The Georgia State Panthers and the Louisiana Ragin Cajuns meet in week 8 college football action from Cajun Field on Saturday night.
Georgia State Takes Out Marshall
The Georgia State Panthers come into this game on the heels of their 41-24 win over Marshall to improve to 5-1 on the year. Darren Grainger has thrown for 1,421 yards, 8 touchdowns and 2 interceptions on 68.5% passing while also rushing for 350 yards and 5 TDs. Marcus Carroll has a team-high 742 rushing yards with 10 touchdowns while Robert Lewis has a team-high 30 receptions for 536 yards with 5 TDs and Tailique Williams has 21 grabs for 397 yards and 3 scores as well. On defense, Jontrey Hunter has a team-high 46 total tackles including 27 solo tackles while Kevin Swint has a team-high 4 sacks and Gavin Pringle has a pair of interceptions. As a unit, Georgia State’s defense has combined for 13 sacks and 5 interceptions this season.
Georgia State Panthers Team Facts
- Georgia State has won seven of its last eight games in October.
- Georgia State has covered the spread in 11 of its last 12 road games against conference opponents.
- Georgia State has won the first half in six of its last seven games against conference opponents.
- Georgia State has won the first quarter in each of its last five road games against conference opponents.
- Four of Georgia State’s last five road games against non-AP-ranked teams have gone OVER the total points line.
Louisiana Takes Out Texas State
The Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns come into this game off of a 34-30 win over Texas State to improve to 4-2 on the year as a result. Zeon Chriss has thrown for 800 yards, 7 touchdowns and 4 interceptions on 69.2% passing while also rushing for 327 yards and 5 touchdowns. Jacob Kibodi has a team-high 439 rushing yards with 4 touchdowns and Dre’Lyn Washington has 266 rushing yards as well this season. Robert Williams leads Louisiana’s receiving group with 20 catches for 267 yards and 3 touchdowns while Jacob Bernard and Peter LeBlanc each have 200+ receiving yards with LeBlanc recording 3 receiving TDs as well. Three more Cajun receivers have 100+ receiving yards on the year as well. On defense, K.C. Ossai has a team-high 45 total tackles while Tyree Skipper has a pair of interceptions. Jordan Lawson has a team-high 4 sacks while Cameron Whitfield has 3.5 sacks and Tyler Guidry and Kendre’ Gant each have 3 sacks on the year. As a unit, Louisiana has combined for 19 sacks and 6 interceptions this season.
Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns Team Facts
- Louisiana has won each of its last 14 games as a home favorite.
- Louisiana has covered the spread in each of its last five October home games against non-AP-ranked teams.
- Louisiana has won the first half in three of its last four home games against conference opponents.
- Louisiana has won the first quarter in 10 of its last 13 games against conference opponents.
- Seventeen of Louisiana’s last 18 home games against conference opponents have gone UNDER the total points line.
Matchup/League Facts
- Louisiana rank T27th among FBS teams for points per game this season (35.5).
Chris’ Pick
I get the case to be made for Louisiana here, but I can’t help but think there’s value with the points. The Cajuns have one of the best ground attacks in the country, but so does Georgia State, and the Panthers have the better run-stopping unit defensively so far this season, which isn’t great considering how much the Cajuns like to run the football, even more so than Georgia State. I just think the Panthers are on another level right now and they’re not a team I’m looking to step in front of. Give me Georgia State and the points.