I don't really think there is much of a surprise with this line when you look at AS stats. The only aspect that is not a positive for them is that this is their 1st bowl bid. When you are playing in your 1st bowl game there are many distractions that the players haven't experienced and CAN cause them to not prepare properly. For Ohio this is not an issue and should be a real advantage for us.
I wouldn't be surprised if this spread changes as we get closer and the odds makers see that our injury situation has dramatically improved. So far Coach has not made any public statements regarding injuries but will probably do so as we get closer and he is taking more interviews and attending the press conferences.




GO BOBCATS

Presented as of 12/07/15. Must be from a team source.

http://www.donbest.com/ncaaf/injuries /

Ohio
Date Pos Player Injury Status
12/07/15 RB Dorian Brown Shoulder "?" Saturday vs. App St
12/07/15 RB Maleek Irons Undisclosed "?" Saturday vs. App St
12/06/15 DB Aaron Macer Head "?" Saturday vs. Appalachian St
12/06/15 DB Blake Scipio Groin "?" Saturday vs. Appalachian St
12/06/15 TE Connor Brown Illness "?" Saturday vs. Appalachian St
12/06/15 RB Daz'mond Patterson Leg "?" Saturday vs. App St
12/06/15 DB Devin Bass Thumb "?" Saturday vs. Appalachian St
12/06/15 DB Grant Cunningham Foot "?" Saturday vs. App St
12/06/15 OL Jared McCray Knee "?" Saturday vs. Appalachian St
12/06/15 QB JD Sprague Neck inj , "?" Sat vs. App St
12/06/15 OL Joe Anderson Groin "?" Saturday vs. Appalachian St
12/06/15 DB Nathan Carpenter Groin "?" Saturday vs. App St
12/06/15 RB Papi White Knee "?" Saturday vs. Appalachian St
11/17/15 OT Joe Lowery Hip out for season
11/10/15 FS Kylan Nelson Groin out for season
08/26/15 TE Troy Mangen Knee out for season

Solich briefly discusses injuires here -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8UCWnx70CWk

Papi will be back, and he feels good about the injury situation with others getting healthier.

We beat Idaho on the road by 17. App State beat Idaho on the road by 27. Idaho had suspended it's best WR (Epps, who killed us) by the time of the App State game. Ohio +8 is about right I'd say.

(I'm biased, but I'd take the points.)


That being said, I think this game winds up a blowout. Whether it's a New Orleans Bowl-style blowout or an Independence Bowl-style blowout remains to be seen. But a healthy Bobcat LB crew makes me optimistic. The only bad defensive performance after Poling came back was against BSU, and so much of that game was spent in prevent defense that I don't know that it is worth considering. Add a healthy JJ and Brown, and we'll be OK.

I think our offense is built well enough to move the ball against the 3-5-3. Feed AJ the ball, use Daz as he should be used (NO DUTM), don't force throws into interceptions. A healthy Heitzman should have success down the field as well.

Coach Solich spoke to the extra time being good for the players as they finish their studies, papers/exams. The timing will also allow families to be home for Christmas. Big for some, not all. Advantage/disadvantage, not sure either. I do think good for the student/athletes and families.

Actually, the New Orleans Bowl gets first pick. It's likely that, had App won the conference, the New Orleans Bowl would still have chosen Arkansas State because of proximity.

Georgia Southern can be a force to be reckoned with. I was as surprised as anyone that they laid an egg in their last game of the season against Georgia State. The App State - Georgia Southern rivalry is a strong one with not much love lost between the two schools. They likely got the Mobile nod because of easier travel from Statesboro, GA to Mobile than we have from western NC to Mobile. Frankly, I'm glad we're playing on a Saturday.

Feel free to ask any questions you like about App State football. I'll answer what I can. I'm here to learn more about Ohio football before the game so I can have more fun watching. See you in Montgomery.

Here's the Cliff's Notes version:

Offense - Should look familiar to you guys, as we adopted Troy's offense beginning 2011, although there are elements that are definitely from the old Nebraska offense. The basic idea is mix lots of zone read and option runs with short timing throws to get the safeties to cheat up, then go deep in the passing game. Whether our playcalling is effective in getting that to happen is a frequent point of contention on our board.

One thing we've found is that a running QB (or at least a QB that is a threat to run) is critical to making it work, and our QBs take lots of hits, so it gets fun mid-season when you're trying to decide whether to start your #1 QB with the sprained ankle, your #2 QB with bruised ribs, or your #3 QB who's relatively healthy.

Playmakers: whoever is in at QB, RB#45 AJ OUellette is a fan favorite (former walk-on, strong, never goes down on the first hit), RB #4 Papi White (super super quick, but has been hurt for about 6 weeks), WR #6 Sebastian Smith (probably our best WR, but disappears sometimes), and TE #81 Keith Heitzman (EDIT: GRADUATE transfer from Michigan, has been a great addition for the one season we have him).


Defense - We play a 4-3, with this being the second year in a Cover 4 scheme. Many thought this could be a really special group this season, and when they've been healthy, they have been. Unfortunately, they haven't been full strength since halfway through the first quarter of the first game.

The LB corps is the strength of the team. MLB Quentin Poling may be the best defensive player in the conference (earned POTW three times this season), but missed effectively three whole games. It's amazing how much more effective the defense is when he is playing. OLB Jovon Johnson is another fan favorite, undersized but super athletic and constantly making plays.

The secondary has been banged up (we were down to 2 healthy safeties by the last game). Corner Ian Wells is the best cover player, with NFL potential.

The D line was a major question mark coming into the season but has definitely over-performed (especially, again, when healthy). DT Casey Sayles is a converted DE and team captain. DE Tarrell Basham is the pass rush specialist.


Special Teams - Not great, but not bad, and definitely improved from some dismal special teams showings the past couple of years. We do have the distinction of having the only kicker in memory to be penalized for being iced, so we've got that going for us.

C Money, great summary. One minor correction: Heitzman is not a fifth year senior, but a graduate student. He took advantage of the one-year transfer rule for graduates with eligibility left.

Going to be fun at my long time buddy's house for the game. He's been telling me about App for 15 years and I've seen them play many times on TV. We've been hoping for an OHIO vs App match up in football. He's been to Athens with me a few times and loved it.

For another comparison, one of the biggest surprises for me this year was Georgia Southern taking Western (43-17) to the wood shed the week after they gave Michigan State a game in Kalamazoo.

Troy has a new head coach, so their offense has very few similarities to Ohio's offense.

I watched the first quarter of the Troy-App St game, plus some other highlights, and Troy's defense looks more like a 3-4-4 than a 3-5-3, and they seem to be using a Cover-2 zone.

Our first bowl game is exciting to me simply because we've had two years in transition in which post-season play wasn't possible. Technically, both App and Georgia Southern were bowl eligible last year; however, we were in our first year of FBS and not allowed to play in a bowl game. I think many of our fans are just happy for some post-season action again.

Marcus Cox can be dangerous. He can break a 50 yard run like crazy then fumble the ball at the end of the run or on the next play. I'm hoping his fumbling woes are being addressed in preparation for this game. I keep reminding myself that these guys are all 18 - 22 year old kids. All is well

Apparently App St uses correction fluid in its offensive scheme. The Ohio Athletics post on Solich's press conference quotes the Coach as saying: "They’re more in tuned to their option game to be running triple option. You know obviously with a back in the backfield, a tight end there and then bring a white out in motion...." Mike Nesmith's mother (who invented the stuff) would be pleased.