Play It Safe With Sam Houston, But They Could Win Outright

Georgia Southern vs. Sam Houston, 7:00 ET

Georgia Southern vs. Sam Houston, 7:00 ET

I got burned by the NHL last night, so I’m pretty happy to head into a football-heavy weekend here. Sure, Thursday isn’t technically the weekend, but in corporate America, I can tell you that very little work is getting done this week and next week. Either way, there is a lot of football to enjoy with an NFL game tonight, games on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. But, tonight, we get a game in the college ranks as we have another bowl game taking place. Let’s place a bet on the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl that takes place tonight between the Georgia Southern Eagles and the Sam Houston Bearkats.

Georgia Southern put together a nice season, going 8-4 for the year. They started the year with a loss against Boise State, but did put up a fight in the game at least, losing by 11. They allowed 56 points, but they also scored 45. The next loss came against 5th ranked Ole Miss, and again, they allowed 50+ points in that one, but their offense wasn’t quite as good, scoring just 13 in that game. Their other two losses were against Old Dominion who put up 47 on the Eagles, and Troy. The game against Troy was at least a one-score game. I’m not sure that they have many impressive wins on the schedule, and the majority of their games were fairly close or one-score games. It doesn’t appear that there is much of a chance in today’s roster for the Eagles. They will have JC French under center, the same guy that started all of their games. Sam Houston has a very good defense, but if some of the players are going to miss the game, the Eagles could have a bit easier of a task. Georgia Southern’s defense isn’t very good, so I would be surprised to see them have much of a chance of slowing Sam Houston down.

Sep 21, 2024; Oxford, Mississippi, USA; Georgia Southern Eagles quarterback JC French (12) runs the ball  during the second half against the Mississippi Rebels at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-Imagn Images

Sam Houston, everyone’s favorite College Football video game team, turned in a great performance for the year, going 9-3. The Bearkats lost to UCF, Western Kentucky, and Jacksonville State this season, none of them ranked opponents. They didn’t face a ranked opponent all season, but that doesn’t mean they didn’t face some talented opponents. What is most impressive about this team is that they allowed 21 or fewer points in nine of their 12 games this year. Again, that is a testament to their defense. Sam Houston did lose their head coach, so their offensive coordinator will be taking over in this one. That could have a negative impact on their defense, but it also might be fine because they still have their defensive coordinator. They also should have their quarterback, Hunter Watson, under center. He has been a duel-threat option, rushing for over 600 yards. This isn’t a prolific offense, but the Eagles defense isn’t very good and could be picked apart by Watson.

I would feel pretty confident that this game will go over if the Sam Houston defense was actually missing their defensive coordinator and not their head coach. It seems likely that the team will not be missing many key players. I would argue that the Georgia Southern team has played a tougher schedule, but I think Sam Houston is a live dog here, even in what is probably better territory for the Eagles. I’ll take the points with Sam Houston in this one. They have the better defense, and I’m not sure their offense is substantially worse. 

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