Georgia Southern Eagles at Ohio Bobcats
· Myrtle Beach BowlReserves Hunt, Navarro lead Ohio to 41-21 victory over Georgia Southern in Myrtle Beach Bowl
Hunt, a freshman, ran for four touchdowns and caught a fifth as Ohio overcame a host of transfer portal losses to win its fifth-straight bowl game, beating Georgia Southern 41-21 at the Myrtle Beach Bowl.
“I did not see this coming at all," said Hunt, pressed into service when the Bobcats top two running backs in Sieh Bangura and O'Shaan Allison entered the portal after combining for 1,263 yards and 10 touchdowns.
Hunt's five touchdowns were the best single-game showing ever for the Bobcats. He finished with 115 yards and had scoring runs of 2, 6, 40 and 9 yards. Hunt also had an 18-yard TD catch off a jump pass from fill-in quarterback Parker Navarro.
“The last two weeks, it was shaky,” Hunt said. “We lost some big players.”
Along with Bangura and Allison, Ohio played without starting quarterback Kurtis Rourke, who threw for 2,207 yards and 11 touchdowns, but also went to the portal and committed to Indiana earlier this week.
The Bobcats (10-3) forced five turnovers, four off Eagles quarterback Davis Brin, to win 10 games in consecutive years for the first time in program history.
Navarro made his first career start after four seasons as a backup at UCF and Ohio.
“He played phenomenal,” Hunt said of his quarterback, who passed for 120 yards and ran for 71.
Ohio's defense made it all stand up. They held Georgia Southern (6-7) to 35 yards in the first half. Brin, who won this game's MVP in 2021 in leading Tulsa to a 30-17 victory, threw an interception on the game's fourth play to safety Jeremiah Wood.
Things didn't get much better after that with a pick by safety Adonis Williams Jr. before losing the ball on a fumble when Brin was sacked from behind by Wood.
“I'm not going to lie, that may have been one of the best defensive games we've played in my time here,” said Wood, whose been with Ohio the past five seasons.
Ohio also sacked Brin five times.
Georgia Southern found some offensive rhythm in the second half and cut its deficit to 34-21 after Brin threw scoring passes of 65 yards to receiver Derwin Burgess Jr. and 15 yards to tight end Jjay Mcafee. But the Eagles could get no closer.
Brin finished 32 of 42 for 350 yards to break the record he set with Tulsa (294) here two years ago.
Georgia Southern receiver Khaleb Hood had seven catches for 101 this season, the fifth time in Sun Belt Conference history a player has reached the century mark.
“I feel like we needed to play better early in this football game,” Eagles coach Clay Helton said. “You look at the turnovers early, that really got us behind the eight ball.”
THE TAKEAWAY
Georgia Southern: The Eagles have put up identical 6-7 seasons in Helton's first two years. They'll need to cut down on the mistakes that caused them to finish with five straight losses after starting 6-2.
Ohio: Hunt and Navarro gave Ohio's offense an intriguing taste of what next year could bring. The expanded College Football Playoff means more opportunity for Group of Five teams with double-digit wins.
CHANGING ON THE FLY
Ohio coach Tim Albin was worried with so many offensive starters not playing in this one, he would have to go with a more balanced game plan to compete with Georgia Southern. He thought Hunt at running back and Navarro at quarterback executed it perfectly. “It's a testament to a damn, good plan,” he said.
UP NEXT
Georgia Southern opens the 2024 season at home against Boise State on Aug. 31.
Ohio starts next season at Syracuse on Aug. 31.
How To Watch
How can I watch Georgia Southern Eagles vs. Ohio Bobcats?
- TV Channel: Eagles at Bobcats 2021 College Football, week 1, is broadcasted on ESPN.
- Online streaming: Sign up for Fubo.
Matchup Prediction
Scoring Summary
FG | 1st Period 6:27 | Gianni Spetic 27 Yd Field Goal | |
TD | 2nd Period 12:22 | Rickey Hunt 2 Yd Run (Gianni Spetic Kick) | |
TD | 2nd Period 3:16 | Rickey Hunt 18 Yd pass from Parker Navarro (Gianni Spetic Kick) | |
FG | 2nd Period 0:00 | Gianni Spetic 26 Yd Field Goal | |
TD | 3rd Period 11:46 | Rickey Hunt 6 Yd Run (Gianni Spetic Kick) | |
TD | 3rd Period 7:54 | David Mbadinga 3 Yd Run (Michael Lantz Kick) | |
TD | 3rd Period 2:04 | Rickey Hunt 40 Yd Run (Gianni Spetic Kick) | |
TD | 3rd Period 1:13 | Derwin Burgess Jr. 65 Yd pass from Davis Brin (Michael Lantz Kick) | |
TD | 4th Period 12:27 | Jjay Mcafee 15 Yd pass from Davis Brin (Michael Lantz Kick) | |
TD | 4th Period 2:52 | Rickey Hunt 9 Yd Run (Gianni Spetic Kick) |
Statistics
GASO | OHIO | |
---|---|---|
16 | 1st Downs | 18 |
6-12 | 3rd down efficiency | 10-15 |
2-4 | 4th down efficiency | 0-1 |
383 | Total Yards | 352 |
350 | Passing | 120 |
32-42 | Comp-Att | 11-16 |
8.3 | Yards per pass | 7.5 |
33 | Rushing | 232 |
21 | Rushing Attempts | 46 |
1.6 | Yards per rush | 5.0 |
6-70 | Penalties | 6-60 |
5 | Turnovers | 0 |
2 | Fumbles lost | 0 |
3 | Interceptions thrown | 0 |
26:40 | Possession | 33:20 |
Game Information
Location: Conway, SC
Attendance: 8,059 · Capacity:
Sun Belt - East
TEAM | OVR | CONF |
---|---|---|
James Madison | 11-2 | 7-1 |
Appalachian State | 9-5 | 6-2 |
Coastal Carolina | 8-5 | 5-3 |
Old Dominion | 6-7 | 5-3 |
Georgia State | 7-6 | 3-5 |
Marshall | 6-7 | 3-5 |
Georgia Southern | 6-7 | 3-5 |
Sun Belt - West
TEAM | OVER | CONF |
---|---|---|
Troy | 11-3 | 7-1 |
Texas State | 8-5 | 4-4 |
South Alabama | 7-6 | 4-4 |
Arkansas State | 6-7 | 4-4 |
Louisiana | 6-7 | 3-5 |
Southern Miss | 3-9 | 2-6 |
UL Monroe | 2-10 | 0-8 |
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