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Ohio Football Topic
Topic: Ohio CLEARLY had the easiest MAC bowl opponent
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OhioBobcat
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Posted: 12/23/2017 10:30 PM
Ohio without a doubt had the easiest path to a bowl win for the MAC. Had Ohio had to play FAU, App State, Wyoming or Duke, I’m not so sure the end result would have been a win. Even those who look at Ohio football as a glass half empty can’t argue that Ohio was served a glass competely full getting UAB in the Bahamas. Think Toledo, CMU or Akron wouldn’t have rather faced a first-year team back on the field after a two-year absence in paradise after what they had to face???
colobobcat66
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Posted: 12/23/2017 10:39 PM
OhioBobcat wrote:expand_more
Ohio without a doubt had the easiest path to a bowl win for the MAC. Had Ohio had to play FAU, App State, Wyoming or Duke, I’m not so sure the end result would have been a win. Even those who look at Ohio football as a glass half empty can’t argue that Ohio was served a glass competely full getting UAB in the Bahamas. Think Toledo, CMU or Akron wouldn’t have rather faced a first-year team back on the field after a two-year absence in paradise after what they had to face???
Completely agree. UAB is something like 105 in Sagarin. But they beat 4 bowl teams which is saying something. We stubbed our toe against every other .500 team on our schedule except Toledo and UAB. Hard to figure that.
Mark Lembright '85
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Posted: 12/24/2017 9:59 AM
Disagree. Going into the bowl season that very same Sagarin ratings had Toledo ranked 50th and App. State 76th. Toledo should’ve beaten App. State, plain and simple.

The team that thrashed Central Michigan in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl, Wyoming, was only rated 85th by Sagarin (CMU was right behind at 87th). Fact of the matter is, the MAC’s best teams, other than OHIO, aren’t showing up in these games.
OhioCatFan
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Posted: 12/24/2017 10:07 AM
I disagree too. I think we would have won against any of the MAC bowl opponents. As the announcers said, we had a chip on our shoulders. We came into that game with an attitude. For some reason virtually every bowl game I’ve watched has been a blow out. More true this year than in the recent past. For what it’s worth, I think NIU will do very well against Duke on Tuesday.
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Mike Johnson
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Posted: 12/24/2017 10:29 AM
OhioCatFan wrote:expand_more
I disagree too. I think we would have won against any of the MAC bowl opponents. As the announcers said, we had a chip on our shoulders. We came into that game with an attitude. For some reason virtually every bowl game I’ve watched has been a blow out. More true this year than in the recent past. For what it’s worth, I think NIU will do very well against Duke on Tuesday.
Carl, glad you said "virtually" every bowl game you watched has been a blowout. Army over SDS and USF over Texas Tech were the practically perfect nailbiters. Today when I take my daughter to see the tribute to her Grandpa Johnson at the MAPS Museum (Military Aircraft Preservation Society Museum), I just might don my ARMY shirt.
http://www.facebook.com/mikejohnson.author
colobobcat66
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Posted: 12/24/2017 10:31 AM
My bad, UAB is number 118 in Sagarin. Anyone not seeing them as the weakest opponent for a MAC team is not seeing clearly. Anyway, I would agree that Toledo had its head someplace else. CMU faced one of the top QB’s in the country and Akron played an offensive juggernaut and is just Akron.
But we won. enjoy the moment.
UpSan Bobcat
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Posted: 12/24/2017 2:45 PM
Clearly, Ohio had the least talented team as an opponent of all the MAC bowl teams. I agree with that. But I also agree with others that Ohio also is the only MAC team to show up so far and that other MAC teams (with the exception of Akron) are good enough to beat their opponents if they played up to their abilities.
ytownbobcat
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Posted: 12/24/2017 4:05 PM
In some ways it was a "no-win" situation for Ohio.

If we lose then people say "how do you lose to a team whose program was shut down for two years?"

If we win then people say " you had an easy opponent that had its program shut down for two years"

I feel that UAB was a good team that had some very untimely penalties in the first quarter, did not have a good day passing the ball, and Ohio was a physically stronger team which played highly motivated game.
Casper71
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Posted: 12/24/2017 6:58 PM
I think the results say more about the MAC. Let’s face it this is not a very good league.
BobcatSports
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Posted: 12/24/2017 7:51 PM
So what. We’ve been known to lay an egg or two to opponents we’ve been double digit favorites. We showed up in this one and won.-big. Good for us. The venue was great-beats the hell out of ice-blue Boise. Enjoy it’s Christmas!
Bobcat1996
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Posted: 12/24/2017 8:09 PM
Yes UAB wasn't the toughest opponent, but as someone mentioned they won 8 games and it was great to see Ohio dominate a bowl opponent after losing the past few bowl games. Toledo was the sexy pick to defeat Appy State and many college football experts on the talk shows liked the Rockets and were laying the points. Duke is no lock to beat NI as the Huskies should play them tough. Akron had no shot at FAU, but Central should have performed better vs Wyoming.
Valley Cat
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Posted: 12/24/2017 11:08 PM
Who cares? Ohio wins its bowl and it looks like the kids had a good time. Would there have been happiness if they lost a close game to a better bowl opponent? You beat who they put in front of you. Ohio demolished their opponent. Enjoy the holidays.
allen
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Posted: 12/24/2017 11:36 PM
Ohio took care of business and the players got to spend a week in the Bahamas. That was bobcat football, if they play like that next year, we win the MAC.
Nobody despises to lose more than I do. That's got me into trouble over the years, but it also made a man of mediocre ability into a pretty good coach. Woody Hayes
Pataskala
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Posted: 12/25/2017 12:08 PM
I don't know if we had the easiest opponent but we did have the best game plan and the most motivated players among MAC teams. Losing the last two games really seemed to put a chip on our guys' shoulders.
We will get by.
We will get by.
We will get by.
We will survive.

OhioCatFan
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Posted: 12/25/2017 2:36 PM
allen wrote:expand_more
Ohio took care of business and the players got to spend a week in the Bahamas. That was bobcat football, if they play like that next year, we win the MAC.
+1

I think this is the third time in three days that I've +1 allen. Must be the Christmas spirit or something.
The only BLSS Certified Hypocrite on BA

"It is better to be an optimist and be proven a fool than to be a pessimist and be proven right."

Note: My avatar is the national colors of the 78th Ohio Veteran Volunteer Infantry, which are now preserved in a climate controlled vault at the Ohio History Connection. Learn more about the old 78th at: http://www.78ohio.org
ytownbobcat
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Posted: 12/25/2017 2:57 PM
By game time the spread was down to -4 1/2 points for Ohio.

I hope you guys that knew how awful UAB was, place your wagers and made a ton.
OhioCatFan
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Posted: 12/25/2017 3:02 PM
ytownbobcat wrote:expand_more
By game time the spread was down to -4 1/2 points for Ohio.

I hope you guys that knew how awful UAB was, place your wagers and made a ton.
+1

Excellent point. I'll bet we have few who admit to having done this. Now, if I had only bet $100 on Howard beating UNLV this fall, I could endow the football scholarship program.
The only BLSS Certified Hypocrite on BA

"It is better to be an optimist and be proven a fool than to be a pessimist and be proven right."

Note: My avatar is the national colors of the 78th Ohio Veteran Volunteer Infantry, which are now preserved in a climate controlled vault at the Ohio History Connection. Learn more about the old 78th at: http://www.78ohio.org
colobobcat66
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Posted: 12/25/2017 3:04 PM
ytownbobcat wrote:expand_more
By game time the spread was down to -4 1/2 points for Ohio.

I hope you guys that knew how awful UAB was, place your wagers and made a ton.
I’m not a betting man,I don’t think UAB is an awful team, and we’ve lost to worse. Nobody knows the state of mind teams will bring to a game. The Bobcats came to win, apparently UAB was just happy to be there, but who really knows.

I say again-enjoy the win. Let’s hope the dedication shown now carrries over to next year.
Sam bobcat
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Posted: 12/25/2017 4:03 PM
colobobcat66 wrote:expand_more
I say again-enjoy the win.
Thanks. Really big of you.
davepi2
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Posted: 12/25/2017 7:07 PM
I stopped on the way home from the Purdue game and watched UAB play Ball State. State won by 20, enough said.
colobobcat66
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Posted: 12/25/2017 8:12 PM
Sam bobcat wrote:expand_more
I say again-enjoy the win.
Thanks. Really big of you.
You’re welcome I guess
OhioCatFan
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Posted: 12/25/2017 9:01 PM
davepi2 wrote:expand_more
I stopped on the way home from the Purdue game and watched UAB play Ball State. State won by 20, enough said.
What would someone say who saw one game of ours this season -- the Akron game? There are probably those on the UAB board who are saying how weak OHIO is because they lost to Akron. They probably are predicting a winless season next year because they lost to a team that lost to Akron. You know football well enough to know you can't really take one game and extrapolate from that as to the quality of a football team.
The only BLSS Certified Hypocrite on BA

"It is better to be an optimist and be proven a fool than to be a pessimist and be proven right."

Note: My avatar is the national colors of the 78th Ohio Veteran Volunteer Infantry, which are now preserved in a climate controlled vault at the Ohio History Connection. Learn more about the old 78th at: http://www.78ohio.org
BillyTheCat
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Posted: 12/26/2017 4:12 AM
OhioCatFan wrote:expand_more
I stopped on the way home from the Purdue game and watched UAB play Ball State. State won by 20, enough said.
What would someone say who saw one game of ours this season -- the Akron game? There are probably those on the UAB board who are saying how weak OHIO is because they lost to Akron. They probably are predicting a winless season next year because they lost to a team that lost to Akron. You know football well enough to know you can't really take one game and extrapolate from that as to the quality of a football team.
In fairness though, Akron won our division of the conference and did so with a backup QB. They got to the MACC because at the end of the day they proved to be the better MAC East team throughout the MAC part of the schedule.
Bobcat Jerry
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Posted: 12/26/2017 7:11 AM
SOMETIMES YOU WIN BY LOSING THE MAC.. THE BAHAMAS BOWL WAS A GREAT LOCATION FOR SOME R&R. THE BOBCATS LOOKED GREAT AND AS AN ALUMNI OF 73 CAN NOT REMEMBER A BETTER NATIONALLY TELEVISED GAME. LOOKING FORWARD TO SEEING THE BOBCATS IN 2018.
Last Edited: 12/26/2017 9:22:23 AM by Bobcat Jerry
Lande71
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Posted: 12/26/2017 8:31 AM
On the other hand, Ohio throttled Toledo and Toledo throttled Akron twice. But Akron beat Ohio. Make sense of that? Maybe there is a reason a football is shaped like it is. Maybe injuries do play a factor. Or that turnovers play a part in the the game no matter how good teams are. Turnover free games against CMU, Akron, and Buffalo would have resulted in 3 more wins. But would that have satisfied everyone? Doubt it!
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