Ohio will face Bowling Green on Saturday after 10 days of rest
Ohio’s 10 days of rest following back-to-back losses is about to come to an end, as the team makes its way to Bowling Green to face the top team in the Mid-American Conference East.
The matchup’s recent history hasn’t been kind to the Bobcats, with Bowling Green winning three-straight against Ohio. The Falcons have outscored the Bobcats 80-13 in the last two meetings.
This year’s Falcons squad is arguably better than any of those last three Bowling Green units, and the Bobcats will enter the game still significantly banged up on both sides of the ball.
The writing on the wall indicates trouble for the Bobcats, and it’s not a mystery to anyone, including Ohio head coach Frank Solich when he spoke with media last Friday.
“It’s no secret to the players, no secret to the coaching staff, no secret to anybody,” Solich said. “You’re going to do anything you can to give you an edge.”
Other notable bites from Solich on Friday:
Confidence level after two losses —
“We’ve had great leadership all year and that leadership remains intact. I don’t question where our team is mentally and emotionally. We just have to have some good things happen, and we’ll be playing good football.”
Ohio has dropped two straight following a 5-1 start, falling 49-14 at home to Western Michigan before going on the road and falling 41-17 to Buffalo. The two routs followed a pair of games in which Ohio prevented a single touchdown, placing confidence in the defense at a season-high. For it to level out on defense, upperclassmen like Ian Wells and Nathan Carpenter will need to establish themselves as serious defenders early to rattle Bowling Green quarterback Matt Johnson.
How to match Bowling Green’s high-powered offense —
“I don’t recall seeing a conference team put up those kinds of numbers. If you don’t put up points, you don’t have a chance to be in the ball game. You can go in with a game plan to slow it down, but that may not be the answer. We will try to do what we do best, and continue to get better at it.”
Johnson is second in the country in passing yards, while Bowling Green is eighth in total points and fourth in total yards. Conversely, Ohio is 75th in the FBS in yards and 93rd in points. Ohio has topped 40 points just once this season and 30 points twice.
If Bowling Green is a do-or-die game —
“You have long-term goals and short-term goals. We try to make sure we’re breaking it down to where we take one game at a time because we know that in the MAC, anything goes. If you’re not ready to play a certain week, you’re going to get beat.”
The Mid-American Conference has seen some surprising results already this season, though none would likely be more surprising than a battered Ohio team coming out on top at Bowling Green. But it isn’t out of the question. Ohio’s taken on the underdog role before this season, when it took on Minnesota on the road, and gave itself a good shot to win throughout the game. If the Bobcats can take care of the football and limit penalties, it would be a fine start to challenging the Falcons and staying alive in the conference.
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