Toledo can be had thru the air. They're tenth in the MAC in pass defense in conference-only games, and have only three sacks in three MAC games. The haven't shown much of a pass rush in conference games.
Toledo's D has ranged from excellent to questionable. The Rockets surrendered only 3 pts to Maine, 10 to Ark State, 17 to both Fresno State and Central Michigan, 20 to EMU but 35 to BG and 55 to BYU. FEELS like Ohio will have to play as well defensively as at TN and better offensively than against anyone except possibly Kansas.
Right, their offense is unquestionably good, but the defense hasn't always played great. Giving up 35 to BG this year is not good, though BG has improved since earlier. Giving up 55 to anyone is not good. If Ohio's offense and defense are both on top of their games, it could be close. That doesn't mean Ohio has to score 40 points or that Ohio has to hold a great offense to 10. They just have to be good on both sides. If even one struggles, it could get ugly.
I feel like the frustrating thing about watching Ohio this year has been knowing we have most of the pieces but haven't been able to put it all together. With Maxwell making his second start and taking the starter reps for a second, albeit abbreviated, week in a row, I expect to see more improvement and maybe the game will "slow down" a bit for him. I favor his crisp play and believe his pre-snap reads are a bit better than Windham's. He just needs to be more consistent in his passing and that will come as he is more in tune with his receivers. Windham has the advantage eluding rushers as I think he has a quicker first step and is better at sensing pressure but Maxwell gets rid of the ball much quicker. Brown, Irons, and White are all very good backs and the receiving core has some playmakers beyond Smith. We even have both tight ends catching passes this year. We haven't seen that since 2013. Now we just need to have the O-line step up and Maxwell to play to his potential.
On defense I believe our pass rush will be relentless and I'm hoping Burrow will dial up some well-timed blitzes. Our secondary needs to step up. They've played 8 games so we can't really continue to say "inexperienced" but I realize this is a tall order to fill against Woodside. However, I don't think Toledo has faced a defense as good as Ohio's yet this season.
What no one has brought up (unless I missed it) is the insider info we could have with the much maligned "Izzy". Wasn't he just at Toledo? Didn't he recruit several of these players? I wonder how much of a difference having Coach George made in Texas State's game plan? I don't know if anyone noticed Ohio had to use the "cheater" wrist bands with plays on them and go old school with players bringing in the play rather than signalling from the sidelines. I know this caused a few issues during the game.
I'll be at the game tonight and believe OUr Bobcats will surprise Toledo and have a breakthrough game as we see all of the pieces come together and the team's full potential realized.
Go Bobcats
Last Edited: 10/27/2016 9:27:52 AM by SWBC