Ohio Bobcats at Bowling Green Falcons

Wednesday, 11/16/11, 8:00 PM EST, TV:  ESPN
Opening Point Spread:  Ohio -6.5
Current Betting Line:  Ohio -6.5
Opening Total:  57.5
Current Total:  57.5
WagerMinds Game Detail 

Ohio is set for its final road trip of the season and comes in on a three-game winning streak, including a 43-28 win over Central Michigan as 7.5-point road favorites.  The Bobcats can clinch the Mid-American Conference East division with a victory tonight and a loss by Miami-OH.

“We’ve been able to come together and just have a great year so far,” commented Bobcats wide receiver LaVon Brazill.  “We still have our eyes on our goal. We just have to finish it.”

Photo credit: Joel Hawksley, joelhawksley.com

The offense has been running on all cylinders during the win streak, racking up over 500 yards in each of the last three games.  Ohio ranks third overall in the MAC in both total offense and total defense.

Quarterback Tyler Tettleton has really come into this own in directing the team to a 7-3 record, throwing for 200 yards or more in each of the last eight weeks.  He sits just 83 yards shy of cracking the school’s top ten list for most career yards through the air.

The Bobcats should be poised to score plenty of points against an opponent they’ve scored 93 combined points against the last two years, which includes a 49-25 win as eight-point home favorites a year ago.

Bettors will find that the Bobcats are 16-7 ATS against conference opponents, while also being 7-1 ATS when playing in Weeks 10 through 13 the past two-plus seasons.

Bowling Green has lost five of its last six games and was handed a 45-14 blowout loss by the Northern Illinois Huskies last time out, getting out-gained by a sizable 289-yard margin.  The Falcons do comes into tonight’s game with a 36-24-2 edge in this particular series.

The Falcons will be searching for their third home win of the campaign, last accomplishing that feat during the 2007 season.  It’s been a year of growing pains with one of the youngest rosters in college football, sporting 54 players who are freshmen or redshirt freshmen.

Offensively, quarterback Matt Schilz is fourth in the conference in averaging 255.6 yards per game, as the offense ranks sixth in scoring 24.8 points a contest.  He has a pair of dangerous wide receivers on the outside, with Eugene Cooper and Kamar Jorden combining for 121 catches with 1,583 yards and 15 touchdowns.

From a handicapping perspective, Bowling Green doesn’t offer much when hosting opponents inside Doyt L. Perry Stadium, posting a 10-23 ATS mark at home.  It’s still important to note that Ohio is 2-5 ATS in the last seven meetings here.

Pick: 

Ohio Bobcats -6.5

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