Ohio Bobcats:
Ohio has won five bowl games in a row since the 2017 season. The rest of the MAC has a total of six bowl wins in the same time period. So Ohio is the paragon of consistency in this conference, but perhaps no roster has more turnover than the Bobcats. Not only are they losing 34 key players to graduation or the transfer portal (39 new players this year), but they’re also replacing both coordinators, as Tim Albin promoted Brian Smith from assistant head coach to offensive coordinator and John Hauser from safeties coach to defensive coordinator. The schedule also doesn’t give them much rest, so winning 10 games for the third straight season would be an impressive feat.
attack
Three-year starting quarterback and former MAC Offensive Player of the Year Kurtis Rourke transferred to Indiana and made 34 starts, more than 7,500 passing yards and 50 touchdown passes in Athens. The turnover doesn’t end there, as leading rusher Sieh Bangura (811 yards, seven TDs) is moving to Minnesota and the Bobcats will also have to replace their top seven pass catchers and three offensive line starters starting in 2023.
Parker Navarro led Ohio to victory in the Myrtle Beach Bowl and is probably a better schematic fit for Albin’s spread option, but there is little experience around him.
Chase Hendricks (11 catches, 108 yards) is the leading wide receiver with three-plus catches in his Bobcat career. Redshirt freshman Ricky Hunt had five touchdowns in last year’s bowl win but will likely split time at RB with Northwestern transfer Anthony Tyus.
defense
The roster shrinkage is also clearly noticeable on the other side of the ball, with that group being decimated by the transfer portal and defensive coordinator Spence Nowinsky taking the same job in Memphis during spring training. That group was the nation’s sixth-best defense last season (15.8 PPG).
Ohio has already had to replace its top three tacklers, but was lucky when DE Bradley Weaver (34 tacklers, 6 sacks) opted out of the portal and returned.
None of the regulars returned at linebacker, but Shay Taylor had an outstanding performance in the Myrtle Beach Bowl with six tackles, a sack and a fumble recovery.
Both starting safety players – Austin Brawley (39 tackles, 2 INT) and Adonis Williams (39 tackles, INT) – return for a group that was in the top 20 in pass defense last season.
outlook
Ohio has been the most stable program in the MAC the past two seasons, but this season they are anything but with all the roster turnover. The Bobcats play Syracuse and non-conference Kentucky and host South Alabama. While they avoid Northern Illinois and Bowling Green in conference play, they play four teams in off weeks, including three of their last four games, so the schedule is tougher. There is still enough talent to make a third straight bowl game, but that seems to be the ceiling for a program that needs to rebuild its roster.
Tip: Under 6.5 wins
