, dating back to last season. Georgia Southern has yielded a mere 14.4 points per game over its last five games in that streak.
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South Alabama at Georgia Southern: Odds, prediction, betting lines and picks
Prediction
Georgia Southern 31, South Alabama 21
Money line (ML)
The lean is on the EAGLES (-213), but the cheaper 5.5-ATS play (-110) makes more sense.
Against the spread (ATS)
USA has built its passing numbers against some shaky defenses. The Jaguars have often registered much of their production on passing downs; that’s not a long-term recipe for success, especially on the road. Both of Southern’s losses have come against then-ranked teams – 20-18 to Louisiana and 28-14 to Coastal Carolina. The Coastal game was tied 14-all heading into the fourth quarter.
In the last five games of the South Alabama-Georgia Southern series, the home team is 4-1 ATS. The Jaguars are 0-5 ATS in their last five games following a straight up win of more than 20 points; they defeated Louisiana-Monroe 38-14 last week.
Back GEORGIA SOUTHERN (-5.5).
Over/Under (O/U)
The trends say Under, but the analytics point to a bit more of a shootout than what reads in a surface look at both defenses. Lean toward the OVER 51.5.
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