FoSat Game of the Week — Ohio vs Eastern Michigan
The start of MAC play is a doozy as the Eastern Michigan Eagles and Ohio Bobcats both look to get a jump start to potential MAC division titles
Ahhhh, MAC Football is back.
When we last saw it, Western Michigan was taking home its first MAC title since 1988, waxing most of the competition before getting a little scare from the Ohio Bobcats in the title game. Otherwise? It was a fun season. Eastern Michigan was wildly competitive, Miami nearly won the East after a horrible first half, and bottom of the East was such a train wreck that it made secondary TV games fun during other blowouts.
Now we turn to 2017, and what a solid match-up to kick off the new season. The Ohio Bobcats are 2–1, and fresh off a three quarter whupping of Kansas with thoughts of defending the East crown once again. Meanwhile, the Eastern Michigan Eagles are 2–0, coming off a bye week after beating Rutgers for its first ever “Power Five” win. They too have hopes of a trip to Detroit behind their senior quarterback, even if Toledo still looms large in the West.
Let’s get tipsy in Ypsi.
Offense
After starting the season with Quinton Maxwell under center, the Bobcats appear to have firmly pivoted to Nathan Rourke, who was superb against Kansas last weekend. The sophomore quarterback has thrown for 363 yards the past two weeks against Purdue and Kansas, while also throwing three touchdowns. However, he is also lethal on the ground with four scores over the first three games, and has shown quickness in the option.
With Rourke is a solid stable of skill position players. AJ Ouellette, Dorian Brown, and Julian Ross have split carries to some success. Combined, they have 89 carries on the year for 459 yards with 6 scores. Papi White, Brendan Cope, Cameron Odom, and Andrew Meyer have been the main pass targets, with White leading the way behind 11 catches for 155 yards. White is out, however, so the ball is spread around very evenly these, making the Bobcats tough to gameplan against. I totally expect a new name to be added to that list by the next Ohio GOTW.
As for Eastern Michigan, Brogan Roback is back and has been…eh. He’s been solid, but just hasn’t put up the eye popping stats yet. Just one touchdown on the season, but 527 yards in two games isn’t terrible at all. However, with MAC play starting, the reigns could be let loose this week. With Sergio Bailey and Antoine Porter on the outsides, it’s time to see Throwback Roback.
However, my personal key to the game will be the Eastern Michigan run game. Shaq Vann is back from injury, and has been a workhorse. He’s gotten 57% of the Eagles’ handoffs this season and has 157 yards to show for it. His 4.0 yards/rush average isn’t great, but he still could be warming up. With Ian Eriksen, Breck Turner, and Blake Banham all available off the bench, sharing the love would be the ideal gameplan. When defenses have to constantly adjust for a runningback’s style, it opens holes. However, Chris Creighton and Company have elected to keep them mostly off The Factory floor.
Defense
I love both of these defenses. The Eagles have been nothing short of stellar so far, allowing just 20 points against Charlotte and Rutgers. Not great competition, but one is in the Big Ten, and that counts for something. The Bobcats are averaging 3 sacks per game, and the secondary has been everywhere. (Except the Purdue game. I don’t know what happened there).
Eastern Michigan has only allowed 312 yards through the air, and hell Rutgers under 200 yards passing while picking off Kyle Bolin twice. However, this string of Scarlet Knight drives is just beautiful
Three-and-out, three-and-out, interception, three-and-out, three-and-out, three-and-out, HALFTIME.
Good God.
As for the Bobcats, they just seem to have the no fly swagger going on, led by Jovan Hagan, the towel thief
Evan Croutch has been in the backfield for Ohio, and Quintin Poling is still roaming the gridiron in Athens. With Hagan in the secondary is Bradd Ellis, who has six pass break-ups this season. So yeah, Frank Solich’s defense is still a force to be reckoned with. (Again, the Purdue game never happened.)
Final Analysis
I’m going to keep this short this week. I think that Ohio will put up anywhere from 17–24 points no matter what Eastern Michigan does. There is no stopping Rourke that much and Ohio’s option offense is good enough to nab a few possessions from the Eagles. I think Roback gets two scores and throws a pick, which means the EMU run game needs to put up a score or two for the win.
Here’s the thing: against Ohio, I don’t know that the Eagles can do that. Don’t get me wrong, I think Shaq Vann is a monster. But with Eriksen and Turner on the sidelines more often than not, he gets worn down. Maybe this changes on Saturday, maybe it doesn’t, but if the Eagles are poor on the ground, they lose.
All that said, I respect the bye week factor in favor of Eastern, and no Papi White inevitably hurts Ohio in a road game.
Prediction: Eastern Michigan 28, Ohio 20
Record so far: 0–3
