Can Ohio keep the offense going?
It wasn’t the MAC championship season the program might have hoped for, but outside of a stunning road loss to Miami (Ohio), the Bobcats were red hot to close the season, winning five of their last six games and scoring 49 or more points in those victories.
The rushing attack led the MAC and ranked eighth in the country, averaging 262 yards per game and rolling for 818 in the last two. Now the Bobcats must deal with a strong San Diego State defensive front.
The Aztecs don’t have a great pass rush, but they stuff the run, ranking fourth in the nation. Air Force and UNLV mostly run the ball, and they’re the only teams to hover around 200 yards. No one else came remotely close against a defense that limited opponents to 2.75 yards per carry.
The San Diego State offense sputtered far too often, averaging just 354 yards per game and not getting enough from the ground attack. While Ohio ended its season on a roll, the Aztecs lost four of their last five games, mostly because they couldn’t move the chains.
The Bobcats defense has been great against the run but has issues with decent passing teams. That doesn’t describe San Diego State.
Who wins? It should come down to mistakes. San Diego State isn’t tight at holding on to the ball, and Ohio is tied for first in the nation in takeaways. Neither offense will do much, but the Bobcats will be +2 in turnover margin.
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