A matchup of Ohio schools comes up in the first week of the 2016 college football season. The Bowling Green Falcons take a short trip as they battle the #6 Ohio State Buckeyes in non-conference action Saturday. The contest kicks off at 12:00 pm ET from Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio and will be seen on the Big Ten Network. Ohio State currently stands as a solid 28.5 point favorite with the over/under set at 63.5 points in this week 1 tilt.
Bowling Green finished the 2015 season with a 10-4 record. Their season ended with a thud as they lost the GoDaddy.com Bowl 58-27 to Georgia Southern. That wasn’t the only major loss the Falcons took as the season wound down but we’ll get to that as well. As for Ohio State, the Buckeyes went 12-1 on the year, which was capped by a 44-28 win over Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl. After winning the CFP National Championship in 2014, last season seemed like a letdown. That’s just the way standards are in Columbus.
Ohio State won the four previous meetings between the schools though they haven’t met in a decade. The Buckeyes rolled to a 35-7 win in Columbus in the last meeting back in 2006.
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Bowling Green took some hits from last season’s team, starting at the top. Dino Babers, who was the architect of the high flying Falcons attack, is no longer the coach. He took the job at Syracuse; Mike Jinks takes over as the new head coach. The Falcons also have to replace the talented Matt Johnson, who hit 67.3 percent of his throws for 4,946 yards with 46 touchdowns and eight interceptions. Bowling Green was third in the nation in passing offense a year ago. James Knapke, who threw only 20 passes a year ago, has to step in and fill a large pair of shoes.
There are other key pieces the Falcons have to replace offensively. Travis Greene, who ran for 1,298 yards and 15 scores, graduated in the spring. Fred Coppet put up a solid 826 yards and five scores on the ground. He’ll shoulder the load as the feature back. Three of the top four receivers from a year ago are gone as well, meaning that the Falcons have to develop talent on the fly. Bowling Green was actually better on the road (7-1 SU) than at home (3-3) last season. The Falcons’ defense was 84th in the nation in scoring defense, a number that has to improve if they plan to challenge in the MAC.
Ohio State is 50-4 since Urban Meyer took over the reins back in 2012. This may be his greatest undertaking as his team is in complete overhaul. Ohio State has only three starters from last year coming back on either side of the ball. That’s a lot of talent to try and replace in one offseason. On top of that, off field issues took expected contributors out of the mix. Freshman receiver Torrence Gibson was suspended for the year for violating team rules. There’s a lot of youth and inexperience in the roster: 14 freshmen dot the second team.
The Buckeyes have just one skill position starter back offensively but they’re fortunate it’s at quarterback. J.T. Barrett will have to shoulder the load and get this team motivated and moving in the right direction. He split time last season with Cardale Jones, who went to the NFL. With this being solely his job again, can he deliver the goods? A young lineup is counting on him. The defense is centered around Raekwon McMillan, who was an All-Big Ten selection last year. The Buckeyes have to grow up in a hurry if they plan on contending.
Ohio State has won all four meetings but a key note is that the Falcons covered the line in each of those games. With this being such a green Buckeyes squad early in the season, you have to think the Falcons can hang in and cover again.
Bowling Green is 7-2 ATS in their last nine overall, 7-2 ATS in their last nine on fieldturf and 7-3 ATS in their last 10 in September. Ohio State is 2-6 ATS in their last eight at home.