Tony Wolfe breaks down some possible matchups for Ohio this bowl season.
A dramatic roller-coaster season for Ohio has led to an 8-4 record, its best since 2012, and its sixth bowl game lock in seven years.
Ohio will find out exactly where it’s headed next Sunday, but in the meantime, there will be speculation as to who will fill each slot the bowl games have to offer.
Without a title game to prepare for, Ohio has little to do this week but wait for its name to be called. Early bowl projections have been rolling out for weeks now, but here are some of the more popular scenarios:
Boca Raton Bowl: Ohio vs. Cincinnati (7-5)
Boca Raton, Florida – December 22nd
In its third year under Tommy Tuberville, Cincinnati has yet to regain the BCS-calibur stature it held under former head coach Brian Kelly. That said, many of the Bearcats’ losses in 2015 came in games in which they were able to trade points with some of the FBS’s most prolific offenses. It fell to one-loss Houston by just three, Memphis by seven, and Temple by eight.
Cincinnati’s most obvious downfall is its defense, which allowed 30.2 points per game and an average of 414 yards to opposing offenses.
Cincinnati wasn’t challenged often on the offensive side of the ball, and the Bobcats’ defense would certainly be one of the best it would face all year.
This could turn into a pretty favorable matchup for Ohio if its offense can continue its stride that it hit late in the season. There’s a lot of history between these two teams, with 50 meetings in their history, all prior to 1982. Each team has won 23 of those meetings, with four ties being thrown in there.
Raycom Media Camellia Bowl: Ohio vs. Appalachian State (9-2)
Montgomery, Alabama – Dec. 19
It didn’t take long for former DI-AA powerhouse Appalachian State to establish itself as one of the best teams in the Sun Belt once it was admitted.
Appalachian State still has to play South Alabama with a shot at the Sun Belt title next weekend, but a couple different chips falling in place could put them in Montgomery facing the Bobcats.
The Mountaineers tore through most of their schedule, averaging a 20-point win over the course of its 11 games this season. They've allowed just 313 yards per game while racking up 471 yards on offense.
It’s an intimidating statline, but Ohio would arguably be the best team Appalachian State would face all year, and brings a defense unlike any the Mountaineers have seen in the Sun Belt.
I would probably favor the Bobcats in this game, which is pretty important considering Appalachian State doesn’t have a single notable upset in its history...
Famous Idaho Potato Bowl: Ohio vs. Nevada (6-6)
Boise, Idaho – Dec. 22
A couple weeks ago, Nevada seemed to have things figured out, busting off a three-game winning streak against Mountain West Conference competition and consistently showing a stronger offense than what they’d shown all year. Unfortunately for the Wolfpack, the season didn’t end on Nov. 14, and it finished the season with back-to-back losses, barely coasting into bowl season alive.
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Given its record, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that Nevada is neither very good nor bad at any particular thing. Opponents average barely more than a point more than the Wolfpack per game, and outgain them by a measly 17 yards per game.
This is a game that the Bobcats should, in theory, be able to put away pretty quickly in a manner similar to the 45-14 thrashing it laid on Louisiana-Monroe in 2012, but bowl season can be notoriously unpredictable, so it’d be unfair to write off any opponent the Bobcats are matched up with.
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