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The Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks are staring down a pretty large 13.5-point disadvantage in the spread for Saturday's game. The Warhawks and the Georgia State Panthers will face off in a Sun Belt battle at 1 p.m. ET on Saturday at Center Parc Stadium. Louisiana-Monroe is hoping to patch up the holes in a defense that has allowed an average of 36.78 points per contest.
The Texas State Bobcats typically have all the answers at home, but last week Louisiana-Monroe proved too difficult a challenge. It was a tight matchup that could have gone either way, but Louisiana-Monroe made off with a 31-30 win over Texas State. Louisiana-Monroe was down 21 to nothing at the end of the first quarter, but the squad rallied to mount a comeback. Among those leading the charge for them was WR Tyrone Howell, who caught 12 passes for two TDs and 176 yards. Howell's performance made up for a slower contest against the Army West Point Black Knights three weeks ago.
Meanwhile, Georgia State turned the game against the Southern Miss Golden Eagles into a track meet and took the gold after outgaining them 521 yards to 202. The Panthers blew past Southern Miss 42-14 last week. The game was pretty much decided by the half, when the score had already reached 28 to nothing. Georgia State relied on the efforts of QB Darren Grainger, who passed for two TDs and 133 yards on 23 attempts in addition to picking up 142 yards on the ground, and RB Marcus Carroll, who rushed for three TDs and 163 yards on 24 carries. That nimble footwork stands out as the first time Carroll has hit the 100-yard rushing mark this season. Carroll's sharp performance also set his single-game rushing touchdown high for the season.
Georgia State's defense was a presence as well, as it embarrassed Southern Miss' offensive line to sack the quarterback seven times for a total loss of 46 yards. The heavy lifting was done by DE Jeffery Clark and DE Javon Denis, who each racked up two sacks.
Their wins bumped the Warhawks to 3-6 and the Panthers to 4-5. Giving up four turnovers, Louisiana-Monroe had had trouble holding onto the ball. We'll see if Georgia State can exploit that vulnerability.
