Myrtle Beach Bowl Preview: Georgia Southern vs. Ohio
The Myrtle Beach Bowl pairs together a team from the Sun Belt and a team from the MAC. This year’s participants are Georgia Southern and Ohio, though this won’t be the Bobcats bunch that we’ve seen throughout the season. They have been deeply affected by the transfer portal, as several top offensive players will not be playing on the teal turf in Conway.
As a result, Georgia Southern is over a field goal favorite, even though Ohio initially opened as a slight favorite when bowl game lines were posted at both DraftKings Sportsbook and here at Circa in Las Vegas.
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Georgia Southern Eagles (-3.5, 48) vs. Ohio Bobcats
Saturday, December 16, 11 a.m. ET
Odds as of 12/11, 11:30 a.m. PT
The Bobcats went 9-3 in the lowly MAC, falling a game short of Miami (OH) for the East Division spot in the conference championship game. The drought continued for Ohio, who hasn’t won the MAC outright since 1968, despite regularly having a pretty solid squad in the conference. This year’s team was another good one for head coach Tim Albin. Even though star QB Kurtis Rourke entered the season still getting his legs under him after a torn ACL suffered in November 2022, the Bobcats nearly beat San Diego State on the road to start the season and had a big home win over Iowa State in non-conference action.
But that team is a thing of the past. Rourke is in the transfer portal after throwing for 2,207 yards and running for 219 more with 15 total touchdowns. He was a shell of his pre-ACL self, as he racked up 29 total TDs in 2022, but he’s still a three-year starter who followed in the footsteps of older brother Nathan.
Rourke isn’t the only loss. Leading rushers Sieh Bangura and O’Shaan Allison are also moving on, taking nearly 1,300 yards and 10 rushing scores with them. Between those three, they accounted for all 14 of Ohio’s rushing touchdowns. Backup QB CJ Harris had a medical emergency earlier this season and hasn’t played since, so one-time UCF commit Parker Navarro will start at QB for the Bobcats. He’s thrown 22 passes there and has 19 carries for 103 yards.
To make matters worse, leading receiver Miles Cross also left after hauling in 47 balls for 617 yards and five touchdowns. Second-leading tackler Keye Thompson is also moving on.
Georgia Southern has had a lot more losses on the football field than on the roster of late. The Eagles started 6-2 and looked like a potential threat in the East Division before losing all four of the conference games to finish at 6-6. Had Ohio’s offense stayed intact, they could have had some fun, as the Eagles allowed 6.09 yards per play during the regular season and allowed 29.6 points per game.
The Eagles’ defense should catch a break. Now the question is to see what the offense can do. Ohio is missing Thompson, but the Bobcats ranked fifth in scoring defense with 15.4 points per game allowed and 11th with 4.7 YPP allowed. Georgia Southern QB Davis Brin threw for over 3,400 yards and had 22 TDs, but he also threw 16 interceptions. Despite some gaudy numbers, this group was just 70th in offensive yards per play, so efficiency was a problem.
My lean here is Georgia Southern -3.5, simply because Ohio plays a lot of weak offenses in the MAC, and their defensive numbers may not be quite as true facing a Sun Belt opponent that likes to run with tempo and run a lot of plays. Plus, I have no idea what Navarro will give the Bobcats.
Lean: Georgia Southern -3.5
Game Trends from Steve Makinen
Myrtle Beach Bowl – Brooks Stadium (Conway, South Carolina)
* OHIO is 11-0-1 Over in the last 12 games vs. the Sun Belt
System Match: PLAY OVER the total
* OHIO is 5-1-1 ATS in their last seven December games
* GA SOUTHERN is 23-12 ATS in the last 35 against teams with 70% or higher win percentage (2-1 ATS this season)
Systems Match: 1 PLAY on OHIO, 1 PLAY on GEORGIA SOUTHERN
