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The Ohio Bobcats are 5-1 against the Akron Zips since October of 2015, and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Saturday. Ohio is on the road again on Saturday and plays against Akron at 3:30 p.m. ET Oct. 2 at Summa Field at InfoCision Stadium. Both of these teams will be looking for a pick-me-up after considerable defeats in their previous games.
The Bobcats were expected to have a tough go of it last week, and, well, they did. They suffered a grim 35-6 defeat to the Northwestern Wildcats. Ohio's only offensive touchdown came on a rush from QB Armani Rogers. One of the most memorable plays of the matchup was Rogers' 55-yard touchdown rush in the fourth quarter.
Meanwhile, Akron might have drawn first blood against the Ohio State Buckeyes last week, but it was OSU who got the last laugh. It's hard to picture a worse loss than the 59-7 bruising that the Zips suffered. They were in a tough position by the half, with the score already sitting at 38-7. QB DJ Irons had a memorable game, but not in the way you want to be remembered: despite one touchdown, he threw two interceptions with only 115 yards passing.
The Bobcats are the favorite in this one, with an expected 9.5-point margin of victory. They have failed bettors playing the spread in their past two games, so buyers beware.
Ohio is now 0-4 while the Zips sit at 1-3. A pair of defensive numbers to keep in mind before kickoff: Ohio is 244th worst in the nation in rushing touchdowns allowed, with 13 on the season. Akron has experienced some struggles of their own as they are stumbling into the contest with the 247th most touchdowns allowed in the nation, having given up 21 on the season. It's possible one of these Achilles' heels will wind up tripping the losing team up.
