BOWL PREVIEW from Georgia Southern Athletics: Eagles and Bobcats Set to Kick Off Bowl Season

Myrtle Beach Bowl Preview from Georgia Southern Athletics:

The Georgia Southern football team kicks off bowl season on Saturday, taking on the Ohio Bobcats in the Myrtle Beach Bowl at Brooks Stadium as both teams wrap up their seasons. Kickoff is set for 11:02 a.m. and the game will be broadcast on ESPN. The game will also be available via radio on the Georgia Southern Sports Network and on ESPN Bowl Radio. Here’s all you need to know about the game:

Myrtle Beach Bowl: Saturday, Dec. 16,  2023 • 11:02 AM
Location: Conway, South Carolina (Brooks Stadium; 21,000)

Records:
Ohio: 9-3, 6-2 MAC
Georgia Southern: 6-6, 3-5 SBC

Broadcast Information
Broadcast: ESPN
PBP: Drew Carter; Analyst: Dustin Fox; Sidelines: Stormy Buonantomy

Radio: Georgia Southern Sports Network
PBP: Danny Reed (@GSEaglesVoice); Analyst: Terry Harvin (@TerryHarvin); Sidelines: Kyle Vantrease (@KVT6_)

Radio Affiliates (PDF)

GS: GAME NOTES
OHIO: GAME NOTES

Inside The Series
Overall Series Record: First Meeting

Albin vs. GS: Never Met
Helton vs. Ohio: Never Met
Helton vs. Albin: Never Met

GS vs. current MAC Members: 5-2
GS vs. teams from Ohio: 2-3
GS in state of South Carolina: 27-15
GS at Brooks Stadium: 3-3

The Ties That Bind

• GS fifth year Khaleb Hood and Ohio redshirt junior Shedrick Rhodes Jr. both attended Eagles Landing Christian Academy in McDonough, Georgia.
• Quarterback Davis Brin played in the 2021 Myrtle Beach Bowl, leading Tulsa to a 31-17 win over Old Dominion. He threw for 295 yards and two touchdowns to earn game MVP honors.
• Both schools feature an Australian punter. GS goes with 24-year-old true freshman Alex Smith from Melbourne while Ohio counters with redshirt junior Jack Wilson from Lancefield. Both came through ProKick Australia.

Of Note:

• This will be the first meeting between Georgia Southern and the Ohio Bobcats. It’s the fourth GS/Mid-American Conference matchup in a bowl game (GS is 2-1).
• Georgia Southern will be making its sixth bowl appearance when it participates in the Myrtle Beach Bowl. The Eagles are 3-2 in five previous bowl games, knocking off Bowling Green (2015 GoDaddy Bowl), Eastern Michigan (2018 Camellia Bowl) and Louisiana Tech (2020 New Orleans Bowl). The Eagles lost to Liberty in the 2019 Cure Bowl and to Buffalo in the 2022 Camellia Bowl.
• The Eagles are 3-3 all-time at Brooks Stadium, home of Sun Belt brethren Coastal Carolina. They are 2-3 all-time against teams from Ohio (1-0 against Bowling Green and 1-3 against Youngstown State) and 27-15 in games played in the Palmetto State.
• Georgia Southern has seven players from South Carolina, including starting tight end Jjay Mcafee (Charleston).
• GS is one of four current FBS schools to never have a 1,000-yard receiver in a season. Khaleb Hood (917) needs 83 yards for 1,000 yards and six catches for 100 for the year.

Countdown to Kickoff

10: Ten different Georgia Southern players have caught a touchdown pass this year, led by five from both fifth-year Khaleb Hood and redshirt-junior Derwin Burgess Jr.

9: With 917 yards thus far, Khaleb Hood needs nine yards to break the school’s single-season receiving record that he set last year (925).  He needs six catches to become the school’s first 100-catch player in a season.

8: When scoring eight or more points in the second quarter, Georgia Southern is 11-2 under Clay Helton. The Eagles are 5-1 both seasons when reaching this mark.

7: All seven Sun Belt East Division teams qualified for a bowl game. In all, a national-best and conference-record 12 of the 14 Sun Belt teams will be playing in the postseason.

6: This will be the Eagles’ sixth bowl appearance in the nine years it has been eligible since it moved to the FBS in 2015.

5: Isaac Walker is tied for the FBS lead with five forced fumbles and is tied for the national lead with four fumble recoveries.

4: Georgia Southern is one of four FBS teams to never have a 1,000-yard receiver in a season.

3: Three of Georgia Southern’s previous five bowl games have come against teams from the MAC, where Ohio plays.

2: The Eagles have two players—Khaleb Hood (30) and Derwin Burgess Jr. (26)—who have had at least one catch in 25 or more straight games. The only other FBS school with two players to have such a streak is Mississippi State.

1: Tight end Jjay Mcafee’s 32 catches this season rank first in Georgia Southern’s history for a tight end.

GSU / gseagles.com