Saturday, October 24, 2020, Brooks Stadium, Conway, South Carolina, noon ET
Eagles at Chanticleers Betting Preview: Eagles (+6.5), Chanticleers (-6.5)
Georgia Southern Eagles
The Eagles (3-1, 1-1 Sun Belt) have played spoiler the last two seasons with wins over eventual East Division Appalachian State and now will try to assume the same role over a surprising Coastal Carolina team.
With their only loss at Louisiana on a field goal as time ran out, the Eagles are coming off what coach Chad Lunsford said was a “complete game” in their 41-0 shutout of Massachusetts.
Quarterback Shai Werts led the way with 203 total yards (127 passing, 76 rushing) as the Eagles jumped out to a 28-0 lead at the half. Werts has 2,660 career rushing yards (most of any active FBS quarterback) as he looks to make his 40th career start.
“There are things that we have to clean up and get better at, but we finally played a good team game,” Eagles coach Chad Lunsford said. “Now it’s time to reset and move on to the next one, because it will be a tough one.”
J.D. King has rushed for 423 yards in Georgia Southern’s ground-oriented attack. The Eagles have rushed for an average of 281.2 yards a game, fourth in FBS statistics, while holding foes to 120.8 yards a game on the ground.
Coastal Carolina Chanticleers
The No. 25 Chanticleers will be playing as a ranked team for the first time in the young program’s history when they host Georgia Southern Saturday. Coach Jamey Calwell is well aware of just how fragile that ranking can be.
“It’s something that’s pretty special for our program and for our university being the first time ever,” Chadwell said. “It’s a big deal, but we’re also realistic knowing that if we slip up one time, we’ll probably never see it again.
“So I told our guys that if you want to stay there and continue to do something for this program, you have to keep winning. We’ve got good leaders, and I think we’ll do a good job of keeping it in perspective.”
Playing in just their fourth season at the FBS level and only their 18th overall, the Chanticleers are coming off a 30-27 win over Louisiana that knocked the Ragin’ Cajuns out of the Top 25 rankings.
Redshirt freshman Grayson McCall has been the catalyst offensively. He has completed 59 of 87 passes for 930 yards and 11 touchdowns with only one interception. At Louisiana, McCall was 17 of 24 passing for 202 yards and two scores with no picks.
Eagles at Chanticleers Betting Pick for October 24, 2020
The Chanticleers already have notched two impressive wins with victories over West Division contenders Louisiana and Arkansas State. Their run defense will get a severe test from Georgia Southern’s triple option game and their passing game (232.5 yards per game) will be challenge for Georgia Southern’s defense.
Eagles at Chanticleers Betting Pick:
Chanticleers 40, Eagles 28
Eagles at Chanticleers Best Bet for October 24, 2020
The 30 points they put on the board against Louisiana marked the fewest points the Chanticleers have scored all season. Their last home game they romped past Arkansas State 52-23. Georgia State has scored 76 points it last two games, but the opposition (Louisiana-Monroe and UMass) was far from Coastal Carolina’s caliber.
Eagles at Chanticleers Best Bet: OVER 51.5
–Field Level Media
