– Last Updated on June 8, 2018 7:51 am
2017 Football Preview – MAC – Bobcats
Looking for 2017 Ohio Bobcats predictions? The Bobcats finished the 2016 season with an 8-6 record but that was still enough to win the MAC East championship, and gave them a spot in the MAC Championship game, in which they lost to Western Michigan. The experts have predicted they will be right there again this year and baring any weird circumstances they have as good of shot as anyone to win a East division that is usually subpar to the West.
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- 2017-18 College Football Preview – Ohio Bobcats
- Head Coach: Frank Solich
- 2016 Record: 8-6
- Ohio Bobcats Odds to win the 2017 FBS Championship: +50000
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So will they win the MAC East title and have another shot at a championship? Or will they fall just short this year, and take a step back?
2017 Ohio Bobcats Predictions: Team Strengths
Solid Backfield: Although not all of the Bobcats offense is a strength, one of the biggest strengths of the whole team is in the backfield.
Dorian Brown, Sr. was the leading rusher last year for the Bobcats, and although he didn’t have the best stats throughout the whole season, he did step up when it mattered the most. He put up 212 yards against Toledo, and over 100 yards against Kansas and Kent State.
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I would think with another year for more experience I think he will be more consistent this year. I think he will still have those big games, but I would expect him to be more of a 100 yards a game rusher, and really help the rest off the offense function, which in turn should help open up the passing game.
Special Teams Unit is Special: Coming into last season the Special teams unit was a big question mark, but after some young guys stepped up, this might be the strongest unit on the team.
Michael Farkas is the starting punter this year, after one heck of a season last year. He punted the ball 71 times last year, and only had a touch-back on three of those. He also had 30 of those punts land and stick inside the 20 yard line.
The kicking position is also very strong for this year. Louie Zervos exceeded his expectations this year, and would like to blow those stats out of the water. He made a school record 29 field goals and was a very impressive 7-10 from kicks beyond 40 yards.
2017 Ohio Bobcats Predictions: Team Weaknesses
Who’s at Quarterback?: Maybe not a weakness per say, but one of the biggest questions this year, is who is going to be the starting quarterback.
Quinton Maxwell started seven games last year for the Bobcats, and is the favorite to win the job, but he was very inconsistent last year and he needs to take a step forward this year, if he does start.
He needs to hold on to the ball better, and make better decisions with his throws. He has competition behind him, and if he struggles before the season, or early on the season the string might be short, and he might be pulled for a Junior College guy.
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Replacing the Big Boys: Last year the heart and soul of the defense was up front, and it is actually what helped them win a lot of the games.
But they have lost four of the starters from the defensive line, including last years MAC Defensive Player of the Year Tarell Basham.
The secondary is still relatively young, so the pass rush, and run defense need to be really good if the defense doesn’t want to miss a beat this year.
Ohio Bobcats Irish Prediction: 8-4
I think the Ohio Bobcats season will go a lot like last year. I think that they will win some games they shouldn’t and lose some games that they should win.
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I think at the end of the day they will be the team in the MAC Championship game again this year, and again this year I think they will lose to whatever team they play against.
2017 Ohio Bobcats Football Schedule
- 9/2/17 7:00 PM ET HAMP
- 9/8/17 8:00 PM ET @PUR
- 9/16/17 2:00 PM ET KU
- 9/23/17 TBD @EMU
- 9/30/17 TBD @MASS
- 10/7/17 TBD CMU
- 10/14/17 3:30 PM ET @BGSU
- 10/21/17 TBD KENT
- 10/31/17 TBD M-OH
- 11/8/17 TBD TOL
- 11/14/17 TBD @AKR
- 11/24/17 TBD @BUFF
What do you think about our 2017 Ohio Bobcats predictions? Please leave us a comment below telling us how you think they’ll do in 2017!
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