Ohio's home winning streak has reached historic length, and now a Central Michigan team with real MAC title aspirations is walking into Athens to try to end it.
Bush’s Picks
CMUOHIO
CMUOHIO
OverUnder
Best BetOhio
Ohio's the side to back here on the strength of program continuity — 40 wins over four seasons and a QB battle that's already sorted itself out with Poulos taking the lead reps. Central Michigan still has two guys splitting snaps and its top receiver already lost for the year, which is a lot to ask on the road. Back the Bobcats to win outright.
Central Michigan
+7-6 bowl team last year in Drinkall's debut
+Favorable 2026 schedule outside two MAC contenders
+Vaughn Blue-Brock Townsend give CMU a real run game
−Top receiver Tommy McIntosh out for the season
−QB reps still split between Flores and Glasser
−Passing game was already last year's weak spot
Ohio
+9-win 2025 season, 40 wins over last four years
+13-game home winning streak, longest in program history
+Seven straight bowl-game wins show cultural continuity
−First-year head coach installing a new system
−QB competition still unsettled behind Poulos' slight edge
−Post-Navarro passing attack is an unknown quantity
This one's as much about two program identities colliding as it is about Xs and Os. Ohio enters the season under first-year head coach John Hauser, who took over on a permanent basis after steering the Bobcats through the Frisco Bowl as interim boss. The QB chair Parker Navarro left behind is up for grabs, with graduate transfer-turned-veteran backup Nick Poulos holding a slight edge out of spring practice over a crowded quarterback room that includes a true freshman. Central Michigan, meanwhile, brings a QB situation of its own: Angel Flores and Jadyn Glasser are expected to share reps, with Glasser's health after missing most of 2025 the swing factor for how far this offense can go.
The roster losses matter here too. Central Michigan will be without Tommy McIntosh, who was on track to be the Chippewas' top receiver before an injury ended his 2026 season before it started — a real blow for a passing game that was already the group's biggest question mark under Matt Drinkall last year. Ohio's counter is continuity of a different kind: a program that's racked up 40 wins over its last four seasons and comes off a 9-win 2025, giving Hauser a strong foundation even as he installs his own staff and system.
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Zoom out and both teams sit in the same crowded tier of the 2026 MAC picture, bunched up with Miami (Ohio), Western Michigan and Toledo in a race that projects to go down to the wire again. Central Michigan's schedule sets up favorably — outside of Western Michigan and Miami (Ohio) visiting Mount Pleasant later this fall, the Chippewas don't play many teams projected to be good — which is part of why some analysts have them jumping from 7-6 to 8-4 this season. For that leap to happen, this is exactly the kind of road trip they need to handle.
Central Michigan Chippewas
Oct 2?vs Akron—
Sep 26?@ Miami—
Sep 19?vs Wyoming—
Sep 12?vs Colgate—
Sep 5?@ New Mexico—
Ohio Bobcats
Oct 2?@ Kent State—
Sep 26?vs Stonehill—
Sep 19?@ South Alabama—
Sep 12?vs Jacksonville State—
Sep 5?@ Nebraska—
Recent form.
Ohio's case for the favorite tag is straightforward: this program simply doesn't lose at home. The Bobcats carry a 13-game home winning streak into the fall, the longest in program history, and they've also won seven straight bowl games — evidence of a culture that's stayed intact through the coaching change. Central Michigan's counter is that Vaughn Blue, a Liberty transfer, pairs with returning back Brock Townsend to give Drinkall a run game that can keep this competitive even if the passing attack is still finding itself.
Central Michigan Chippewas
(0)
Fully healthy — no injuries on ESPN's report
Ohio Bobcats
(0)
Fully healthy — no injuries on ESPN's report
Injury report — info via ESPN.
Neither team looks like a finished product this early, which is exactly what makes Friday, October 9 interesting. Ohio is trying to prove Hauser's first season won't be a step back; Central Michigan is trying to prove last year's bowl trip was a floor, not a ceiling. Whichever team settles its quarterback situation first probably wins this one.
