If I were betting on this, I'd take Toledo and give the 17 with little hesitation.

Put differently, if we truly are the team some on here would want you to believe, then this Thursday night is the ideal time to show the world what we are made of. I have watched Toledo three (3) times this Fall, and they do seem to possess the ability to score offensively at will. They are 6-1 and could easily be 7-0 except for a shoot out at BYU which they lost by 2, 53-55. So, if we have really elevated this program to top tier status in the MAC, then it is time to show it on the field. No excuses. At some point if you want to run with the big dogs, you have to get off the porch. Now is that time for us. Staff, give us a game plan that works and put players in positions to win. Players, you will be on national TV, show us you are worth the athletic scholarships we gave to each of you. Again, no excuses, just win. GO BOBCATS!

This was a devastating set of paragraphs. And, unfortunately, true.

I like and applaud the optimism.

And yes...i agree Papi White makes things happen......WHEN THEY GET HIM THE BALL!!!!!

Zero carries and only 1 catch vs. Kent. (Not to mention the dropped punt...oops. I mentioned it)

He is a game-changer type of player....but the coaching staff's inability to get the ball in his hands is baffling.

What happened to that inside WR screen that he ran 70+ yards for a TD vs. Texas State? What happened to a jet sweep? The option run they tried (unsuccessfully) many times at UT?

I didn't see any of that vs. Kent. Hopefully they were saving it for Toledo? They are going to need White big-time plus a whale of a game from Brown/Irons at RB. Maxwell is going to have to play with poise and confidence and take some shots down the field. The OL is going to have keep him clean almost all night and win the war in the trenches to allow Ohio to control clock with running game.

Toledo is going to score.....and score.....and score if Ohio allows them to be on the field. Bobcat secondary is, well, how do we put it. Ummmmmm. Bad? That seems to sum it up.

With Mayne Williams and Randy Stites out (most likely).....we've fallen back on Jaylen Fox who has been abused recently. Hagan is good and a ballhawk...but he finds himself out of position at times (see that 3rd and long to start the half vs. Kent) and his tackling has been suspect at times. I know the secondary is young and they are taking their lumps. But if we are going to rely on them to cover Toledo WR/RB/TEs we are in for a world of hurt Thursday night. Rockets can sling it.....and oh, that's right...they got this RB named Kareem Hunt who's maybe the best in the league.

The one thing that this year's team has shown different from the past few years is the ability to NOT lay down. But this has been the time of the year where Ohio turns a loss into an embarrassing blowout and they snowball into a few weeks

2012
Nov. 7 Bowling Green Lost 26-14
Nov. 14 Ball State Lost 52-27
Nov. 23 Kent State Lost 28-6

2013
Nov. 5 Buffalo Lost 30-3
Nov. 12 Bowling Green Lost 49-0
Nov. 19 Kent State Lost 44-13

2014 (will say Ohio didn't really lay down in these losses...just outmatched)
Oct. 4 Central Michigan Lost 28-10
Oct. 11 Bowling Green Lost 31-13
Oct. 25 Western Michigan Lost 42-21

2015
Oct. 17 Western Michigan Lost 49-14
Oct. 24 Buffalo Lost 41-17
Nov. 4 Bowling Green Lost 62-24

That's some ugly history to erase. 9 losses by an average of 26.6 points...almost four TDs!

Let's hope it starts Thursday

And there's something to be said about letting a legend, which Frank is in Athens no question, go out with some dignity. Don't let this thing fall back to a 4-8 season or something and then can him. I don't know if the program would ever go that low again but it has trended that way. But let the man go out on a decent note if not a great one.

The other night I watched the Virginia Tech and Miami game and the best part for me was the broadcast showing Frank Beamer up in the box watching the game. That's awesome. Beamer was in a similar situation. It was obvious that Virginia Tech needed a change and there was some type of mutual agreement that let him retire while the program was sliding but not quite to the bottom. He knew when to walk away. Took him awhile, but at least he did it. And VaTech is better off for it. They hit a home run with Justin Fuente I think.

That's what I want for this program.

"With Mayne Williams and Randy Stites out (most likely).....we've fallen back on Jaylen Fox who has been abused recently. Hagan is good and a ballhawk...but he finds himself out of position at times (see that 3rd and long to start the half vs. Kent) and his tackling has been suspect at times. I know the secondary is young and they are taking their lumps. But if we are going to rely on them to cover Toledo WR/RB/TEs we are in for a world of hurt Thursday night. Rockets can sling it.....and oh, that's right...they got this RB named Kareem Hunt who's maybe the best in the league."

Wowwww, I didn't look at the secondary as being "BAD" maybe "YOUNG" but definitely not bad. I watched college football all weekend, and buddy it happens to the best of the best....No one is perfect...."Ask Urban Meyer" Hopefully we can get Williams and Stites back in there. I kinda felt sorry for Jaylen Fox in the Eastern Michigan game, but COACH.....give him some help. I think Hagan will be ok....I saw the play that could have went horribly wrong, but hey, I saw some plays from Hagan that have went horribly wrong for the other team..... They have a lot of football to play....Give them time

You and I are on the same page my friend. I think there is talent there...but the coaching staff continues to put a lot of these guys (offense and defense) in bad situations. Yes....Fox was continually picked on by EMU and they did little to help him. And I'm guessing his confidence took a hit with that game. Same goes for the DBs in that Texas State debacle. At no time did Ohio switch up their defense to defend what Tx State did over....and over....and over. At what point do they think, "hmmmm. maybe we need to make an adjustment"

Frank has said as much after a few games this year that the coaching wasn't good. Well, then get guys in there that can coach and are good. How long do you need to tie yourself down with coaches that are subpar?

And yes...I know it happens all across the country. I watched Texas Tech and Oklahoma turn a football game into a video game on steroids on Saturday night. These offense nowadays are tough to stop. But some of the plays I'm referring too aren't based on good offenses (Kent is a perfect example). Hagan misplayed that 3rd & 21 to start the half letting his guy wander free and it ended up burning Ohio. He's got to stay with him and let the other 6 defenders in front of him force the QB to scramble out of bounds or for a short gain. Simple assignment football. He can't be chasing after the ball all the time. He's got a ton of talent...just a little raw....and I have hope he'll blossom into a really good defensive back. Same with a lot of these guys. They are young....but some of the mistakes they are making are coachable mistakes. Or are things coaches can make adjustments to to provide help. Neither seem to happen.

Kent's QB had the ball in his hand roughly 90% of the time....and yet he kept finding ways to get positive yards. At any point did you see Ohio alter their defense to account for just Holley? He kept running the same play over and over and Ohio kept letting up big chunks of yards to him. It wasn't necessarily players not playing well....it was a failure in defensive scheme. Anybody watching that game could have seen by mid-2nd quarter that Holley A) couldn't throw at all and B) was going to run the ball almost every play whether it was designed or not. How about a QB spy? Just didn't seem to me they made any adjustments and left the players in a difficult spot.

Texas State in three of their last six games since beating Ohio has scored 3 points. Three. 3 points. And yet they managed to torch Ohio all over the field. No way do I put that on the players. That's coaching, plain and simple.

I stand by earlier comments that talent-wise I think Ohio has the players to be highly competitive in the MAC right now. They should win the East going away and be able to be very competitive with Toledo, WMU & CMU. But with the gameplans that get rolled out each week....they are already so far behind it's not even funny. How else do you explain scuffling to beat Kent, Miami and BG....three of the worst teams in America. Not to mention lose vs Tennessee and fail to slam the door vs. Kansas and Gardner-Webb. Those last two should've both been 30+ point wins (as should've Tx State) Yet....they do just enough to secure the win. It's frustrating to watch talent continually be put in bad positions.

Totally agree. Another example is WVU. Don Nehlen scuffled his last few years and went out with a bowl win. They hire Rich Rod and the program takes off. Nehlen took over what Bobby Bowden started there and handed it off to Rich Rod who took WVU to the doorstep of playing for the national title (after Nehlen did it twice during his tenure) Not saying Ohio is going to play for a national title....but Frank has stablized this program and it's now time to hand it off to someone that can take it higher and start winning MAC titles on a regular basis.

The whole Isphording situation is odd to me. Indeed, he got a horrible recruiting class for Ohio in 2010, but he had recruited well at EMU prior to Ohio, and then at Toledo he was named Recruiting coordinator of the year after he landed the top Recruiting classes in the MAC for Toledo in 2012 and 2013. Is it really that much easier to recruit players to Toledo than to Ohio? Apparently so. In any case, the Juniors and Seniors on the field for Toledo this week will be players recruited to Toledo by Isphording.

The other part of the Isphording puzzle is why he left Toledo. He had a solid position, and after having the top recruiting classes in the MAC back to back, his position was certainly secure. My only possible conclusions are that either he wanted to get away from recruiting, or that he just liked Athens.

In any case, he should be judged in his current job based on what he does in his current job, not his past, either good or bad. Since becoming QB coach he has recruited one QB, that being Maxwell, and has two verbals for 2016. I liked Maxwell when he was recruited, and I like him now, plus I like the verbals for 2016.

LC, you posed the question is it really that much easier to recruit to Toledo than it is to Athens? I think the answer to that is easily born out by the results over the how many decades of less than inspiring OHIO football.

Athens may be a utopia to many of us, but I think it is a tough, tough sell to a sizable quantity of athletes to embrace its "Green Acres" feel. I think our "history" of results supports my view.

and it's year 12.

I think one reason we're seeing some uninspired play is the play calling. It's similar to what we had toward the end of 2012(?) when BUTM was always the first and second (and sometimes third) choice. Back then, you could see it on the faces and in the body of the players. We need to mix it up some more vs Toledo. We had one play vs Kent, I think it was supposed to be a pass by Papi or Reed, that fizzled. Even tho it didn't work, we need more variety in the play-calling vs Toledo. Otherwise, it'll be a long, cold ride back to Athens.

Great observation. That's reaaaaaalllllly interesting. No sarcasm.