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The Ohio Bobcats are 1-3 against the Western Michigan Broncos since October of 2015, but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Saturday. Ohio and WMU will face off in a Mid-American battle at 3:30 p.m. ET at Waldo Stadium. Allowing an average of 40.67 points per game, the Bobcats have been asleep on the defensive side of the ball and will need to wake up before the game.
Ohio took their matchup against the Akron Zips last week by a conclusive 55-34 score. The contest was all but wrapped up at the end of the third, by which point Ohio had established a 48-20 advantage. They can attribute much of their success to QB Kurtis Rourke, who passed for three TDs and 427 yards on 27 attempts in addition to picking up 32 yards on the ground, and RB Sieh Bangura, who punched in three rushing touchdowns in addition to snatching one receiving TD. Rourke's 75-yard touchdown toss to WR Sam Wiglusz in the first quarter made for one of the most memorable moments of the afternoon.
Meanwhile, WMU suffered a grim 45-23 defeat to the Eastern Michigan Eagles last week. The Broncos were in a tough position by the half, with the score already sitting at 35-7. No one had a standout game offensively for WMU, but they got scores from WR Corey Crooms, RB La'Darius Jefferson, and TE Blake Bosma.
This next contest is expected to be close, with the Bobcats going off at just a 1.5-point favorite. They covered a ten-point spread last week, so bettors might be thinking that will translate to further success against a lower spread.
Ohio's win lifted them to 3-3 while Western Michigan's loss dropped them down to 2-4. We'll find out if Ohio can add another positive mark to their record or if the Broncos can shake off the defeat and take the spring out of Ohio's step.
