Troy Trojans vs Georgia State Panthers: Week 8 Preview and Predictions

Who: Troy Trojans @ Georgia State Panthers

When: Saturday October 26th at 7pm

Where: Parker H. Petit Field @ Georgia State Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia

How: ESPN+

Line: Panthers -1.5, o/u 66.5

History: Trojans 5-1 H2H

Keys to the Game

Troy Trojans: The Trojans take to the road to face-off against the Panthers of Georgia State.

After back-to-back losses, the Trojans have their feet back under them coming off of a 37-13 win over South Alabama. The Trojans enter this game with some momentum and a few days extra rest after playing on Wednesday last week.

Photo by Ed Zurga/Getty Images

Trojan quarterback, Kaleb Barker, was decent in this game but still not great. He had 2 TDs and 194 yards on 20 of 30 passing.

The issue, though, is that he is having trouble with turnovers. Barker added 2 more interceptions in this game.

He also added a non-contact fumble while backed up in his own territory which led to an easy 3-yard touchdown run for the Jaguars to tie the game in the 2nd quarter.

Barker has been struggling as of late, but what better time to get your confidence back than against an opponent in Georgia State who has allowed less than 30 points only twice this season.

Georgia State Panthers: The Panthers come into this one riding a three game winning streak. After ripping off wins against Arkansas State, Coastal Carolina, and Army, the Panthers have their sights set on the Trojans and making it four straight.

Photo by Bryan Lynn/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Georgia State is a sneaky 5-2 with losses to Western Michigan and a triple-OT loss to Texas State.

Panther quarterback, Dan Ellington, was great versus Army with 3 TDs and 232 yards on 20 of 28 passing. Although only accounting for 39 yards on the ground, the lowest mark of the season, Ellington was efficient and put his Panthers in a good position to win this game.

The defense hasn’t necessarily been a bright spot for the Panthers this season. Back-to-back 21 spots by opposing teams in Army and Coastal Carolina are the lowest totals of the season for Panther opponents.

Otherwise, their defense is allowing 30, 40, even 50+ points. Georgia State needs to lean on the past two defensive performances as they try and contain this Trojan offense.

ATS Prediction:

At the time of writing, Georgia State is receiving 62% of the tickets accounting for 51% of the dollars as the line is sitting at Panthers -1.5 after they opened as a small home dog at +1.

As for the total, it has stayed put at 66.5 behind 52% of tickets and 52% of the dollars.

The Panthers are coming off of 3 straight outright wins as well as 3 straight ATS wins.

Meanwhile, the Trojans are 2-3 straight up and against the spread in the last five.

Georgia State has been making some noise in the Sun Belt ever since they ripped off a 38-30 win over the Tennessee Volunteers.

While the Panthers are riding high, I believe the Trojans will go into Atlanta and come away with a close victory.

Take the Trojans plus the points and take your money to the bank.

Troy +1.5

Final Score Prediction: Troy 37-30