Louisiana Tech Bulldogs vs. Georgia Southern Eagles Betting Picks

The 5-4 Louisiana Tech Bulldogs will meet the 7-5 Georgia Southern Eagles on Wednesday afternoon in the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl at 3:00 PM ET in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. The Eagles come in as 5.5-point favorites and we’re expecting a defensive showdown with a 48.5 over/under. Both of these teams play similar styles of football and it will be interesting to see which side prevails. Let’s dive into how this one will go down and who will end up covering the spread. Make sure to check out the rest of our CFB Picks and Predictions as we will be covering every single bowl game of the season.

• Bulldogs are 7-1 ATS in their last 8 bowl games.
• Eagles are 3-9 ATS in their last 12 games on fieldturf.
• Under is 5-1 in Eagles last 6 games in December.
• Under is 4-0 in Bulldogs last 4 Wednesday games.

There is nothing consistent about this Louisiana Tech team and they have trouble moving the ball against solid defenses, as evidenced by the 14 vs. BYU, 17 vs, Marshall, and 10 vs. TCU. They don’t do it efficiently, but this offense moves the ball by throwing it. Senior QB Luke Anthony has completed 62.4% of his passes for 1,479 yards and 16 touchdowns with just five interceptions. Anthony must have a productive game against an Eagles defense that won’t make it easy.

The Bulldogs have plenty of weapons on the outside, but it all starts and with Adrian Hardy (33 rec, 440 yards, 4 TD) and Smoke Harris (35 rec, 285 yards, 4 TD). The pair grab close to 50% of the target share and are dangerous both short and long. Griffin Hebert and Isaiah Graham each have three touchdowns and both are used to stretch the field. When they do run the ball, Israel Tucker averages just over four yards per carry en route to 525 yards and four scores. This isn’t a team that’s comfortably falling behind.

The Eagles haven’t necessarily been consistent, but their losses have been a bit better than the Bulldogs and they’ve managed to keep it extremely close with some elite teams (CCU, ULL). The biggest storyline of this game is the status of QB Shai Werts. Werts has an injured shoulder and with the backup out, Georgia Southern would be forced to turn to an inexperienced third or fourth string. If Werts plays, he’s a dual-threat quarterback that can attack in a multitude of ways. He’s also an expert at running the triple option, which is the bread and butter of this team.

If Werts is out, redshirt senior Miller Mosley will likely get the start. He’s a lot worse than Werts and can’t throw it much, turning the Eagles into a one-dimensional offense. J.D. King will be leaned on heavily out of the backfield as will Logan Wright. It’s always a mismatch of backs for GASO, but they always seem to get it done. This game won’t be any different, but it remains to be seen how productive they can be without Werts under center. 

It’s looking like Shai Werts is trending towards doubtful, meaning Georgia Southern will be issuing their running backs a ton and the offense won’t have the same versatility it usually has. The Louisiana Tech Bulldogs might not have a phenomenal offense, but they can hold a lead when they get it. Luke Anthony hasn’t been bad of late and I expect him to throw for at least 250 yards and two scores in this ballgame. With Werts out, this game is a toss-up in my eyes and the 5.5 points on LT are too good to pass on. 

With the Eagles starting and backup QB’s out, I don’t like their offense to look great. They’ll instead lean on their defense and the triple option, turning this game to a grinder. Both offenses have put up 40+ this season multiple times, but never against defenses of this stature. The under is the safe bet to make here and it might just be my favorite overall bet in this game. Neither of these teams want to put up big points in this game, and the first to 25 probably wins it.