Ohio vs. Georgia Southern prediction: Myrtle Beach Bowl picks, odds

Injuries and the transfer portal are taking the luster of this year’s Myrtle Beach Bowl.

Ohio will take on Georgia Southern on Saturday, although the former will look like a much different team than they did during the regular season.

The Bobcats will be without several key offensive players.

Quarterback Kurtis Rourke, wide receivers Miles Cross and Aramoni Rhone and running back Sieh Bangura all entered the transfer portal and will miss Saturday’s game.

Wide receiver Jacoby Jones, who was lost to injury earlier this season, also won’t take the field.

(11 a.m. ET.)

While the Eagles haven’t been hit nearly as hard by the transfer portal as the Bobcats, they still may be without a key offensive contributor: Lead running back Jalen White, who missed the final regular season game with an injury.

Ohio, who is a 3.5-point underdog, will have to rely on their stout defense to pull out the win.

The Bobcats allowed the sixth-fewest points per game (15.9) in the FBS and more than 20 in just two contests.

Georgia Southern relied on a high-powered offense to get to six wins this season but struggled mightily whenever they matched up against a good defense.

In road losses to Wisconsin and James Madison, both top-20 defenses in terms of points allowed per game, the Eagles scored just 14 and 13 points, respectively.

While Ohio will have a hard time moving the ball, it won’t be easy for Georgia Southern either.

The over/under is sitting at a pretty typical 48.5 points as of this writing, but I’m expecting an offensive struggle.

Take the under on Saturday in Myrtle Beach.

The pick: Under 48.5 total points (BetMGM)