The 2023-24 college football bowl season officially gets underway Saturday morning with Ohio and Georgia Southern facing off in the fourth-annual Myrtle Beach Bowl. This will be the first-ever meeting between the Bobcats and Eagles, though this is the second-consecutive year Georgia Southern will play a MAC program in a bowl game.
The Eagles come in at 6-6 after starting the year with a strong 6-2 record. They dropped road contests against Wisconsin and James Madison squad in that span. Three out of Georgia Southern's last four games came on the road and it closed the year against Sun Belt East champ App State. This will be GSU's second-straight bowl game and fifth postseason contest in the last six years.
Ohio enjoyed a bit more success during the regular season. It was a part of a heated MAC race with a 9-3 record and a 6-2 showing in conference play. The Bobcats pulled off one of the season's most notable upsets by beating Iowa State 10-7 at home in Week 3. Ohio has a combined 19-7 record over the past two seasons and has a chance to win 10 games for the second year in a row.
How to watch Myrtle Beach Bowl live
Date: Saturday, Dec. 16 | Time: 11 a.m. ET
Location: Brooks Stadium -- Conway, South Carolina
TV: ESPN | Live stream: Fubo (Try for free)
For a limited time, new subscribers can save $20 on Fubo's Pro, Elite and Premier plans.
Georgia Southern vs. Ohio: Need to know
Relatively new on the bowl scene: The Myrtle Beach Bowl is a relatively new addition to the postseason scene. It is the fourth-youngest bowl, making its debut as part of the 2020-21 season. The Myrtle Beach Bowl was actually announced in 2018 with ties to the Sun Belt Conference, Conference USA and Mid-American Conference. That same season three bowl-eligible teams (Western Michigan, Buffalo and UTSA) missed out on the postseason due to all the slots being filled.
A first for the MAC: Though the Myrtle Beach Bowl does have a MAC tie, Ohio is will be the first MAC team to actually take part in the event. The first iteration in 2020 featured App State from the Sun Belt Conference and North Texas from Conference USA. Two teams from outside the affiliated conferences -- Tulsa (American Athletic Conference) and UConn, (FBS independent) -- participated in the Myrtle Beach Bowl before a MAC team was selected.
What does Ohio do at quarterback?: Fresh off a promising 9-3 season, Ohio received some sour news ahead of its bowl when starting quarterback Kurtis Rourke entered the NCAA transfer portal. To compound matters, backup CJ Harris is out for the season due to a medical emergency. That means the Bobcats could be down to Parker Navarro, who entered the year as a third option but got plenty of run during the season as Rourke's backup. Navarro played in five games and completed 7 of his 10 pass attempts for 65 yards and two touchdowns with one interception. He also rushed for 107 yards on 10 carries, adding another dimension to Ohio's offense with his atleticism.
Myrtle Beach Bowl prediction, picks
Odds via SportsLine consensus
This is a hard one to predict. On one hand, the Bobcats had a much more prolific season and enter this game winners in four of their last five. Georgia Southern, meanwhile, just barely did enough to get to .500 while losing its last four games in a row. This isn't nearly the same Ohio team though. Not only did the Bobcats lose Rourke to the portal, their top two running backs (Sieh Bangura and O'Shaan Allison) and two of their three leading receivers (Miles Cross and Tyler Walton) followed suit. Georgia Southern, meanwhile, should be near full strength. Factoring in Ohio's high level of attrition alone, it seems smart to side with the Eagles in this one. Pick: Georgia Southern -3.5
 |  |  |  |  |  |  | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GASO -3.5 |  |  | | | | | |
| SU | | | | | | | |
Which college football picks can you make with confidence during bowl season? Visit SportsLine to see which teams will win and cover the spread -- all from a proven computer model that has returned well over $2,000 in profit over the past seven-plus seasons -- and find out.
