Nick Poulos set to start for Ohio vs. Central Michigan

Ohio's QB1 is about to be QB1 again, with one condition attached. Pete Thamel had it this morning:

Pete Thamel

@PeteThamel

Sources: Ohio University starting quarterback Nick Poulos is set to return for the Bobcats and is expected to start against Central Michigan today, pending his progression through concussion protocols and evaluation after pre-game warm-ups. He’s been out since Week 2.

Read the fine print. The words are 'expected' and 'pending', and Ohio fans have seen this before. Poulos warmed up before the Kent State game last week and was held out anyway because he hadn't been cleared under protocol. So he isn't officially back until he finishes warm-ups and the staff gives him the nod. Until then, treat this as likely, not locked.

Here's how he got hurt. Poulos took a hit to the head against Jacksonville State in Week 2, got knocked out of a game the Bobcats went on to win, and has missed the 3 games since. Ohio kept winning without him, which is a big deal. Matt Vezza and Levi Davis split the job, Vezza leads the team in passing yards and touchdowns, and both have made plays with their legs.

It hasn't been pretty, though. The Bobcats got past Stonehill 35-7 and then ground out a 13-10 win over Kent State, where Vezza and Davis combined for more than 50 snaps in a rotation that never really settled on 1 guy. Beating Kent with a 2-QB carousel counts. It also isn't a plan you want to take through MAC play.

Central Michigan is the wrong team to try it against. The Chippewas just beat Akron 41-17 and ran for 330 yards doing it, and quarterback Angel Flores has 474 rushing yards and 4 touchdowns on the ground. A defense that's going to spend all day tackling needs its offense to stay on the field, and that's the case for getting your actual starter back.

There's plenty riding on it. It's homecoming in Athens, and a win puts Ohio at 2-0 in conference play. If you've got action on this one, this is the news to watch: a line built on the Vezza/Davis version of Ohio has to adjust to Poulos starting, and it'll have to adjust again if he doesn't come out of warm-ups.

So watch the field before kickoff. If Poulos takes the first snap, Ohio gets its starter back for the first time since Week 2 against a team that wants to run the ball all afternoon. If he doesn't, it's the Vezza and Davis rotation again, and everyone has to take another guess at what this offense is.