Ohio University takes on Western Michigan for the championship.
Fun fact: there is one Ohio FBS football team who was actually able to make its conference championship game this year…
Ohio University 8-4 (6-2) takes on Western Michigan 12-0 (8-0) for a shot at the 2016 Mid-American Conference Championship. The Bobcats and Broncos head to Ford Field in Detroit for some Friday night #MACtion that can be seen an ESPN2 starting at 7PM ET.
Honestly, this game is going to be more lopsided than a pile of that cranberry sauce that was sitting on your Thanksgiving dinner table after the one and only person in the room who actually enjoys the stuff scooped off his or her share. Western Michigan sits at #13 in the AP Poll after not losing a game all season, they beat two Big Ten schools on the road (if you count Northwestern and Illinois as Big Ten football schools), and even hosted the College GameDay crew in Kalamazoo in November.
Granted, Ohio is a solid team so it is not out of the realm of possibility that the Bobcats pull the upset special. The Bobcats did get a solid W this year on the road at Kansas (which technically means they can beat Texas by default too right? Sorry Charlie…), and they also hung tough against Tennessee, eventually falling by a score of 28-19 in Knoxville.
The future is definitely bright in Athens at the top signal caller spot with Freshman QB Quinton Maxwell slowly taking the reins from Senior Greg Windham over the course of the year. Maxwell solidified his starting spot for the last 3 weeks of the season when Windham went down with a leg injury. Maxwell doesn’t have quite the legs that Windham has, but he did rush for 50+ yards in 2 of the last 3 games. Windham’s status for Friday night is still uncertain but expect Maxwell to be under center whether Windham is healthy or not.
The Bobcats will lean heavily on Dorian Brown and Maleek Irons, who have rushed for a combined 1220 yards and 9 TDs this year. Irons was officially listed as questionable earlier this week, and has missed 5 games this year, but he did get 11 carries last week and with a week and a half to get healthy should be good to suit up against the Broncos. Plan a heavy dose of handoffs and QB keepers from the Bobcats tomorrow.
Speaking of rushing…and passing…and winning…we have the Broncos. QB Zach Terrell has thrown for a whopping 3,086 yards this season with 30 touchdowns and 1 interception. No, that is not a typo; he has a 30/1 TD to INT ratio. Oh, and did I mention he also galloped in for another 6 TDs?
And to keep with the running theme, Western Michigan’s top 2 rushers, Jarvion Franklin and Jamauri Bogan, have rushed for a combined 2,053 yards and 20 TDs in 2016. Western Michigan can also get it done through the air, as on just the other side of the 2,000-yard mark reside Terrell’s two favorite targets: future pro Corey Davis and Michael Henry. The duo have accounted for 1,994 of those 3,086 passing yards and 21 of Terrell’s 30 passing TDs. In essence, the Bobcats have to cover everyone, everywhere, at all times.
I know I said earlier that this game probably won’t be close. BUT, it’s being played on a Friday night after a big holiday weekend. Do you really need to be going out on the town? Instead, invite over some friends, turn on the TV, curl up with your favorite Ohio University hoodie, crack open the highest ABV drink in your fridge, and let’s party like Bobcats.
-Daniel
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