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Central Michigan Chippewas at Ohio Bobcats

Oct 10, 20262:30 PM CTESPN+Athens, OH
By JR·2 min read
Central Michigan(3-2)
Ohio(3-2)
2:30 PM

TLDR: Two MAC teams that are both 1-0 in league play, both 3-2 overall, and both a little hard to read. Central Michigan heads to Peden Stadium on Saturday, October 10, and one of these clean conference records won't survive the afternoon.

Week 6 · 10/10, 2:30 PM CTESPN+
Central Michigan
(3-2)
WLWWL
Ohio
(3-2)
WWLWL
Kickoff70°

Central Michigan and Ohio both come in 3-2 and 1-0 in the MAC, with the winner holding an early first-place spot in the league. Ohio is relying on Nick Poulos at quarterback with H. Grand out, while Central Michigan is thin at tight end and fullback and has yet to win, or score much, on the road. No odds have been posted.

Central Michigan Chippewas
  • Put 41 on Akron in its latest MAC game
  • Defense held Colgate and Wyoming to 10 apiece
  • 10 total points across 2 road games
  • TE J. Allen out, FB VanWetzinga questionable
Ohio Bobcats
  • Won a road MAC game at Kent State
  • Offense scored 29+ in 3 of its 5 games
  • QB H. Grand out, Poulos starting in his place
  • Defense gave up 41 to South Alabama, 49 to Nebraska

For Ohio, the story starts at quarterback. H. Grand is listed out with an undisclosed injury and has been since the Stonehill week, and reporting around the Kent State trip had Nick Poulos taking over as the starter. That makes Poulos the guy for now, and a week of practice reps against a Central Michigan defense that just held Akron to 17 is a real test. Whether Grand gets back before kickoff is the biggest open question on the Ohio side, and nobody has put a date on it.

Central Michigan has its own short list. TE J. Allen is out and FB R. VanWetzinga IV is questionable with a knee, which matters more than it sounds for a team that wins by grinding. The Chippewas' wins have come in 2 shapes: rock fights (13-10 over Colgate, 24-10 over Wyoming) and the 41-17 blowout of Akron. Losing a fullback and a tight end strips bodies out of exactly the heavy sets an offense like that leans on.

The resumes are mirror images, and neither one looks great up close. Central Michigan got run over on the road by New Mexico 38-7 and by Miami 52-3, scoring 10 points across those 2 road trips. Ohio's losses were more respectable: 49-21 at Nebraska and a 41-36 shootout at South Alabama. The Bobcats have at least shown they can score away from home. The Chippewas haven't yet.

Central Michigan Chippewas
(3-2)
10/03WvsAkron41-17
09/26L@#4 Miami3-52
09/19WvsWyoming24-10
09/12WvsColgate13-10
09/06L@New Mexico7-38
Ohio Bobcats
(3-2)
10/03W@Kent State13-10
09/26WvsStonehill35-7
09/19L@South Alabama36-41
09/12WvsJacksonville State29-27
09/05L@Nebraska21-49

That road-versus-home split is the most interesting thread for this one. All 3 Central Michigan wins came in Mount Pleasant, and both of its losses were blowouts on the road. Now the Chippewas travel to Athens, where Ohio beat Jacksonville State 29-27 and handled Stonehill 35-7. Ohio's 13-10 win at Kent State wasn't pretty, but the Bobcats won on the road with a backup-turned-starter, and that's more than Central Michigan has managed so far.

The forecast won't get in the way: 78 degrees, cloudy, a 2% chance of rain and wind around 3 mph at Peden. A perfect fall afternoon puts the game on the 2 offenses. That probably decides it, because both defenses have shown they can hold a MAC offense down and both have been shredded by a better team.

There's no board posted on this one yet, so there's no number to argue with. What there is: 2 teams with identical records, a quarterback question in Athens, a Central Michigan offense that has to prove it can travel, and an early first-place spot in the MAC for the winner.

Central Michigan Chippewas at Ohio Bobcats — Central Michigan and Ohio Meet in Athens With MAC Starts Still Clean | Polymarket Odds · Barstool Bush