It the DL can play like it did this week against WMU I like Ohio's chances in this one. A win here and a Buffalo loss at Toledo would tie the Cats for first place going into the midweek tilt in November. Then at the at that point Ohio would only need to win 2 out of the final 3 (Ball, Miami, BG) assuming Kent drops another MAC game to take the East. A tough task but not impossible. Buffalo could also drop a third MAC game somewhere along the way to help Ohio out.

At this point Ohio is a definitely live dog in the MAC East race. The team is playing for keeps and no reason not to be focused on this one. A nice crowd would be helpful too and promoting the game in The Post as the game has championship implications.

TeamRankings gives them a 1 in 200 chance of winning the West. Their fan board seems to have largely given up for the year. From what I read on their fan board, apparently Lombardi played, but is severely hobbled, and their other QB, Hampton, is out for the season with a broken wrist. Their #3 QB, Lynch, has only been allowed to throw 1 pass so far, and they have primarily run the wildcat with him in.

LC, I think it is a more realistic sentence to have the last part read: "But has showed significant improvement the last game."

There was no improvement vs Zips. Giving up to the bottom feeder team so many yards and so many points is not an improvement over the Kent game.

NIU scored on EMU but one game is not a trend so no way to know what NIU brings offensively to Athens. But the same can be said for Bobcat defense, one game vs WMU is not yet a trend and there is simply no way to know if the defense will continue to improve for a second week.

I was impressed that NIU thumped early season West favorite EMU; will that team show up for a similar performance Saturday?

Just stop the run and OUr safeties dont bite on the one pass-per-quarter they will throw.

STOP THE RUN! Dont bite on trick plays!

Score early and fast and NIU will be done!

 

NIU Press Conference: https://youtu.be/Icrvx0K-_-k

Anyone know what happened to Tyler Walton? I see that he's not listed on the 2-deep anymore.

Anyone have a link from the most recent Coach's Show? The one On Demand is from the previous week. These have become must Listen for me so any help is appreciated.

Thanks, Russell, I enjoyed listening to that piece, and I thought the background music added a nice touch!

That sounds like the right thing to do-force them out of the gameplan.

This should be a great game with interesting match ups.

NIU returns some all-mac offensive linemen and have good backs so stopping the run wont be easy, especially for the entire game--NIU will get some explosive plays on the ground. OUr defense has given up a ton in the passing game but we still may need to shift the extra defensive firepower to stopping the run and making them win by passing.

NIU has a couple of big-play wide-receivers led by Cole Tucker who is top five in the MAC in yards per catch so I'm sure NIU will test Ohio from time to time with the deep pass play to keep Ohio honest against the run. We have a few developing DBs like Cox Jr. who might be able to contain Cole deep.

A big X-factor is the health of NIU QB Rocky Lombardi. Clearly, the Huskies are better offensively with him in the game but he is still not clearly recovered from injury.

NIU is one of the worst teams in the FBS in defensive pass efficiency so I agree with Hustlebelt that Ohio can have a field day provided they can protect rOUrke. NIU is one of the MAC's best in pressuring the QB in 2022 so how Ohio attacks through the air with enough to exploit the defense while protecting Kurtis will be interesting to see.

Last week, WMU's pass rush exploited OU's pass protection, especially at RT and we saw again how effective a good pass rush can be in slowing down a good passing game.

As always, I just hope Ohio plays near their potential and i think they will get it done on senior day and Frank Solich Field dedication day.

Top 3 teams could be in MAC Championship. We need Toledo to beat Buffalo this week. It could help down the road in November (even if we won head to head). Just in case there is a 2 loss scenario in the MAC East. If we slip this weekend and Buffs do too, it opens it up again.

Ultimately handle business at home and let the confidence ride into November until Buffalo showdown. November gets wacky with weather and injuries.

Just checked ESPN Top 50 (currently)

QB
Kurtis Rourke #8

WR
Sam Wiglusz #45

Points Leader
Nate Vakos #31 <-- potential Lou Groza

Field Goals
Nate Vakos #19 <-- potential Lou Groza (2nd longest FG behind H. MEVIS @ Missouri 56 yrds)

Kickoff Returns
Keegan Wilburn #4


Happy for Sam and that will maybe open up doors for other P5 transfers after seeing some success in Athens.

Transfers can make a difference.