Ohio vs Jacksonville State prediction & betting tips - Dec. 20 - Cure Bowl

The Ohio Bobcats are set to play the Jacksonville State Gamecocks in the Cure Bowl on Friday, Dec. 20, at noon EST. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN.

Ohio (10-3) beat Miami OH 38-3 to win the MAC Championship. Jacksonville State (9-4) beat Western Kentucky 52-12 to win CUSA.

Ohio vs Jacksonville State: Preview

Ohio is a three-point favorite against Jacksonville State, with the over/under set at 54.5 points.

The Bobcats won the MAC as Ohio had a great season. Ohio is currently the only team in a bowl game to have no players in the transfer portal, according to Action Network.

The Bobcats will start Parker Navarro who's thrown for 176-for-267 for 2,169 yards, 12 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. Anthony Tyus III has rushed for 1,111 yards and nine touchdowns. Coleman Owen has 1,105 receiving yards and eight touchdowns.

Defensively, Tank Pearson has four interceptions, Bradley Weaver has eight sacks and Blake Leake has 84 tackles.

Ohio coach Tim Albin left the Bobcats for the job at Charlotte. Brian Smith will serve as the interim coach.

“There’s obviously a much larger workload that comes with the added responsibilities of head coach,” Smith said, via WOUB, during his first press conference as Interim Head Coach. “With the bowl game, you have some extra time and extra days to manage the prep work.

“The great thing is, I have an awesome staff. They know what we do, and they can take on some of the load of helping me throughout the week.”

Jacksonville State, meanwhile, has several key defensive players in the transfer portal. Starting safeties Zechariah Poyser and Fred Perry are in the portal as well as starting cornerbacks Jabari Mack and Fred Davis, as well as starting linebacker Reginald Hughes.

The Gamecocks will start Tyler Huff who's thrown for 2,179 yards, 13 touchdowns and six interceptions.

This should be a great game, but Ohio's offense will be the difference. Jacksonville State has too many key defensive players in the portal, as the Bobcats should win the Cure Bowl and end their season with a 11-3 record.

Prediction: Ohio 28, Jacksonville State 24

Ohio vs Jacksonville State: Betting Tips

Tip 1: Ohio -3 (-115)

Tip 2: Under 54.5 points (-112)