Georgia Southern vs. Old Dominion Prediction, Odds and Key Players to Watch for College Football Week 9

Reed Wallach | Oct 21, 2024

Sep 21, 2024; Oxford, Mississippi, USA; Georgia Southern Eagles quarterback JC French (12) passes the ball during the first half against the Mississippi Rebels at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-Imagn Images / Petre Thomas-Imagn Images

Georgia Southern and Old Dominion are each off of upsets last week against the projected top contenders in the Sun Belt with the Eagles beating James Madison and the Monarchs beating Texas State.

Can the winner of this near coin flip matchup jumpstart a Sun Belt title run? Quite possibly, but instead of betting on a side, I'm eyeing a bet on the total in this one.

Find out which defense you can trust on Thursday night in conference action.

Georgia Southern vs. Old Dominion Odds, Spread and Total

Spread

• Georgia Southern: +1.5 (-102)
• Old Dominion: -1.5 (-120)

Moneyline

• Georgia Southern: +112
• Old Dominion: -134

Total: 54.5 (Over -106/Under -114)

Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook

Georgia Southern vs. Old Dominion How to Watch

• Date: Thursday, October 24
• Game Time: 7:00 PM EST
• Venue: Kornblau Field at S.B. Ballard Stadium
• How to Watch (TV): ESPN2
• Georgia Southern Record: 5-2
• Old Dominion Record: 3-4

Georgia Southern vs. Old Dominion Key Players to Watch

Georgia Southern 

JC French: The Eagles have been on a bit of a heater of late, rallying to beat Marshall and holding off James Madison to jump to the top of Sun Belt play, but French must be more protective of the ball. The Georgia Southern signal caller is relied upon a ton to create with his arm, and while his 10-5 touchdown-to-interception ratio is fine, he has made four big time throws to 17 turnover worthy plays, per Pro Football Focus.

Old Dominion

Colton Joseph: Joseph has stepped in to keep the Monarchs’ bowl hopes alive, leading the team to two straight wins in Sun Belt play, including over conference favorite Texas State. The freshman is dangerous with his legs, rushing the ball 51 times for 343 yards in five appearances this season, compiling nine touchdowns to two interceptions.

Georgia Southern vs. Old Dominion Prediction and Pick

I believe this can become a defensive-minded affair buoyed by the home team’s elite defense. 

ODU has been nails in Sun Belt play, shutting down the likes of Texas State’s offense last week, and over the balance of the season, look to be a tough out any week of the season. The Monarchs’ are top 10 in the country in tackles for loss and are 25th in success rate allowed. 

The team has been prone to giving up chunk plays, outside the top 100 in explosive run and pass rate, the team is 50th in EPA/Play and top half of the country in points allowed per drive. 

Meanwhile, the ODU offense has gotten by with a ton of rushes from Joseph, but the team is limited in moving the ball reliably down the field. ODU is a boom-or-bust offense, ranking 117th in yards per play, but inside the top 40 in both explosive rush and pass rate. 

Lately, with Joseph on the field, the team has really leaned on its defense to grind games to a halt. This season, ODU ranks seventh in seconds per play, but that number is up more than two seconds and was more than four seconds slower in last week’s win. 

I can’t trust French to create scoring chances against this Old Dominion defense, and I don’t believe ODU wants to get in a shootout given the state of its offense with a freshman quarterback under center. 

The under is my favorite play on a short week for each team. 

PICK: UNDER 54.5

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Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

Follow Reed on Twitter @ReedWallach and get all his college football bets on betstamp @rw33

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