Georgia State Favored To Return From Boise With Another Bowl Win
Departures Of Some Offensive Stars Could Hamper Georgia State In the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl
The Famous Idaho Potato Bowl kicks off this upcoming December, 23rd. We’ve got the latest updates on lines, injuries, departures and weather right here:
The players who won’t be playing in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl are also as noteworthy as the ones taking part.
Not only are there several key players for Georgia State in the transfer portal, but some of them have already found new schools.
Running back Marcus Carroll (1350 rushing yards, 13 touchdowns) committed to Missouri, receiver Robert Lewis (70 catches, 877 yards, seven TD catches) is on his way to Auburn, starting offensive tackle Montavious Cunningham transferred to Virginia while starting cornerback Bryquice Brown (35 tackles, six pass breakups) landed at Boston College.
The most noteworthy player for Utah State in the transfer portal is safety Devin Dye. He is fourth on the Aggies with 81 tackles to go along with two interceptions and seven pass breakups.
With injuries to Cooper Legas and McCae Hillstead, who combined for nearly 3000 passing yards with 29 touchdowns, Levi Williams is expected to start at quarterback for Utah State. He has thrown for 294 yards with four touchdown passes and an interception. He passed for 198 yards and two touchdowns as Utah State topped New Mexico 44-41 in the regular-season finale to become bowl-eligible. He also ran for 153 yards and three more scores in the win.
Micah Davis, who had 628 yards on 36 catches during the regular season, is also out for Utah State. He is third on the team with five receptions of at least 30 yards this season.
As a result of the key players who won’t be playing in this game, there has been plenty of line movement.
Georgia State opened as a 3.5-point favorite before the game was listed as a Pick’em on Dec. 7. Utah State is now a two-point favorite.
The Moneyline opened with Georgia State at -154 and it is now at +105 with Utah State going from +130 to -125.
The total has dropped from 63.5 to 59.5.
The last seven Famous Idaho Potato Bowls have been decided by at least 10 points with 90 and 68 points scored in the last two matchups.
Each of Georgia State’s last three bowl games finished over the total. Only one of the last 10 bowl games played by Utah State landed over the total.
The temperature is expected to be in the low 40s with mostly sunny conditions at the time of the opening kickoff.
Now, check out the rest of the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl preview, originally published on December 8
Will Idaho Native Fitzgerald Make His Presence Felt in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl?
There is a first time for everything and the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl features the first meeting between Utah State and Georgia State with the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl preview favoring Georgia State.
Georgia State heads into the bowl game on a five-game losing streak after allowing Old Dominion to score 11 points in the final 1:37 in the regular-season finale. Utah State needed to beat New Mexico in overtime in the final game of the regular season to become bowl-eligible.
The college football betting lines currently have the Georgia State Panthers listed as a 2.5-point favorite with a -125 Moneyline. The line opened with the Panthers as 3.5-point favorites to go with a -156 Moneyline.
When looking at the college football bowl scores, this is the 11th time in the last 13 seasons that Utah State has been invited to play in a bowl game with the Aggies splitting the previous 10 bowl contests. Georgia State is 3-1 in FBS bowl games.
Utah State’s roster includes freshman defensive end Paul Fitzgerald from Idaho Falls. He is tied for the team lead with five sacks.
A quick peek at the NCAAF standings shows that Utah State tied for sixth in the Mountain West standings while Georgia State finished tied for fifth in the Sun Belt East Division race.
Utah State had the ninth-best odds to win the Mountain West title coming into the season with Georgia State eighth in the odds of winning the Sun Belt.
Famous Idaho Potato Bowl
Georgia State vs Utah State 
Day/Time: Location: Albertson Stadium, Boise, Idaho
Streaming: ESPN, ESPN+
Georgia State To Be Missing Key Offensive Players
Georgia State averaged 18.6 points during its five-game losing streak and over the last four games, the Panthers have put up 287 yards per game. That was with leading rusher Carroll and top receiver Lewis on the field.
The Panthers have come away with six touchdowns in 11 drives reaching the red zone over the last four games.
During a 4-0 start, Georgia State came away with points in 14 of 15 drives that reached the red zone. Keep that in mind when it comes to the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl preview.
Georgia State has covered against the NCAAF football odds in four of the last five games.
Departures and Injuries
Receiver Ja’Cyais Credle is questionable for Georgia State while tight end Kris Byrd is out.
Running backs Marcus Carroll (1350 yards, 23 catches), Jaquan Dixon and KZ Adams, defensive backs Jalen Tate (13 tackles), Tony McCray, JayT Jackson, and Bryquice Brown (35 tackles, one interception), linebackers Jordan Jones (13 tackles) and Evan Graham, receiver Robert Lewis (70 catches), offensive lineman Cameron Dye and Montavious Cunningham are in the transfer portal.
For Utah State, running back Robert Briggs (401 rushing yards, two touchdowns) and quarterback McCae Hillstead (1005 passing yards, 10 touchdown passes) are questionable while kicker William Testa is in the transfer portal.
Slow Starts An Issue For Utah State
Utah State is among the worst NCAAF teams in the country when it comes to limiting points in the first quarter of games, allowing 9.92 points per game in the opening quarter. That could come into play in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl preview.
Those numbers were hurt by allowing 17 points in the first quarter to James Madison, 14 to Iowa, and 22 to Air Force.
The Aggies didn’t lead after one quarter of play until the 11th game of the season. However, Utah State was outscored 45-3 by Boise State in the final three quarters in that matchup.
The total has gone over in eight of Utah State’s last 11 games with the total currently at 63 in this matchup after opening at 63.5.
Aggies Aren’t Thriving As the Underdog
Utah State is 1-9 outright in its last 10 games when listed as the underdog and has lost 11 of its last 13 games against teams from the Sun Belt.
A strength for Georgia State has been the pass protection as the Panthers allowed the fewest sacks among Sun Belt teams with Utah State in the middle of the Mountain West in sacks but the Aggies were third in tackles for loss. Juniors Blaine Spires and Anthony Switzer have combined for 16.5 tackles for loss and eight sacks.
The Panthers went 3-3 against the spread this season as the favorite while Utah State has covered in just three of its seven games during the 2023 season as the underdog.
A high-scoring game could benefit Utah State since eight of the Aggies’ 12 games finished over the total compared to just five for Georgia State. Six of Georgia State’s last nine games went under the total.
The large number of Georgia State players entering the transfer portal does make things a little combustible heading into this matchup.
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