South Alabama vs Georgia Southern Picks and Odds
- Georgia Southern is a 5.5-point favorite over South Alabama for a big Sun Belt matchup on Thursday night
- South Alabama is one of three Sun belt teams that are still undefeated in conference play
- Read below for odds, spread and a deeper look at this pivotal midseason affair
Just three teams remain undefeated in Sun Belt play in 2020, and only two have that status through multiple conference games.
South Alabama is one of those unbeaten Sun Belt squads, but ahead of a Thursday night matchup against Georgia Southern, the Jaguars are still 5.5-point underdogs.
South Alabama vs Georgia Southern Week 9 Odds
| Team | Spread | Moneyline | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| South Alabama Jaguars | +5.5 (-112) | +184 | O 50.5 (-114) |
| Georgia Southern Eagles | -5.5 (-108) | -230 | U 50.5 (-114) |
Odds taken Oct 27th at Fanduel
One-Sided Series Through Six Games
There are a few reasons that the Eagles are favored here despite the records, and one of those is the recent history of this matchup. South Alabama and Georgia Southern have played each of the last six seasons since the expansion of the Sun Belt, and the Jaguars have lost every one of those games.
Most of these games haven’t even been close. Southern has been winning this matchup by scores of 48-13, 55-17, and 52-0 in this series’ short history, and the margin has been less than double digits just once.
It was last year, however, when South Alabama pushed the Eagles to the brink in a 20-17 game. The Jaguars are hoping that game was a sign that the pendulum of this series is swinging towards Mobile.
Eagles Get it Done on the Ground
Another big reason for this point spread is the effectiveness of the Georgia Southern offense. Contrary to the “Eagles” nickname, it is the ground game that Georgia Southern uses to great effect. Led by dual-threat quarterback Shai Wertz, this offense is one of the conference’s toughest to figure out.
As a team, the Eagles gain 5.5 yards per carry and have scored 10 touchdowns on the ground, and they’ve done it with a great group. Wertz has 333 rushing yards to pair with 558 through the air, and J.D. King is the leading tailback at 490 yards and four scores in 2020.
Wesley Kennedy has just over 200 yards and Logan Wright is just over 100, while Matt LaRoche rounds out a rotating group of fresh backs that are tough to deal with for 60 minutes.
Jaguars Need a Resume-Builder
South Alabama is in a very exciting position with an early lead in the Sun Belt’s Western division, but this Thursday’s matchup is huge in several ways for the Jaguars. The first of those reasons is that, obviously, another conference win will only build their position in the conference race.
A win Saturday would also show real improvement for the Jaguars. They are 2-0 in the conference, but those two wins are against Texas State and Louisiana-Monroe, two teams that are struggling to find their footing in 2020.
In the non-conference, USA suffered a blowout defeat against UAB, a tight loss to Tulane, and won a game against a Southern Miss team that was in the midst of an early in-season coaching change.
The record at this point puts the Jaguars in great position, but they’ll have to show great improvement if they are to keep that position.
What’s the Best Bet?
Georgia Southern hasn’t beaten any juggernauts, but they’ve handled their business against the teams they should beat, and the two losses came in tight games with ranked teams. In the Jaguars’ three wins, their opponents have a combined record of 2-16. It’s easy to see why the Eagles are 5.5-point favorites here.
However, the best bet for this game comes on the total.
South Alabama gives up 134 yards per game on the ground, so the Eagle rushing attack should have success, but it won’t be gashed play after play. That should keep the clock ticking consistently when Georgia Southern has the ball, but the scoring shouldn’t get out of hand.
On the other side, this is an Eagle defense that gives up 21 points per game and forces turnovers consistently. Against a pedestrian Jaguar offense, this is a game that screams “under” on Thursday night.
With four years as radio host with The Ticket Sports Network and various written contributions to publications such as Fansided, Southbound and Down, and Last Word on Sports, Jake Mitchell comes to SBD with NFL, NBA, NCAAM, NCAAF and MMA know-how you can count on.
