Arizona Bowl Preview - Wyoming vs Georgia State

Game Time:

Tuesday, December 31st at 2:30 PM (Mountain) on CBS Sports Network

The History:

These teams have never played each other. As for the bowl, this will only be the 5th time that the Arizona Bowl has been played since the game started in 2015. The last two Arizona Bowls went into overtime, so this could be an entertaining game if recent history repeats itself.

The Matchup:

Wyoming wants to run the football as the Cowboys rank 26th in the country in rushing offense. This is much like the Georgia State football team. The Panthers rank 14th in rushing offense. As for stopping the run, Wyoming has been the better team this season. The Cowboys are 6th in rushing defense. Defending the run, the Panthers rank 116th in the country.

Passing isn’t what either team is known for. That said, Georgia State seems to hold the advantage in the air. The Panthers rank 93rd in passing offense. Wyoming is near the very bottom in the country at 125th. On the other side of the ball, the Panthers rank 85th in passing defense while the Cowboys rank 111th.

Turnovers can really swing the direction of a game. In this area, Wyoming has been better than Georgia State. The Cowboys are 21st in the country at +7 on the season while the Panthers rank 73rd in the country at -1 on the season.

The Outcome:

The spread has Wyoming by 7. That sounds about right. The Cowboys appear to matchup pretty well with the Panthers. Expect Wyoming to run the ball and find some success to control the pace of the game. If Wyoming can win the turnover battle by 2 or more, I could see the Cowboys winning by double digits. However, I think Georgia State will be fired up and ready to compete in this bowl game. The Panthers will be playing in just the 3rd bowl game in their program history. For those reasons, I have the Cowboys winning a competitive game by only one score.

Wyoming 24, Georgia State 17