It’s a strange Sun Belt season.
Louisiana is strong, Old Dominion thrashed a decent Georgia Southern team, ULM is a big player, and as last year, too many teams will qualify for the bowl.
There aren’t many exciting games this week, but ULM needs to show that it can defeat South Alabama, Arkansas State needs to play slow pitch when Troy visits, and if James Madison is serious, it easily defeats Southern Miss.
The forecasts and brief synopses for each game are included below.
Georgia Southern at Old Dominion
Line: Old Dominion -2, o/u: 5
Prediction: Georgia Southern 27, Old Dominion 26
Final Score: Old Dominion 47, Georgia Southern 19
Georgia State at Appalachian State
1:00 pm ET, ESPN+
Really? Did Georgia State defeat Vanderbilt (2-4)? By the way, that was the Panthers’ sole FBS victory of the season. Since then, it has suffered three consecutive losses and is currently on a cruelly unjust run of five away games in six dates.
But in what could be an exciting shootout, it gets to enjoy itself against the wretched Appalachian State (2-4) defense. At home, the Mountaineers will prevail, but they will need to exert constant pressure for the entire sixty minutes.
Georgia State at Appalachian State Prediction, Betting Lines
Line: Appalachian State -7, o/u: 60.5
Prediction: Appalachian State 37, Georgia State 31
Southern Miss at James Madison
3:30 pm ET, ESPN+
For Southern Miss, it simply isn’t happening (1-6). While the defense struggles to perform well enough to win a game that might change the season, James Madison (5-2) suddenly has too many offensive blunders. It has dropped two of its last three games, although both of those losses were away games. With a strong performance, it returned to the Sun Belt race.
Southern Miss at James Madison Prediction, Betting Lines
Line: James Madison -24, o/u: 53.5
Prediction: James Madison 41, Southern Miss 13
ULM at South Alabama
5:00 pm ET, ESPN+
Yes, more than Indiana, ULM (5-1) has been the biggest surprise of the NCAA football season. However, four of its next five games will be away games. The ULM defense will hold the score low long enough for the O to take control in the closing minutes, despite South Alabama’s (3-4) attempts to get hot throughout the second half of the season.
ULM at South Alabama Prediction, Betting Lines
Line: South Alabama -7.5, o/u: 44.5
Prediction: ULM 23, South Alabama 21
Troy at Arkansas State
7:00 pm ET, ESPN+
Troy (1-6) is making an effort to make an impression during this awful transition season, but its offense isn’t clicking. Although they have been inconsistent, Arkansas State (4-3) will have little trouble starting their offensive early in a relatively stress-free victory to maintain their position in the Sun Belt battle.
Troy at Arkansas State Prediction, Betting Lines
Line: Arkansas State -7.5, o/u: 50.5
Prediction: Arkansas State 30, Troy 17
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