Georgia Southern vs. Sam Houston: New Orleans Bowl Prediction and Betting Lines

Sam Houston is playing in a bowl game for the first time in its history. The program achieved significant success at the FCS level, with head coach KC Keeler leading a formidable defense.

And now he is the head coach at Temple, the Bearkats have lost a lot of talent to the transfer portal (possibly), and it will take the team’s valiant effort of the season to make this work under interim coach Brad Cornelson.

Georgia Southern is having an excellent season. Former USC coach Clay Helton and his staff improved the defense, the offense has been solid, and this could be the program’s first season with more than eight wins since 2018. It is the Eagles’ third bowl appearance in a row, but they have lost the previous two under Helton.

Georgia Southern vs Sam Houston: How to Watch the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl, and Game Preview

Date: Thursday, December 19, 2024
Game Time: 7:00 pm ET
How To Watch: ESPN2
Venue: Caesars Superdome, New Orleans, LA
Teams: Sam Houston (9-3), Georgia Southern (8-4)

Why Georgia Southern Will Win

Let us just say Sam Houston is missing some parts.

Leading rusher Jay Ducker, top tackler Caleb Weaver, best pass rusher Chris Murray, key tackling linebacker Trey Fields, good corner David Fisher, and a slew of defensive linemen are in the portal. Additionally, the head coach has left. One important note: not everyone will leave right away, and several people may play; keep an eye on this.

Even if everyone was present, this Bearkat team is not capable of scoring. Defense, takeaways, and run defense all contribute to its success. Georgia Southern can grind, but it performs best when it controls the offensive tempo on third-down conversions.

The Eagles have a record of 8-1 when they complete at least 61% of their passes and 0-3 when they don’t.

Why Sam Houston Will Win

Can Sam Houston put together a good defense despite losing all of his key players?

The defense was incredible all year, allowing 21 points or fewer nine times. The team dominated the time of possession battle, and it needs to bring this thing to a halt by getting that defense off the field.

It allowed teams to complete 57% of their passes, gave up over 62% only five times, and went 7-0 when allowing fewer passes.

The offense must score whenever there is a chance. Getting points out of this team is like pulling teeth, but they are used to it. Typically, reaching 20 points is sufficient. However…

Georgia Southern vs Sam Houston: Who Will Win?

The low scoring can be attributed to strong defense and Sam Houston’s absence.

There is a good chance that several Bearcats will leave, but there should be enough to make a difference.

The other issue is the inability to score when there is a chance – Sam Houston scores only 72% of the time in the red zone, PK Christian Pavon converts only 13 of his 23 field goal attempts, and it is up to Georgia Southern to capitalize on all of the concerns on the other side.

Come up with a few early points, and everything else will fall into place.