San Jose State @ Georgia State preview

AUTONATION CURE BOWL STORYLINES

1. The inaugural AutoNation Cure Bowl kicks off in Orlando on Dec. 19, featuring an unlikely matchup between a team with five victories and a team that opened the season having lost 23 of its past 24 games. San Jose State fell one victory shy of bowl eligibility after dropping three of its final four contests, but earned a bowl bid based on its NCAA Academic Progress Report after not enough teams reached bowl eligibility. Georgia State won only one game total the past two seasons, but the Panthers stunningly won their final four games to place fourth in the Sun Belt and qualify for a bowl for the first time in the program's six-year history.

2. Georgia State throws the ball as well as anybody in the country, led by senior quarterback Nick Arbuckle, the Sun Belt player of the year who is sixth in the country in passing yards per game (346.7). Arbuckle has 1,496 yards and 10 touchdowns during the four-game winning streak, and conference freshman of the year Penny Hart has enjoyed a stellar debut season with 1,095 yards receiving and eight touchdowns. But the Spartans are second in the country in allowing only 153.6 passing yards per game, holding nine opponents to fewer than 200 yards.

3. San Jose State employs a balanced offense that has totaled more than 2,000 yards rushing and 2,000 yards passing. All-Mountain West first-team running back Tyler Ervin is 11th in the country with 1,469 rushing yards and averages 122.4 yards per contest (12th nationally). Punter Michael Carrizosa – one of three finalists for the Ray Guy Award – averages 47.7 yards per punt, with 19 of his 43 attempts being downed inside the 20.

TV: 7 p.m. ET, CBS Sports Network. LINE: San Jose State -3.5

ABOUT SAN JOSE STATE (5-7, 4-4 Mountain West): Ervin rushed for 300 yards against Fresno State and 263 yards against New Mexico, but the senior has been held to 80 yards or fewer in three of his past four games. Quarterback Kenny Potter finished the season strong, passing for three touchdowns in each of the past three weeks while topping 300 yards twice, and San Jose State is disciplined – ranking third in the nation in fewest penalty yards per game (34.7). The Spartans make their 10th bowl appearance and have won their past three (1990 California Raisin Bowl, 2006 New Mexico Bowl, 2012 Military Bowl).

ABOUT GEORGIA STATE (6-6, 5-3 Sun Belt): Coach Trent Miles has sparked a remarkable turnaround in his third season at the helm for the Panthers, earning conference coach of the year honors, and Arbuckle’s 4,160 passing yards is a school record and ranks sixth nationally. The Panthers struggled defensively in starting the season 1-4, but have allowed 21 points per game since and held Georgia Southern – the nation’s leading rushing team at 355.6 yards per game – to just 135 in a 34-7 victory Dec. 5. Georgia State averages only 103.1 rushing yards per game, ranking 123rd out of 127 FBS teams.



PREDICTION: Georgia State 33, San Jose State 27