vs Mid-American Conference (MAC) Opponents (since 1962): 18-11 vs Ohio (since 1962): Northwestern leads the series 3-1 You might’ve seen their other efforts ( Part 1, Part 2-3, Part 4).Keith Gregorski: Northwestern vs the MAC, historically: We are working on updating GOG as well.To help us preview the MAC and figure out who will win the conference, we enlisted our friend James Jimenez and a couple other writers over at Hustle Belt to help us preview the B1G-MAC matchups in 2021.
64 In 1 Games Full Three SeasonsIn addition to being well-schooled in the techniques of Ohio offensive line play, Meservy has shown some unconventional athleticism for a 6’3,” 300 pound man, like on this play where he does a cartwheel (bottom of the screen here).Operating behind the offensive line will be multiple backs featuring 2020 All-MAC performer De’Montre Tuggle, who has a career average of 6.8 yards per carry with 19 touchdowns, including a kickoff return for touchdown.Despite all the changes in Northwestern’s defense during the offseason including replacing the defensive coordinator and the entire starting linebacking corps, Wildcat teams under head coach Pat Fitzgerald are typically defensively stout against the run and could give Ohio’s running game its best test of the season.If the Wildcats slow the Bobcats’ rushing attack, explosive plays would be critical to keep Ohio in this one, and it wouldn’t take many, considering Northwestern games under Fitzgerald have typically been low scoring affairs, with the Wildcats winning 25-16 on average last year.And Ohio has some playmakers who can deliver explosive plays like QBs, Kurtis Rourke and Armani Rogers, both of whom will probably play. Ohio’s left tackle TJ Jackson, a Virginia Tech transfer, is 6’7,” 375 lbs., and the interior is led by right guard Hagen Meservy, who has 39 career Ohio appearances. Ohio only played three games last year due to COVID, but in their last full season (2019), Ohio had the MAC’s top two RBs in yards per carry with a 6.4 and 6.3 average and WRs who finished first and sixth in the MAC in yards per reception with 19.8 and 17.0.Ohio invests heavily in offensive line recruiting and will bring a line with great size and interior athleticism and experience to Evanston in 2021, which should help the Bobcats match Northwestern’s physicality. Ohio offensive coordinator and assistant head coach Tim Albin was promoted to head coach on a four-year deal, retaining his defensive staff, and promoting from within to cover the offensive coordinator between QB coach Scott Isphording and co-coordinator Allen Rudolph.While Albin will surely have some new wrinkles, Ohio’s basic schemes and core values were established with significant input from the current coaching staff and should continue: ball security, physicality, running game with explosive pass plays, 4-3.Ohio matches up well with Northwestern and should be able to compete if the Bobcats can approach Northwestern’s physicality.Bobcats’ offense: In the last full three seasons, Ohio ranked in the top 20 in scoring offense in the FBS and one reason for their success is they have a strong running game with which they integrate explosive plays.Ohio returns players on the edge like DE Will Evans, whose discipline created by extensive experience (39 appearances) should be a factor in limiting those types of plays by preventing the QB from getting to the edge easy with regularity.Teams typically attempt to take some shots deep against Ohio’s corners, who can be on “an island” in the coverages the Bobcats run, but it is uncertain whether the Wildcats will have the personnel that can take advantage of those coverages. As the Wildcats were predominantly a run team in the past few years, running about 60% of the time, the extra run support the Bobcats can get from the safeties in this base defense should help against Northwestern’s primary attack on early downs.When passing, Northwestern recently likes to roll the pocket, getting the QB on the edge for a pass or run. All it takes is a crease on an option play or draw and Rogers can cash in for big yardage.Bobcats’ defense: The Bobcats ran 4-3 base defense with a lot of cover 4 which could match up well vs Northwestern. Rogers at 6’4,” 225 pounds has LB size and WR speed on par with many B1G players.Ohio broke in two new specialists last year to mixed results, based on a limited sample size: 2-6 on field goals and 36.9-yard average on 13 punts.Prediction: The Bobcats match up well in this game as it should be a low scoring affair, they have home run hitters in Tuggle, Rourke, and Rogers, among others, that can turn in explosive plays if the running game falters, and the risker aspects of the Ohio coverages may not be exploitable by Northwestern personnel.The Bobcats hang their hats on being a tough, physical squad, but the toughness and physicality that a coach Fitzgerald-led Wildcat team is on a level Ohio will not typically see.James J: Bowling Green has a proud football tradition. Ohio’s ability to substitute quality depth to keep the defensive line fresh will be essential for holding up for four quarters against a physical team like Northwestern, and the Bobcats should be able to go 2-3 deep at some DE/DT positions.Bobcats’ Special Teams: Field goals and punts will be an area to watch for the Bobcats if this game is close due to the inconsistency of these units last season. Johnson has 15 career appearances at Clemson and Northwestern, completing 52.5 percent of his passes for 666 yards, with a touchdown/interception ratio of 3-5, and 60 yards rushing on 50 carries.Northwestern will also be looking for some playmakers to emerge at WR, which should make the job easier for Ohio’s CBs, if there is any truth to publications like Phil Steele’s, which rank the Wildcats WR group last in the B1G heading into 2021.One thing that will help the Bobcats hold up defensively is they should have a healthy, quality, deep line by gameday.Even without Mo Ibrahim, I’d imagine a long day for the Falcon front seven.Offensively, the Matt McDonald to Austin Osborne (two power five transfers) connection could be enough to give the Falcon offense a respectable showing.Give us a player or two to watch: Linebacker Darren Anders could fit in with the Gopher roster. Against Tennessee, they weren’t able to run the ball or stop the run and had to find gimmick plays to create offense. As mentioned before, the Falcons are the youngest team in the FBS and even have a true freshmen center. They have just 16 players who have started before this season and are the youngest team in the nation.How we they match up against a Big Ten team? Not very well. The Falcons haven’t had a winning season since a 2015 MAC championship.They enter the 2021 hit hard by transfers, including that of star back Andrew Clair, who is now at Northwestern. The Falcons failed to win a game last fall going 0-5, ending a streak of back-to-back 3-9 seasons. Modding borderlands 2 software for mac xbox 360Lewis’ squad then went onto defeat Utah State 51-41 in the Frisco Bowl for the first bowl victory in program history.Obviously, last year was disrupted because of the pandemic. Sitting at 3-6, the Flashes won their last three games of the season to achieve bowl eligibility. Head coach Sean Lewis has rebuilt the program in his image, with the FlashFAST offense being the center of everything.The signs of progress first became apparent at the end of the 2019 season. For a program that hadn’t experienced consecutive winning seasons since the 1970’s and who had never won a bowl game, the success of the past two years has been a pleasant surprise in northeast Ohio. It will take a near perfect game for the young Falcons to win and probably a few gimmick plays to keep it close.I’d expect Minnesota to be able to win by double digits and to play many of their reserves.Zach Follador: Kent State enters the 2021 season with a momentum that Golden Flashes fans are unaccustomed to. Austin Osborne, a transfer from Washington, is 6’2 with speed and played with QB Matt McDonald in high school.BGSU won’t be shut out because of kicker Nate Needham, who hit from 42 and 50 in the opener against Tennessee.How do you see the game finishing? I feel like the game will be similar to what we saw when Bowling Green played Tennessee, a 38-6 loss. Kent State led the FBS in both total offense and scoring offense, averaging 606.5 yards per game and 49.8 points per game.
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