The reigning MAC champs hit the road for the first time under a new head coach, and they're walking into a South Alabama team trying to prove 2025 was the outlier, not the new normal.
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OHIOUSA
OHIOUSA
OverUnder
Best BetOhio
Ohio's the more proven program walking in here — a MAC title, a deeper roster, and more established structure even with a new play-caller. South Alabama's carrying real questions after replacing its workhorse back and coming off a losing season, which makes the Bobcats the side to trust to find a way to win even in a clunky early-season spot.
Ohio
+9-3 in 2025, reigning MAC champions
+8 players on preseason All-MAC team
+Won Frisco Bowl, 40 wins over 4 seasons
−Lost 4-year starting QB Parker Navarro
−First-year head coach in John Hauser
−True road game early in coaching transition
South Alabama
+Closed 2025 winning 3 of last 5 games
+Upset Sun Belt West-leading Southern Miss late
+Applewhite entering 3rd year, more continuity
Ohio comes into Saturday's trip to Mobile still figuring out life without Parker Navarro under center. The Bobcats won 21 of 27 starts with him running the offense, and now John Hauser has to replace that production while also handling his first full season as head coach after getting promoted following the Frisco Bowl win. It's a lot of change to sort out just two weeks into the year, with a road test against a Sun Belt team that's plenty desperate for a signature win of its own.
South Alabama's got its own hole to fill. Kentrel Bullock ran for 1,085 yards and earned First Team All-Sun Belt honors last fall before signing with the Bengals as an undrafted free agent, so Major Applewhite is breaking in a new workhorse back at home in front of the Hancock Whitney Stadium crowd. The Jaguars closed 2025 by winning 3 of their last 5, including a 42-35 upset of a Southern Miss team that was sitting atop the Sun Belt West at the time — proof there's still juice in this roster even after a losing season.
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OHIO Ohio
USA South Alabama
Both programs are essentially auditioning new pieces in real time, which makes this one harder to project than the resume gap suggests. Ohio's got the pedigree — a MAC title, a bowl win, 8 preseason All-MAC picks — but pedigree doesn't always travel well early in a coaching transition, and South Alabama has shown it can hang with the SEC middle class on a given Saturday.
Ohio Bobcats
Sep 12?vs Jacksonville State—
Sep 5?@ Nebraska—
South Alabama Jaguars
Sep 12?@ Tulane—
Sep 5?vs SE Louisiana—
Recent form.
The gap on paper still favors Ohio. Nine wins and a MAC championship beats a 4-8 finish that snapped South Alabama's four-year run of winning seasons, and the Bobcats bring a deeper, more experienced roster into Week 3 even with a new coach and quarterback. But this isn't a program that steamrolls people — Ohio's identity under Hauser, who spent years as the defensive coordinator, is going to be built on discipline and defense rather than fireworks, which keeps South Alabama in these kinds of games longer than the records might imply.
Ohio Bobcats
(0)
Fully healthy — no injuries on ESPN's report
South Alabama Jaguars
(0)
Fully healthy — no injuries on ESPN's report
Injury report — info via ESPN.
Where this one gets decided is up front and in the run game on both sides. South Alabama needs whoever takes over Bullock's carries to control the clock and keep its own new-look defense off the field, while Ohio's staff will lean on situational football — third downs, red zone, special teams — the stuff a program builds its identity around when it's replacing a four-year starter at quarterback. Neither team wants this to turn into a shootout, and neither offense is probably equipped to win one yet this early.
