NEW ORLEANS - Ohio already has made history by qualifying for a bowl game in consecutive years for the first time ever, and now the Bobcats have their sights set on setting a new milestone for the program by winning their first bowl game.

The Bobcats will face Troy, winners of five straight Sun Belt Conference championships, in the New Orleans Bowl at the Super Dome on Saturday night.

"I don't think we could have come to a better city and have the chance to play in a better stadium," Ohio coach Frank Solich said. "You add those two things together and we saw a lot of smiles on our guys' faces when they found out that we were coming down here. Our student body has also responded extremely well. We have busload upon busload of students coming down here in support of our program."

As if the Trojans (7-5) do not pose a big enough challenge as it is, the Bobcats (8-4) also dealt with an unsettled quarterback situation for the third straight bowl game.

Boo Jackson, along with defensive tackle Ernie Hodge, did not make the trip to New Orelans with the team, but Jackson did join the team later and is expected to play.

Jackson has been a big playmaker for Ohio, completing 60.3 percent of his passes for 1,688 yards and 15 touchdowns. He also has rushed for 325 yards and seven scores, but has been inconsistent, throwing 16 interceptions and also losing several fumbles.

Phil Bates has shared time at quarterback and has been electrifying with his feet, rushing for 508 yards and three scores in nine games with an average of 7.0 yards per carry. But he has not been much of a passing threat, completing just 9 of 22 passes for 178 yards with one touchdown and two picks on the year.

Having a capable passer is important for the Bobcats to be able to utilize several receivers who have proven they can make plays this season, led by Terrence McCrae. He has 32 catches for 481 yards and nine touchdowns.

Steven Goulet (23 catches, 348 yards) and Riley Dunlop (23 catches, 296 yards, 2 TDs) also start at wide receiver, while tight end Jordan Thompson (19 catches, 179 yards, 3 TDs) has developed into a pass-catching threat.

Still, the Bobcats will want to emphasize the run game, Solich said, to try to chew up clock time and keep Troy's high-powered offense off the field.

"We're going to have to keep ourselves on the field (offensively)," Solich said. "Troy runs a very fast-paced offense. If you're not careful, you're going to get worn down by them staying on the field and continually running plays at you. Offensively, we cannot be three-and-out. We are going to have to make sure that we're getting first downs and that we're on drives so that we can eat up that clock and give our defense some rest.

Starting running back Vince Davidson has come on strong recently and has 513 yards and six touchdowns rushing with an average of 3.9 yards per attempt. Donte Harden, who was suspended for the first half of the season, has added 219 yards and three scores with an average of 4.9 yards per attempt.

The Trojans' defense has been their weakness, as they have surrendered 31.0 points and more than 5,000 yards (418.3 per game) on the season.

Opponents have averaged 4.5 yards per carry against them and have completed 57.5 percent of their passes against Troy while totaling an average of 5.8 yards per play.

With 87 tackles, Xavier lamb anchors the Trojans' defense, but they have gotten big plays out of Jonathan Massaquoi (17.5 tackles for loss and 11 sacks) and Mario Addison (14 tackles for loss and 9 sacks) on the defensive line.

The aggressive defense has made 84 tackles for loss and 35 sacks and has come with 16 fumble recoveries.

It is Troy's offense that has carried it to success this season, and the Trojans have a pair of big-time playmakers in quarterback Corey Robinson and wide receiver Jerrel Jernigan.

Only a redshirt freshman, Robinson has thrown for 3,339 yards and 24 touchdowns, but also has been intercepted 15 times. He has not been much of a rushing threat, however.

Jernigan is a threat from numerous positions on the field, and as a reciver, he has caught 77 passes for 774 yards and five touchdowns.

But he also has completed 6 of 7 passes for 41 yards and a touchdown, has rushed for 306 yards and two scores on 42 attempts and has returned both kicks and punts for touchdowns.

"Obviously, they have some outstanding individuals and we have to make sure that we keep them corralled a little bit," Solich said. "We just cannot let them get the ball in their hands and make the big play. We have to be very good at pinning guys in, getting 11 guys around the football and hustling play after play. "

Tebiarus Gil (48 catches, 498 yards, 3 TDs), Jason Bruce (43 catches, 554 yards, 5 TDs) and Chip Reeves (26 catches, 484 yards, 5 TDs) also have been receiving strong threats.

At running back, Shawn Southward (548 yards, 7 TDs, 5.2 ypc), DuJuan Harris (498 yards, 5 TDs, 60 ypc) and Chris Anderson (378 yards, 3 TDs, 4.1 ypc) have shared the load.

It will be a strength-against-strength battle as Ohio has allowed less than 4,000 yards on the year (332.7 per game) and only 21.75 points per game.

It has been a team effort on defense for the Bobcats, who are led in tackles by linebacker Chad Clemens (72) and safeties Donovan Fletcher (68) and Steven Jackson (65).

Stafford Gatling has been a stalwort on the defensive line with 13.5 tackles for loss, including 6.5 sacks, while Fletcher has five interceptions and cornerback Julian Posey has 12 pass deflections.

Carl Jones, second on the team with 3.5 sacks, likely would take Hodge's starting spot if he is not cleared to play.

"Troy has a lot of speed and it utilizes its speed very well," Solich said. "Generally we've been very good against the run and we're going to need to continue to be that way because if they get their running game going, that makes things a lot tougher. They do throw the ball extremely well. They are going to complete some throws. We just have to make sure that we're not giving up big plays after the catch and let them get explosive plays in the running game. If we can prevent that and play well offensively, it should be a great ball game. We're hoping we can match some of their speed with speed of our own."

Game time at the Super Dome is set for 9 p.m. Eastern time.