Georgia Southern vs. Old Dominion: How To Watch, Preview, Prediction

Time and Date: 6 PM ET - November 18

Broadcast Network: ESPN+

Location: Paulson Stadium - Statesboro, GA

Records: Georgia Southern 6-4 (3-3 Sun Belt), Old Dominion 4-6 (3-3 Sun Belt)

Line: Georgia Southern -7

Point Total: O/U 60.5

All-Time Series: Georgia Southern is 3-0 all-time against Old Dominion, with the Eagles having won last season in Norfolk, 28-23.

Georgia Southern Outlook

Georgia Southern continued digging a hole for itself and seemingly continues to wish for the season to be over pronto with a pitiful effort in a loss to a reeling Marshall last week.

The Eagles found a way to make the Herd, coming off of a five-game losing streak in which it hadn’t scored more than 9 points in a game in a month, look like a team ready to vie for the Sun Belt East championship.

The defense is just as atrocious as last season, except now Southern has traded an awful run defense for an awful, uninspired all-around defense. One obvious change that needs to be made by the end of this season is secondary coach Kevin Whitley, whose unit has been thrashed by any quarterback with a pulse this season.

Georgia Southern currently ranks in the bottom half of the FBS in both pass defense, at 95th with 242 yards per game allowed, and total defense (87th, 391.7 YPG).

Offensively, quarterback Davis Brin has sunk this team’s chances of winning games where the Eagles don’t have the clear talent or coaching advantage. Last week saw Brin throw three touchdowns, but captained the team to just 5-19 (26% conversion) on third downs as Southern dropped its second conference game in a row coming off the victory over Georgia State.

Brin needs to be benched, having ran a promising Georgia Southern season into a cement dock, and the Eagles’ season is now taking on water in a hurry. Anyone and everyone should be on the table to start at quarterback for GS, which needs to begin preparing for 2024 with all but a low-tier bowl game out of reach.

Old Dominion Outlook

Similarly to Georgia Southern, Old Dominion’s problems lie in its inability to generate production from the quarterback spot. The Monarchs have rolled out Grant Wilson, who seems to be a game manager on a team desperate for a dynamic talent at the position.

The Monarchs, also like Southern, picked up a couple of encouraging wins weeks ago against Southern Miss and an Appalachian State team that has shown real promise as of late, following those up with three consecutive losses, headlined by last week’s 38-10 shellacking at the hands of Liberty.

Photo by Lee Coleman/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Head coach Ricky Rahne has done an admirable job, squeezing four wins out of roster largely devoid of top end talent at most key positions. Running back Kadarius Calloway has been a lone bright spot on the team’s roster, rushing for an incredible 8.1 yards per carry this season, but it has not been enough to carry an entire offense.

Defensively, Jason Henderson is one to watch at the linebacker spot, having racked up 152 total tackles this season and four sacks. Despite Henderson’s efforts, ODU ranks even worse on the defensive side of the ball than Georgia Southern, sitting at 93rd in total yardage (397.2 YPG) and are tied with the Eagles for passing yards surrendered per game, at 242.

Prediction

Georgia Southern plays better at home than on the road, which leads me to believe the Eagles will take this one before plummeting back to Earth and getting smacked on the road against rival Appalachian State next week. Plenty of points should be scored with two terrible defenses facing off, so I like GS -7 and the over as two bets this week.

Final Score: Georgia Southern 37, Old Dominion 27