Georgia Southern football’s 2023 season unofficially starts on Wednesday, Aug. 2 when the first practice of fall camp takes place. Officially, the Eagles (6-7, 3-5 in Sun Belt Conference in 2022) open the regular season on Sept. 2 at Paulson Stadium against The Citadel. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. and the game will be broadcast on ESPN+ (subscription needed).
Some random notes on Southern as they enter camp …
Georgia Southern has … 18 players aged 23 or older … five new assistant coaches … 37 returning lettermen … a 34-30 (.531) record over the last five seasons and a 22-9 (.709) mark at Paulson Stadium over the last five seasons.
Speaking of Paulson Stadium, the playing surface will be different this season. Last month, Georgia Southern announced the installation of Prestige Vertex FieldTurf after previously playing on Shaw Sports Turf (Legion 41).
Before the team’s 25-practice fall camp, Georgia Southern head coach Clay Helton was joined by players Khaleb Hood and Marques Watson-Trent in New Orleans last week for the annual Sun Belt Conference Football Media Days. There wasn’t much in the way of headline-grabbing news, but Helton did have a few quotes that I thought stood out.
CLAY HELTON AT SBC FOOTBALL MEDIA DAY (JULY 26)
“A great quarterback always provides hope … They lift programs. They take programs as high as they possibly can. Great quarterbacks really do that.”
“We have kind of that chip on our shoulder you know, when you talk about being picked fifth (in the SBC East Division by the conference media and coaches), you’re going to have that chip on your shoulder.”
“Across the board and across our team, you see an overriding message of depth. And that’s kind of what we were lacking last year. We have a true ‘two-deep’ that we’re excited to put out there and compete this year.”
“Jalen White is the secret to our success offensively. He is an NFL running back.”
Now, on to those predictions and projections.
PROJECTIONS & PREDICTIONS
August is prediction time on the college football calendar and Georgia Southern is not exempt from these projections. While the Sun Belt Conference Media/Coaches Preseason Poll predicted Georgia Southern to finish fifth in the seven-team East Division, the consensus among most college football media seems to be that the Eagles will be a team hovering around the .500 mark (6-6) come season’s end.
Win total lines for Georgia Southern vary depending on the sportsbook, but some of the notables include:
DRAFTKINGS – 6.0
FANDUEL – 5.5
CAESAR’S – 6.5
BET MGM – 6.5
That’s the definition of average. A little deeper into the preseason
Athlon Sports
Athlon’s college football staff has Georgia Southern ranked No. 97 (of 133). The website also predicts GS to meet Northern Illinois on December 23 in the 68 Ventures Bowl.
Lindy’s Annual College Football Preview Magazine
Lindy’s ranks GS No. 96 (of 133) in the preseason FBS rankings. The magazine predicts the Eagles to finish third in the Sun Belt’s East Division.
CBS College Football Rankings (1-131)
No preseason poll likes the Eagles more than those at CBS Sports. Georgia Southern is No. 85 in the website’s preseason rankings of 131 FBS college football teams.
ESPN Football Power Index (FPI)
A formula used by ESPN and many others, the FPI is a metric based on numbers rather than human input. The 2023 preseason FPI slates Georgia Southern (-5.2 FPI) at No. 87 overall. That is a higher ranking to begin the season than seven of the GS opponents in 2023.
For whatever it’s worth, this formula projects a record of 6.4-5.7 for GS, giving the Eagles a 71.8% chance of reaching six wins, a 13.5% chance at winning the Sun Belt East and a 6.1% chance of winning the conference.
College Football News (CFN)
The website (www.CollegeFootballNews.com) ranks GS No. 106 overall. CFN predicts the Eagles to finish with a 5-7 record.
Vegas Sports Insider Network (VSIN)
The betting website actually produces a game-by-game betting line projection for all 133 FBS teams in the preseason. No judgment here, but that’s the kind of thing that some might consider a red flag. Still, it’s interesting to look at the Georgia Southern schedule in 2023 to see what VSIN projects will be the easiest and toughest contests on the slate.
Note that GS is tightly compared to most of these teams, only projected as a heavy favorite to open the season versus The Citadel and as an equally heavy underdog on September 16 at Wisconsin.
09/02 GS vs. The Citadel (+24.5)
09/09 GS vs. UAB (+1.5)
09/16 GS at Wisconsin (-24)
09/23 GS at Ball State (Even)
09/30 GS vs. Coastal Carolina (-2)
10/14 GS at James Madison (-10.5)
10/21 GS vs. ULM (+12.5)
10/26 GS vs. GSU (+2.5)
11/04 GS at Texas State (+3.5)
11/11 GS at Marshall (-9.5)
11/18 GS vs. Old Dominion (+9)
11/25 GS at App State (-7.5)
Follow Georgia Southern’s football team on Twitter and Instagram, @GSAthletics_FB.
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This article appears in Connect Savannah | July 2023.
