The 2024 New Orleans Bowl features the 8-4 Georgia Southern Eagles against the 9-3 Sam Houston State Bearkats. Here is the 2024 New Orleans Bowl Preview.
Georgia Southen Eagles
Georgia Southern won eight games under Clay Helton to get to bowl eligibility. They defeated four teams who went at least .500 on the season: Marshall, James Madison, South Alabama and Coastal Carolina. The Eagles lost two games to teams who didn’t make bowl games: Old Dominion and Troy.
On offense, the Eagles score 28.2 points per game, ranking 65th in the country. They pass for 239.9 yards (ranked 51st) and rush for 123.2 yards per game (ranked 102nd).
JC French has been the quarterback for the Eagles this season. He has had a solid season with 2,619 passing yards, 16 touchdowns and seven interceptions on 66 percent completion. Five pass-catchers have at least 200 yards on the season for the Eagles. Derwin Burgess Jr. (603), Josh Dallas (568) and Dalen Cobb (557) all had over 500 receiving yards, giving them plenty of good players to target.
Jalen White has been the lead back for the Eagles with 654 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns. When he needs a breather, OJ Arnold has totaled 316 rushing yards and four touchdowns. French has demonstrated some rushing ability from the quarterback position with 205 yards and one touchdown.
The Eagles allow 27.33 points per game, ranking them 84th in the country. They give up 262.4 passing yards (ranked 122nd) and 179.2 rushing yards per game (ranked 103rd). Marques Watson-Trent leads the team with 110 total tackles. The Eagles haven’t generate much pressure on the quarterback with just 13 team sacks. Marc Stampley II registered seven passes defended and three interceptions.
Sam Houston State Bearkats
Sam Houston State won nine games this season for their best season as an FBS member. They have two wins over bowl-eligible teams this season: Texas State and Liberty. The Bearkats lost one game to a team under .500 this season in UCF.
On offense, the Bearkats score 23.2 points per game, ranking them 102nd in the country. They rush for 190.2 yards (ranked 29th) and pass for 164.4 yards per game (ranked 123rd).
Hunter Watson has been the quarterback for the Bearkats this season. He has passed for 1,598 yards, 11 touchdowns and eight interceptions on 60.1 percent completion. Five pass-catchers have at least 200 receiving yards this season. The leading receiver, Simeon Evans, is in the transfer portal. Their second-leading receiver Qua’Vez Humphreys, hauled in 18 passes for 362 yards and four touchdowns on the season.
Jay Ducker was the team’s leading rusher this season, but he is in the transfer portal. Backup running back DJ McKinney is also in the transfer portal, so the Bearkats will have to find production from new faces at the position. Watson has been efficient running the football from the quarterback position with 623 rushing yards and seven touchdowns.
Defensively, Sam Houston State allows just 20 points per game, ranking 19th in the country. They concede 141.5 rushing yards (ranked 56th) and 174.1 passing yards per game (ranked 10th). Kavian Gaither have led the team with 86 and 84 total tackles respectively. Chris Murray has paced the team with 5.5 sacks per game, but he is in the transfer portl. A lot of the Bearkats’ top defensive backs are in the transfer portal.
Prediction
With so many key players in the transfer portal for Sam Houston State, Georgia Southern can take advantage. Specifically, they should be able to take advantage of the holes in the Bearkats’ secondary. Look for French to have one of his better games of the season in a win.
Georgia Southern Eagles 35 Sam Houston State Bearkats 21
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