Vanderbilt is hosting Georgia State on Saturday night of Week 4. The game will take place at 7:30 p.m. ET in Nashville, Tennessee.
The Commodores are 27.5-point home favorites in this game on DraftKings Sportsbook, with the total set at 52.5 points. This is a preview, prediction and pick for this Georgia State vs. Vanderbilt non-conference matchup.
Georgia State vs. Vanderbilt prediction, preview
Georgia State Preview
The Georgia State Panthers have had a brutal out-of-conference schedule, including this matchup with Vanderbilt. They already faced one SEC team, Ole Miss, as well as an elite Group of Five team in Memphis. Their lone win this season came against FCS Murray State. Georgia State has been a good program in the Sun Belt over the years and has given SEC teams some scares. Look no further than the Vanderbilt Commodores, a team that Georgia State beat last season. The 2024 Vanderbilt team is remembered for its incredible upset win over Alabama and the exciting plays from Diego Pavia. However, it gets forgotten that they were massively upset themselves by Georgia State. The Panthers’ starting quarterback, TJ Finley, started his career at LSU and also played two seasons at Auburn, so he has plenty of experience against SEC defenses. While Vanderbilt has a significant talent edge, Finley won’t be intimidated going against the Commodores.
Vanderbilt Preview
This could be a special season for Vanderbilt football. Last season was highlighted by their amazing upset over Alabama, but in reality, they only won six regular-season games. This season, they brought back a lot of key pieces, including aforementioned quarterback Diego Pavia, and added more weapons in the transfer portal. This team now has the confidence that they can beat anybody, and that showed last week. Vanderbilt had lost 16 straight games against South Carolina before going into Columbia and demolishing the Gamecocks last week. That win showed that the Commodores should shift their expectations from the plucky underdogs to SEC competitors.
Georgia State vs. Vanderbilt pick, best bet
My best bet for this game is for Georgia State to cover this large spread. The Panthers proved last season that they can not only hang with Vanderbilt, but beat them. It’s extremely unlikely they pull off another upset like that, yet Dell McGee should be confident in his group to compete. McGee was a long-time assistant at Georgia, and quarterback TJ Finley spent three years in the SEC. That experience against SEC competition from the team’s leadership should permeate through to the rest of the roster.
After such a massive win for their program last week, Vanderbilt shouldn’t press too hard in this game. They want to keep Diego Pavia healthy for the rest of the SEC conference schedule, so they should limit the running plays from their quarterback. Vanderbilt should win this one, but Georgia State will stay within the big number.
