The culmination of two solid seasons for Georgia Southern and Ohio will take place on Saturday in the Myrtle Beach Bowl. Ohio was 9-3 on the season but only 6-6 against the spread, and the Bobcats only covered two of their last five regular-season contests. Georgia Southern went 6-6 and covered in five of their 12 games. The Eagles also lost four straight without covering the spread in any of them to end the season.
Georgia Southern would really like to secure a win to get some momentum heading into the offseason. The Eagles started the season 6-2 before losing their final four games. Going from being a Sun Belt contender to barely qualifying for a bowl game was a brutal way to finish the year.
On the other side of this matchup, Ohio ended the season strong, winning four of their last five games, including the last three. As is the case in any bowl game in today's era of college football, players already transferring and opting out of bowl games will affect this game significantly. With each team missing key contributors, they will look to younger players to fill the void. At the same time, both teams could look drastically different from the last time each took the field.
Check out the live odds team betting news, player props and our betting prediction for Georgia Southern vs. Ohio in the Myrtle Beach Bowl.
Live odds for Georgia Southern vs. Ohio
Here are the Georgia Southern vs. Ohio live odds for the spread, moneyline, and total points available at the top online sportsbooks.
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Georgia Southern Eagles betting news
Georgia Southern season had a tough finish, but the Myrtle Beach Bowl will be a chance to gain momentum going into the offseason. The Eagles were inconsistent this season, and while they are good enough to win this game, they can also hand it to Ohio if they do not play their best football.
Georgia Southern has played well at times, like in their last win of the season when they beat rival Georgia State 44-27. The Eagles were only one-point favorites but dominated their rival. They did much of the same when they beat Ball State by 37 points and were only 5.5-point favorites.
On the flip side, though, the Eagles have suffered multiple blowout defeats, losing to App State by 28 when they were only 10.5-point underdogs and another 28-point loss to James Madison as 5.5-point underdogs. It is fair to wonder which Georgia Southern takes the field: the one that dominated Ball State and Georgia State, or the team that got waxed by James Madison.
For the Eagles to be at their best, it all starts with senior quarterback Davis Bri, who has thrown for 3,431 yards and 22 touchdowns but has also coughed up 16 interceptions. Brin had at least 240 passing yards in the first eight games as the Eagles got out to a 6-2 start. In the last four games, the senior signal-caller has only thrown for over 240 yards once.
On the defensive side of the ball, Marques Watson-Trent is the leader at linebacker. He is the top tackler on the team with 111, and he also has 3.5 sacks, two interceptions and a forced fumble. He does a little bit of everything for the Eagle defense. Still, while he can fill multiple roles, first and foremost he is a punishing tackler with by far the most tackles on the team.
Georgia Southern Eagles opting out of Myrtle Beach Bowl
Georgia Southern has managed to avoid key losses to the transfer portal before the Myrtle Beach Bowl. While players could still leave after the contest vs. Ohio, the Eagles have the advantage on game day with their key players available on Saturday.
- Mark Langstrom, LS (Transfer portal)
Ohio Bobcats betting news
Ohio has the advantage in this matchup because of their season-long consistency of solid play. The Bobcats have avoided losing streaks this season, with wins following their three losses. Even in the three losses, they only had one by more than 10 points.
Ohio also had the most impressive win of the season for either team in this matchup when they defeated Iowa State 10-7. The Bobcats have shown the ability to lean on their defense to limit opponents and close out tight games. Ohio is 1-3 when they allow more than 20 points but are undefeated when they hold opponents under 20.
What is problematic for the Bobcats, though, is that their team will be missing a lot of crucial pieces that have hit the transfer portal, including longtime starting quarterback Kurtis Rourke, along with their No. 1 wide receiver Miles Cross and top two running backs O'Shaan Allison and Sieh Bangura. It is hard to see the offense having much success with so many new players filling critical roles.
The good news is only one major defensive player has hit the portal: linebacker Keye Thompson. He is a significant loss, but the Bobcats defense was strong at all three levels this season. If Ohio wants to win this game, it will come down to their defense limiting Georgia Southern. With so many key players in the portal, it will be challenging for Ohio to score points.
The defense will still need their leading tackler, Bryce Houston, to play his best game with Thompson in the portal. Houston has 120 tackles, three interceptions and one forced fumble. With Thompson gone, Houston has double the tackles of the next closest player for Ohio, so expect him to have a double-digit tackle game.
Ohio Bobcats opting out of Myrtle Beach Bowl
With multiple players entering the transfer portal after a successful season at Ohio, the Bobcats will be without many top players from their 9-3 regular season. It will give Ohio fans and college football bettors a glance at next year's team. As for the Myrtle Beach Bowl, it is tough to imagine the Bobcat offense being at its best with so many players unavailable.
- Miles Cross, WR (Transfer portal)
- Tyler Walton, WR (Transfer portal)
- Kurtis Rourke, QB (Transfer portal)
- O’Shaan Allison, RB (Transfer portal)
- Sieh Bangura, RB (Transfer portal)
- Keye Thompson, LB (Transfer portal)
Georgia Southern vs. Ohio prop bets at FanDuel Sportsbook
FanDuel Sportsbook has a wide variety of player prop markets for the College Football Bowl Season. Here are a few of our favorite player prop markets worth checking out for the Myrtle Beach Bowl.
Parker Navarro prop bets
- 158.5 passing yards OVER (-114) / UNDER (-114)
- Anytime touchdown scorer (+130)
Davis Brin props bets
- 260.5 passing yards OVER (-114) / UNDER (-114)
- Anytime touchdown scorer (+360)
Derwin Burgess prop bets
- 55.5 receiving yards OVER (-114) / UNDER (-114)
- Anytime touchdown scorer (+128)
Khaleb Hood prop bets
- 65.5 receiving yards OVER (-114) / UNDER (-114)
- Anytime touchdown scorer (+116)
Sam Wiglusz prop bets
- 56.5 receiving yards OVER (-114) / UNDER (-114)
- Anytime touchdown scorer (+174)
Georgia Southern vs. Ohio prediction: Myrtle Beach Bowl is Eagles to lose with so many Bobcats in the portal
If the two teams were at full strength, the Bobcats would likely be the favorites. Even with so many critical players out for Ohio and the Eagles only missing one player to the portal, the spread is still under a touchdown.
Ohio will need their defense to hold the Eagles to very few points to give their offense time to adjust with so many new pieces. The defense is strong enough to do that, but Georgia Southern has the clear advantage as they have kept most of their roster intact for the Myrtle Beach Bowl.
Pick: Georgia Southern
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