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When: Saturday, October 8th, 3:30 pm ET
Where: Atlanta, Georgia (Georgia Dome)
Where to watch: ESPN3
Live audio stream: georgiastatesports.com
Betting line: -10 Georgia State via Oddsshark
Series record: 2-1 Texas State
I know it may seem odd that Georgia State (0-4) is coming into this game favored over Texas State (2-2), however, the Panthers have played some tough competition in these first four weeks. Although their record may not show it, Georgia State has improved in each outing, especially on defense. They went from giving up 31 and 48 in the first two games, to 23 and 17 in the past two games.
In order for Georgia State to have any hope of getting their first win this season, they must take better care of the football. Conner Manning is coming off of a four interception outing against App State. It is vital that he gets some easy completions early on to build his confidence.
Not to beat an old drum, but, the Panthers running game is non-existent. As a team, Georgia State has yet to break the 100 yard mark in a game this season. Fortunately for the Panthers, Texas State’s defense has been awful against the run this season, permitting 897 rushing yards for an average of 5.2 yards per carry.
The only substantial win that Texas State has so far is against Ohio, in their season opener. The other came against Incarnate Word, no offense to the Cardinals, but, that’s not necessarily a big win.
Senior quarterback Tyler Jones will lead the Bobcats on offense. Jones has been quite strongly under new Bobcat head coach Everett Withers and his staff, completing 66% of his passes for 1,078 yards and nine touchdowns. The Panthers’ defensive line will need to force Jones out of the pocket to prevent the Bobcats from scoring quickly through the air.