Myrtle Beach Bowl: Georgia Southern vs. Ohio
By Lee Wakefield
Welcome to bowl season here at The Touchdown, where we will be bringing you a preview for every single bowl game throughout the college football postseason.
You’ll be able to find them all here. Hopefully, this should make us your go to destination when it comes to college football all the way through from now, until the next national champion is crowned on Monday 8th January at Houston’s NRG Stadium.
I have the honour of kicking off the series with this year’s Myrtle Beach Bowl between the Georgia Southern Eagles and the Ohio Bobcats:
Where and When
Myrtle Beach Bowl
Location: Brooks Stadium, Conway, SC
Date: 16th December 2023
Time: 11:00am (ET)
Story so far…
Georgia Southern will arrive in Myrtle Beach on a dreadful run of form that has seen them go on without a win since late October. Their most recent win came against another Georgia team, Georgia State, in their Modern Day Hate rivalry game. If you’re not going to have a particularly great season, which the Eagles haven’t, where they’ve built a regular season record of 6-6, it’s always nice to beat one of your closest, in-state rivals. Since becoming bowl eligible with that sixth win, the Eagles have suffered a couple of close losses, to fellow Sun Belt, .500 teams. So had those games gone the other way, the record and form could have looked a little brighter.
On the other hand, The Ohio Bobcats followed up last year’s MAC Championship win, with another strong season. The Bobcats went 9-3 overall (6-2 in MAC) but weren’t able to repeat or even return to the championship game due to the strong seasons put in by Miami (OH) and Toledo, who met in Detroit to settle the title. Ohio entered the season favourites to win the MAC, so critics could harshly say this season has been a failure. However, with nine wins under their belts already, if they cap off the year with a bowl win, which they should, it’ll surely be a happy one?
The Quarterbacks…
Davis Brin will bow out of college football in what is his second Myrtle Beach Bowl. His first visit was in 2021 with Tulsa, where he began his college days. Brin was the MVP of that game and this will be his third bowl appearance, although his first with Georgia Southern.
Brin is an experienced player, with six years in the college game. The game won’t faze him as he will look to put the cherry on top of what has been his best year as a college quarterback. Despite an inferior regular season record, Georgia Southern has a more favourable QB situation because…
Bobcats regular season starter, Kurtis Rourke has entered the transfer portal after four years of starting in Athens. His biography has also been removed from Ohio’s team pages, so it looks increasingly likely that backup passer, Parker Navarro will play the bowl game. Navarro was listed as the third-string quarterback but CJ Harris is out with an undisclosed medical condition. The respective quarterback situations could prove to be a leveller come game time.
Navarro is a bit of a wildcard in this game. He’s a Senior prospect who began his collegiate career at UCF before transferring to Ohio, but has only attempted 22 passes in two seasons with the Bobcats. Navarro actually has more career rushing yards (157) than passing yards (112), so he will probably give Georgia Southern something to think about on the ground.
Prospects to watch…
Georgia Southern
Jalen White, Running Back – Senior running back, White, is the leading touchdown scorer (9) for Georgia Southern in 2023. As well as his ability to find the end zone, White has decent quickness, burst and some receiving chops shown by 40 career receptions. An all-round weapon for QB Davis Brin to use as he tries to unpick Ohio.
Khaleb Hood, Wide Receiver – Hood is an undersized receiver who also returns punts for the Eagles. He was the leading receiver this year with 917 yards from 94 catches, including 95 from 10 with a touchdown in rivalry week against Appalachian State. Look for him to be the focal point against Ohio.
Ohio
Sam Wiglusz, Wide Receiver – Wiglusz began his collegiate career as a receiver at Ohio State under Brian Hartline, he of supreme receiver recruiting and coaching fame. Wiglusz didn’t make much of an impact in Columbus but that coaching shines through as a crafty receiver who can get himself some separation despite not being an overwhelming physical specimen. Since arriving in Athens, Wiglusz has been productive with over 1,400 yards and 14 touchdowns in two seasons.
Prediction
With Brin’s experience and clear superiority over the Ohio QB situation, assuming Kurtis Rourke isn’t going to play, I think this game could be a little closer than we would expect. Unlike some of the bowl games, there haven’t been a raft of players pulling out of the game either, so it should be a great game to really whet the appetite for the rest of bowl season.
Georgia Southern 31 – 27 Ohio
