The surprising Buffalo Bulls are at 6-2 and are looking to possibly steal a spot in the MAC championship game. The Ohio Bobcats though are looking to capture their division from the New York school and punch their own ticket for the big game in this Tuesday night special.
When Buffalo has the ball:
The Bulls have averaged just 5.2 yards per play on offense, and just 28.4 yards per drive. However, the offense has been able to do its part for this season by not going three and out, posting just a 21.5% rate. They also have been better the last four weeks, averaging 30 yards per drive or better in each one. QB Joe Licata has been pretty good, completing 60.5% of his passes for over 7.3 yards per attempt with 14 TDs and just 4 Ints. He has not been good on third downs though, just converting 27% of his passes there. The Bulls dont take many negative plays though, with just a 8.9% rate on allowing tackles for loss. It has lead to senior back Branden Oliver having an excellent season, averaging 4.9 yards per carry and posting 27 carries for more than ten yards so far.
The Bobcats defense has been very tough to crack this season, allowing just a 66.7% conversion rate in the red zone. They have been very tough on the ground, allowing only 3.97 yards per carry, with just Eastern Michigan really finding much room on the ground. The pass defense hasn't been great, allowing 59.2% completion rates and 7.1 yards per attempt, but they do have pressures on 17% of opposing passers dropbacks. Tarell Basham and Ty Branz lead the effort in the backfield, each lineman posting six tackles for loss. Safety Josh Kristoff leads the team with 51 total tackles, and has broken up four passes.
When Ohio has the ball:
Tyler Tettleton continues the MAC tradition of excellent QB play, as he's been completing 68% of his passes for 9.1 yards per attempt with 17 TDs and just 6 Ints. 41.6% of his third down passes have converted into first downs, and he has 7 TDs on third downs. His favorite receiver has been Donte Foster, who has 50 receptions on the season for 14.4 yards per catch. Defenses though must account for Chase Cochran as well, who has eight catches of more than 25 yards this season so far and should be back for this game after missing the game against Miami(OH). The Bobcats line has struggled to consistently get holes open, but Beau Blankenship and Ryan Boykin are combining for 4.3 yards per carry and 10 TDs on the ground.
The Bulls rush defense will likely be up to that challenge though after allowing over 100 yards just twice in their last five games, and have allowed just one team to rush for over four yards per carry over that time frame. It can almost all be laid at teh feet of the fantastic Khalil Mack. Mack has 11 tackels for loss amongst his 54 stops, with three Ints and four passes defended. The only player with more passes defended is senior DB Najja Johnson, who has six with three ints. The pass rush is almost all on Mack as well, though Colby Way also has five sacks this season and Kristjan Sokoli has five more QB hurries.
What's Our Take:
This will be the first MAC foe Buffalo will face that has a chance of competing for a conference title. They're playing far above expectations but short turnarounds produce some weird results. We're going to stick with the older Bobcats here at +4
No comments:
Post a Comment