Georgia State vs. Old Dominion: Preview and Prediction

By David Asbury

75th Annual Oyster Bowl and Senior Day
The Castle will host its last game of the 2025 season this Saturday as the Georgia State Panthers (1-10) face the Old Dominion Monarchs (8-3).  The Monarchs sport a 5-1 record against the Panthers.  The game will be the 75th Annual Shriner's Oyster Bowl.  The Monarchs began playing Oyster Bowls in 2011 and have done very well winning nine of the thirteen matches.  The Khedive Temple of the Shriners sponsor the game, raising funds for Shriner's Hospitals for Children.  The Shriners also name an annual Oyster Bowl MVP.  Past MVP's include legends like Taylor Heinicke, Ray Lawry, and KeShawn Wicks.

This game doubles as Senior Day where we will send off seniors for their last game at SB Ballard Stadium.  Such players include seniors Kris Trinidad, Zach Barlev, Jeremy Mack Jr., Stephon Dubose-Bourne, Seth Naotala, Skyler Grant, Cole Daniels, Ricardo Williams and Botros Alisandro.  Other players who intend to enter the portal or retire from football may walk with the seniors for the ceremony.  And let's not forget Jason Henderson who retired earlier this season.  It would be awesome to see him return for the pre-game ceremony to get the proper send off he deserves. 

Give seniors like Seth Naotala (38) the cheers they deserve! Thank them for being a Monarch. Photo courtesy of CB Sports Photography.

The opponent could not be better for a more ceremonial game.  The Georgia State Panthers are last in the Sun Belt with a 1-10 record, most recently losing to Troy 31-19.  It has been a season to forget in Atlanta.  The Panthers are hitting rock bottom.  Head Coach Dell McGee now sports a 4-19 record with one game left in his second season.  I preached patience with him because he was hired late in the 2024 coaching carousel and he did not inherit a lot of talent.  He deserved time to rebuild the roster and expectations were low.  But he really needed the team to look like they were heading in the right direction and look better in the second half of the season than they did in the first.  That has not happened.  The question is very much in the air to give him another season or not.  His current $1.6 million buyout is a little high for them to fire him this year.  If he does return for 2026, he will be on a blazing hot seat.

Now, despite the troubles, McGee did find a quarterback in Cameran Brown.  Brown has led a solid offense completing a good 64.9% of his passes for 1,296 yards.  He threw 13 touchdowns and only has one interception.  He averages seven yards per attempt ranking 10th in the Sun Belt.  He can also get yards on the ground having rushed for 248 yards and four touchdowns.  He has not been bad, but he is also not a star either.  He struggled against one of the better Sun Belt defenses in Troy last week before leaving the game with an injury.  Quarterback Christian Veilleux came in and was 19-of-38 passing for 307 yards with a touchdown and an interception.  With either quarterback, this top ODU defense should be able to handle them.

Hue Jackson (from 0-16 Cleveland Browns fame) runs the offense as the offensive coordinator.  He has done a pretty okay job sporting a pretty average Sun Belt offense.  The GSU O averages 386.8 yards per game (7th in SBC) but unfortunately only scores 20.6 points per game (13th in SBC).  The actually pass the ball really well, (263.5 passing yards per game, 2nd in SBC) but cannot seem to get the ball going on the ground (123.3 rushing yards per game, 12th in SBC).  So what is going on here?  Turnovers do not help, but red zone efficiency is the major problem with the offense, ranking 128th in the country.  They just cannot appear to punch the ball into the end zone when they get close and have the fewest rushing touchdowns in the conference (9).  They are also often trailing in games, leading defenses to play softer coverages to protect late leads.  This leads to a lot of passing yards but just not a lot to show from it.

The offense does have one star player ODU should focus on.  Despite all the quarterback turnover and stalled drives, Ted Hurst continues to be an explosive, dependable, and versatile wide receiver. He is known for his deep threat ability making many contested catches.  So far, he has 64 catches for 928 yards (2nd in SBC) and six touchdowns.  He will be aiming to get at least 72 yards to get his first thousand-yard season.  Those yards would seriously help his NFL draft stock.  Mel Kiper says Hurst "just missed" his top-ten receivers for the 2026 NFL Draft.  He may likely be a late round pick, but 72 yards on Saturday and good combine could significantly raise his stock.  I expect him to have a good game, unless his nagging injury keeps him sidelined.

For all the problems the offense has, it is nothing compared to the Panthers' defense.  Currently, Georgia State allows 452.5 yards per game (13th in SBC) and 38.8 points per game (last in SBC).  They are equally struggling against the pass and run.  What is worse is they just cannot generate any turnovers.  The Panthers only have two interceptions this  season (last in SBC) and have only recovered two fumbles.  Their pass defense may have some playmakers such as cornerback Bernard Causey who has the lowest catch rate in the Sun Belt.  But it is nowhere near enough.  The Georgia State defense allowed the most passing touchdowns in the conference (25).  The Panthers struggle to get to the quarterback as well.  Their 17 sacks are only good for 11th in the conference.  At the end of the day, the defense needs a complete overhaul in the offseason if they want to rebound next year.

DT Henry Bryant (10) returns to the Castle for the first time since getting blocked on the 2023 walk-off touchdown. Photo Courtesy of CB Sports Photography.

Overall, Georgia State is just not a good team.  They are last in the East for a reason.  The Panthers have not been historically good football program either.  Having started the program in 2010, they only have four bowl victories in thirteen FBS seasons and no conference championships.  However, this season is historically bad and the worst since 2014 where they went 1-11 with a lone victory against an FCS program.  Twelve years later and they are right back in that scenario.  Will Dell McGee get fired after this game?  It is possible.  But his buyout is likely too expensive.  Georgia State also want to show other coaches they are willing to give them a real shot and not fire them after two seasons.

Prediction:  ODU 45, Ga. State 24

Mike, Gary, and Las Vegas are tied for first place with an 8-2 record predicting ODU games.  Aaron, the Monarchs, and I are right behind them at 7-3.  It will stay that way because everyone is picking the Monarchs to dominate a weak GSU team.  Hopefully, we get a competitive bowl opponent to give us an opportunity to shake up our prediction standings.  Vegas favors Ol' Dirty by 26.5 points and yeah it really could get that ugly.

Frankly, it would be embarrassing if the Monarchs lost this game.  The Georgia State Panthers may be the easiest opponent on their schedule outside of NC Central.  OC Hue Jackson surprisingly has the offensive passing game moving some.  But the Panthers cannot run the ball on offense and their defense cannot stop any one.  The most impressive game they had was their 14-7 loss to James Madison and that was a loss.  The Monarchs should win big.

Regardless, the Monarchs' season has already been the best since 2016 and a win here and in the bowl game would make it just as good as 2016.  2024 may go down as one of the best seasons in ODU's history.  To do that, they need to dig deep and focus on the Panthers.  They have an opportunity to make history and all they have to do is not have a let-down game against a lesser opponent.  Let's get ready to celebrate an amazing season by cheering for our seniors, raising money for children's hospitals, and eating lots and lots of Oysters.  Reign on!