The Bowling Green Falcons and Ohio Bobcats will do battle on the turf at Peden Stadium. This conference showdown starts at 2:00 p.m. ET and ESPN 3 is scheduled to broadcast the action. When these two teams met a year ago, Ohio got the victory 48-30.
Betting Preview: Ohio Bobcats vs. Bowling Green Falcons
Bowling Green is projected as the underdog and is currently getting 17 points in this MAC game. In order to take the home favorite, moneyline bettors would currently have to put up $1,200 to win $100 back on the Bobcats (-1200). The Falcons are getting +710 moneyline odds. Vegas has placed the over/under (O/U) at 69.5 points. If the favorite gets behind early, it would likely create a solid betting opportunity in-game.
The Falcons have lost 2.0 units so far and are 2-5 against the spread (ATS). The team has posted an O/U record of 5-1.
The Bobcats have lost 1.0 unit this season. The team is 3-3 ATS and has an O/U record of 3-2.
The Falcons are 1-6 straight up (SU), including 0-3 SU against MAC opponents. The Bobcats are 3-3 SU overall and 1-1 SU in conference play.
The Falcons came up short to Western Michigan 42-35 in a game where their defense allowed the Broncos to run for 282 yards on 54 rush attempts, including four rush TDs. LeVante Bellamy had a productive day for the Broncos in that one with 145 rushing yards on 24 attempts. On the offensive side, Jarret Doege completed 21-of-34 passes for 379 yards, three touchdowns and one interception. Andrew Clair (80 yards on six rushes, one TD) led the ground attack while Scott Miller (eight receptions, 206 yards, two TDs) and RB Marlow III (five catches, 98 yards) handled the receiving duties in the defeat.
One week ago, Northern Illinois knocked off this Ohio team by a score of 24-21. The Bobcats defensive unit let the Huskies run for 255 yards on 46 rush attempts, including three rush TDs. Marcus Childers was on a different level for Northern Illinois, recording 169 rushing yards and a score on 23 attempts. For Ohio, Nathan Rourke completed 15-of-23 passes for 275 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. A.J. Ouellette (16 yards on 11 rush attempts, one TD) and Maleek Irons (30 yards on 11 carries) mounted the running game while Papi White (six receptions, 59 yards) and Isiah Cox (three catches, 147 yards, one TD) led the pass-catching attack in the loss.
Bowling Green has run the ball on 46.7 percent of its offensive plays this year, including 41.4 percent across possessions in conference play. Ohio has an overall run percentage of 58.2 percent, and has rushed the ball 61.9 percent of the time when facing MAC opponents. The Falcons have rushed for 107.6 yards/game (including 136.3 per game versus Mid-American opponents) and have seven touchdowns on the ground this year. The Bobcats are logging 177.5 rush yards per game (88.0 in conference) and have 14 total rushing TDs.
The Falcons offensive scheme has logged 278.9 yards/game in the air overall (322.7 per game against conference opposition) and has 19 passing scores so far. The Bobcats have produced 255.5 pass yards per game (280 against MAC foes) and have 11 total pass TDs.
Defensively, Bowling Green appears to have the upper hand when it comes to limiting the pass. The team has allowed opponents to run for an average of 325.1 yards and throw for 181.6 yards per game. The Ohio D has allowed 327.2 yards per game to opposing passers and 163.5 yards per game to opposing runners. Both teams allow similar adjusted net yards per pass attempt (ANY/A) to opponents, as the Falcons have given up an ANY/A of 8.42 to opposing QBs, while the Bobcats are yielding an ANY/A of 8.11.
Offensively, Doege is up to 1,575 passing yards on the year, and has connected on 145-of-227 attempts with 15 scores through the air and seven interceptions. He’s got a 5.81 adjusted net yards per pass attempt overall, although that number sits at 10.70 over the past two outings.
For the home team, Nathan Rourke has managed to complete 67-of-120 passes for 1,016 yards, eight TDs and three INTs. Rourke’s ANY/A sits at 7.44 for the season and 9.69 over his last two games.
Bowling Green Falcons at Ohio Bobcats Betting Prediction
SU Winner: Ohio, ATS Winner: Ohio, O/U: Under
Betting Trends
- The Ohio defense has created more than twice the sack total of Bowling Green this season (11 versus five).
- The Ohio offense has lost eight fumbles in 2018 while the Bowling Green offense has lost six.
- The Falcons offense has created seven pass plays of 40 or more yards, while the Bobcats have accounted for five such plays.
- Both teams have allowed eight pass plays of 40 yards or more. The Bowling Green defense has given up 13 pass plays of 30+ yards while Ohio has given up 14 such plays.
- The Bowling Green offense has created seven rushing plays of 20+ yards, while Ohio has created 12 such runs.
- The Falcons defense has allowed 22 rushing plays of 20 or more yards, while the Bobcats have given up nine such runs.
- The O/U for Ohio’s last outing was set at 52. The under cashed in the team’s 24-21 loss to Northern Illinois.
- Over its last three games, Ohio is 2-1 ATS and the under cashed in two of those three.
- Over its last three matches, Bowling Green is 2-1 ATS and the over cashed in each of those three.
- The O/U for Bowling Green’s last game going into it was 68.5. The over cashed in the team’s 42-35 loss to Western Michigan.
- As a team, Bowling Green has rushed for 4.4 yards per attempt over its last three games and 6.5 over its last two.
- Ohio has averaged 4.9 yards per carry over its last three outings and 2.5 over its last two.
