By : Kameron Taylor
(Photo/Sabri Haidar-The Mojo Network)
The Georgia Southern Eagles are heading 200 miles to Atlanta to face off against the Georgia State Panthers in the innagueral Georgia Grown bowl. This will also be the first game in conference play for the two teams.
Georgia State is looking to continue their momentum after pulling off an upset against SEC opponent Vanderbilt in a late night thriller at home. This was the Panthers second ever win against a Power 5 opponent.
Meanwhile, Georgia Southern are looking to shake off a a 13-52 loss to #5 ranked Ole Miss.
These two teams are familiar with each other with Saturday's game being the 11th matchup all time, dating back to 2014 when the Eagles bested the Panthers 69-31.
Georgia State leads the rivalry 6-4 and the Panthers are on a 2 game win streak at home. However in last year's matchup Southern beat State in Statesboro 44-27.
After a record high 36 consecutive games at QB, GSU has moved from Darren Grainger to Pitt transfer Christian Veileux. Through 3 games, he has 717 passing yards and 6 touchdowns which ranks top 7 in the Sun Belt.
The Eagles starting QB JC French is also having a solid start with 885 passing yards and 7 total touchdowns (6 Passing 1 Rushing). French’s passing yards are 2nd in the Sun Belt conference and touchdowns are 6th.
The key to winning the game for Georgia State is winning it in the trenches. Georgia Southern's run defense has been shaky, averaging 6.5 yards allowed per carry. Despite having only two touchdowns on the ground, the Panthers average 4.7 yards per carry which can help move the chains when needed.
Georgia Southern needs to capitalize through the air. JC French needs to take advantage of Georgia State’s secondary who is allowing 9 yards per pass and 258.67 yards a game.
Overall this will be a good matchup with a mix of running and passing the ball, and it will come down to whoever can come through and move the chains when it is third down.