Coastal Carolina vs. Georgia Southern Prediction: Can Grayson McCall Get it Done on the Road?

Coastal Carolina vs. Georgia Southern Prediction: Can Grayson McCall Get it Done on the Road?

Coastal Carolina suffered a tough home loss to Georgia State last week as the Panthers dominated them for much of that game. Can Coastal Carolina rectify that performance with a strong showing against a Georgia Southern team on the rise? Let's break it down.

Coastal Carolina vs. Georgia Southern Date, Time and Where to Watch

• Date: September 30, 2023
• Time: 7:00 pm ET
• Where to Watch: ESPN

Coastal Carolina vs. Georgia Southern Prediction

Coastal Carolina made a lot of noise in the last few seasons as a very solid Group of 5 team. Grayson McCall has been in their program for what feels like forever and has a ton of experience leading this team. This week they will go into Georgia Southern for a high-profile Sun Belt matchup and Coastal Carolina finds themselves as 6.5-7 point underdogs. This is a position that Coastal has not found themselves in too many times across the past few years as they have typically been the cream of the crop in this conference.

Still, Georgia Southern has been turning some heads a bit with their exceptional play so far in the early going of this season. The Eagles come into this game with a record of 3-1 with wins over The Citadel, UAB, and Ball State. Their only loss came to Wisconsin in a game where they were tied at halftime and were leading for a bit in the 3rd quarter before allowing 4 straight touchdowns and losing by a score of 35-14. Georgia Southern has had a bit of a philosophy change as they are more of a run-and-shoot team nowadays and love to throw the ball all around the field. Until a few years ago they were basically a triple-option team so this change in offensive style has helped elevate their program.

Georgia Southern is led at quarterback by Tulsa transfer, Davis Brin, who has thrown for just under 1,300 yards on the season with 9 touchdowns and 7 interceptions. The Eagles are ranked 12th in the nation in yards per game (482) and 35th in yards per play (6.1) so their offense has been stellar even compared to many Power 5 programs. While Georgia Southern's offense has been cooking, it has come against some very weak opponents. The Citadel is one of the worst FCS teams in the nation and Ball St/UAB are 2 of the worst FBS teams in the country as well. Ball St and UAB rank near the bottom in most major defensive categories and while Georgia Southern still took care of business against them and did not struggle, it needs to be taken with a grain of salt as Georgia Southern still allowed 35 points to UAB in that contest. Davis Brin has also turned the ball over a lot this season against weaker competition and had 5 total interceptions against Wisconsin, who is the best team he has faced by far this season. Turnovers were also a problem for Brin while at Tulsa as well, so that will be something to look out for in this matchup.

Coastal Carolina on the other hand has played a very tough schedule already. They traveled to UCLA and lost by 2 touchdowns but held their own nicely as they only allowed 27 points to the Bruins and 417 total yards while also forcing 3 turnovers. Overall, I think the talent of each offense in this matchup is fairly even, but I see Coastal Carolina having a distinct advantage on defense. The Chanticleers defensive unit has already faced UCLA, Georgia State, and Jacksonville St. 3 pretty good offenses and haven't done a terrible job in any of those games as Coastal Carolina outgained Georgia State 402 to 373. Both units for Georgia Southern on offense and defense are relatively untested and against a similar opponent like Coastal Carolina, I do not think they will be able to have the same success that they did against the likes of Ball State and UAB. With that being said, I am rolling with COASTAL CAROLINA +7 at -120 for 1.5u as one of my most confident College Football Plays of the Day for tonight's action as I think the Chanticleers win this game straight up in Statesboro.

Coastal Carolina vs. Georgia Southern Pick

• PICK: 1.5 units - Coastal Carolina +7 (-120) Click here to see which sportsbook has the best odds