Saturday's Peach State College Football Report, pregame
12 p.m.
Bowling Green (1-3) at Georgia Tech (1-3)
Bobby Dodd Stadium
TV: FSSE
Web: www.ramblingwreck.com
Radio: Macon, WQMJ-FM 100.1; Dublin, WDBG 103.1-FM; Milledgeville, WMGG-AM 1450; Tennille, WJFL-FM 101.9; Thomaston , WTGA-AM 1590.
Line: Georgia Tech by 25.5
Central Georgians on Bowling Greenâs roster: None. There are two players from Georgia on the roster.
Scouting Report: The temperatures outside may have cooled, but theyâre pretty warm around Paul Johnsonâs backside.
The Jackets canât throw. The defense has yet to perform as expected. The offense is slow to begin clicking. And special teams is mediocre on a good day.
Bowling Green, picked to finish fifth in its division in the Mac, should be what the Jackets need.
Worth watching is if QB TaQuan Marshall struggles and how quickly Northside alum Tobias Oliver gets the call, and how long heâll play.
To read
1:30 p.m.
Mercer (2-2, 1-1) at VMI (0-4, 0-3)
Foster Stadium
TV: None.
Web: ESPN3; www.mercerbears.com; www.sportsmic.com
Radio: WNEX-FM 100.9
Line: Mercer by 16 (Sagarin Ratings)
Central Georgians on VMIâs roster: None. There are two players from Georgia on the roster.
Scouting Report: Some of VMIâs numbers are severe. The Keydets have given up 66, 59, 27 and 52 points this season.
But the past two games have been close, losses by three to ETSU and by two at Western Carolina. QB Reece Udinski set program records by going 43 of 72 for 491 yards, the latter ranking seventh all-time in the Southern Conference.
Quan Myers had a solid running game against Western Carolina with three rushing TDs in the first half. Last time that happened was against Mercer in 206.
On defense, Curtis Loftis has three picks in the last three games.
Mercer is without starting â albeit only for a short time â quarterback Robert Riddle, who suffered a collarbone injury in the final minute of last weekâs loss to The Citadel. His successor is his predecessor Kaelan Riley, so the Bears are actually in pretty good shape there.
But linebacker Sidney Otiwu went down with a lower leg injury last week, too.
Mercer does have to worry about VMI gaining confidence with those big numbers the past two weeks as the KEydets have grown more competitive.
â"Anytime you have big plays that go against you like they did Saturday, it's going to motivate you to try to stop that,â Mercer linebacker and Washington County alum Will Coneway said. âEspecially against VMI and their high-powered offense; I think they score 50 points last game. So it's going to be a huge task coming out and it's going to be a great challenge that tests where we're at as a defense."
And there are minimal similarities between The Citadel and VMI.
"Every week's a challenge, every game is a challenge, and it's about matchups,â Lamb said. âLast week's matchup was their ground game versus our defense and our offense versus their defense and itâs totally different (This week)
"This week we're going to see VMI and they're totally different than what we just saw. They are averaging almost 60 passes a game; they had 73 attempts last week and 61 the week before. They ran 109 plays last week in a game, so they are up-tempo, averaging 86 plays a game, and they're 0-4.â
To read
2 p.m.
Louisiana-Monroe (2-2, 0-1) at Georgia State (1-3)
Georgia State Stadium
TV: None
Web: ESPN Plus; www.georgiastatesports.com
Radio: None
Line: ULM by 6
Central Georgians on ULMâs roster: None. There are no players from Georgia on the roster.
Scouting Report: The Sun Belt opener for GSU is as big for ULM, which doesnât want an 0-2 conference hole.
The Panthers are struggling, and need to bow up up front and get some drives and confidence going to keep a stronger ULM offense off the field.
To read
3:30 p.m.
Tennessee (2-2, 0-1) at Georgia (4-0, 2-0)
Sanford Stadium
TV: CBS
Web: www.georgiadogs.com
Line: UGA by 33
Radio: Macon, WQBZ-FM, 106.3; Dublin, WEDB-FM, 98.1; Milledgeville, WKSR-FM 1-2.3; Sandersville, WSNT-FM, 99.9.
Central Georgians on Tennesseeâs roster: One. Warner Robins grad Marquez Callaway is one of the top receiver in the SEC. He has 14 catches for 210 yards, but hasnât caught a touchdown pass this season yet. There are 16 Georgians on the roster.
Scouting Report: Life has sure been funky for the Vols since the Hail Mary in Athens a few years ago, the first time Butch Jones was brought to his knees as the head coach.
Most figure a repeat of last yearâs 41-0 rout in Knoxville is on tap, since Georgia is more proven this year and Tennessee is in transition, and not doing it so well. But note: The Vols have recruited better than theyâve played, and there is more talent here than people want to admit. Granted, itâs certainly not going to come together a week after losing 47-21 at home to Florida, but thereâs enough to keep things interesting for awhile if they have their act together.
Georgia has a few injuries situations to deal with, but the Bulldogs are also a little miffed at their performance at Missouri, which doesnât give a previously-undefeated Missouri much credit. Still, odds are theyâll be a little bit more on point.
To read
Injuries show recruiting gains
6 p.m.
Va.-Lynchburg (n/a) at Fort Valley State (1-3)
Wildcat Stadium
TV: None
Web: www.fvsusports.com
Radio: None
Line: None
Central Georgians on Va.-Lynchburgâs roster: No roster is available.
Scouting Report: Virginia-Lynchburg is in its first season of competition since 1954, led by a coach who last year coached a club team at North Carolina, after coaching the Far eastern Federal University Wild Pandas in Russia.
Yes.
The Dragons are, as the Richmond Free Press wrote recently, âloosely affiliatedâ with the National Christian College Athletic Association.
The team is in its eighth season since re-starting football after ending it in 1954.
VUL has about 800 students, and is still working on things like, well, having a public roster and schedule, and information. The VUL main website has no acknowledgement of athletics.
It does have a win this season, over a junior college from North Carolina. Bethune-Cookman won 79-16, its most points since 1925.
So the Wildcat starters should be done by halftime. There is technically no mercy rule in the NCAA, although VUL is not an NCAA member.
Arkansas State (3-1) at Georgia Southern (2-1)
Paulson Stadium
TV: None.
Web: www.gseagles.com
Radio: Macon, WXKO, 99.5-FM/1150-AM; Dublin, WDBG-FM 102.1; FM
Line: ASU by 3
Central Georgians on ASUâs roster: One. Ty Mimbs is a junior deep snapper from Brentwood who has been an honor roll student from the start. Information indicates he hasnât played yet. There are four others from Georgia on the roster.
Scouting report: Arkansas State is one of the favorites in the Sun Belt, and leads the series 2-1, including a 43-25 win at Paulson last year.
The Eagles are a different team than a year ago, and can jump into the race with a win.
To read
Samford (1-3) at Kennesaw State (3-1)
Fifth Third Bank Stadium
TV: None
Web: www.ksuowls.com
Radio: None
Line: Kennesaw State by 5 (Sagarin Ratings)
Central Georgians on Samfordâs roster: Three. Macon native and Samford head coach Chris Hatcher has freshman kicker Mitchell Fineran of Peach County, freshman wideout DâMarcus Crawford of Putnam County, sophomore wideout Will Bazemore of Mary Persons on the team. Fineran has been the SoCon special teams player of the week twice already.
To read
Coaches have the same message, even with opposite records
Bethune-Cookman (1-3) at Savannah State (0-3)
Tiger Stadium
TV: None
Web: https://ssuathletics.com/sidearmstats/football/summary
Radio: None
Line: Bethune-Cookman by 14 (Sagarin Ratings)
Central Georgians on B-Câs roster: None. There are four Georgians on the roster.
To read