Miami (Ohio) and Ohio are both battling for the right to appear in the MAC Championship – in a rematch of last year’s conference title game.
The Bobcats went through a coaching change this offseason, but with Brian Smith in his first season as head coach, they’ve been mostly successful up until this point.
Ohio nearly beat Rutgers to start the year, then earned a Power Four win over West Virginia before losing to Ohio State. Ohio (5-3, 3-1 MAC) won four of its next five games with its only loss being at Ball State.
And that loss may prove critical. Miami is undefeated in MAC play, while two other league teams (Buffalo and Western Michigan) have just one conference loss. Ohio plays WMU and Buffalo later this season.
That means there’s likely little room for error.
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Miami, though, could lose a league game and still be tied for the top spot in the conference standings. But the RedHawks don’t want to leave anything to chance.
They struggled earlier this season, falling to Wisconsin, Rutgers, and UNLV in consecutive games. But the RedHawks (5-3, 4-0) have won five straight since. In fact, only one of those games, their most recent outing against Western Michigan, was decided by less than 10 points.
So this is truly a clash of two of the best teams in the MAC with plenty on the line.
Miami (Ohio) vs. Ohio Spread & Betting Odds
Ohio is a 2.5-point college football betting odds favorite against Miami (Ohio), with the Over/Under being 49.5 as of this writing.
The moneyline for Ohio is -145, while it’s +120 for Miami (Ohio).
Miami (Ohio) vs. Ohio On TV
The matchup between Miami (Ohio) and Ohio will be televised on ESPN2.
The game will kick off at 7 p.m. ET on Tuesday, Nov. 4. The contest is taking place at Peden Stadium in Athens, Ohio.
Miami (Ohio) vs. Ohio Prediction
I predict Ohio will win and cover the 2.5-point spread. I also project the game will go Over 49.5 total points.
I expect this to be a really close bout. But the fact that the Bobcats are at home is a tiebreaker in my mind.
Miami might be a more well-rounded team. The RedHawks are in the top four in the MAC in scoring offense (26 points per game), scoring defense (21.4 PPG allowed), total offense (366.5 yards per game), and total defense (326.6 YPG allowed).
But at home, I think Ohio’s offense finds a way to win.
While they are in the bottom half of the MAC in scoring defense and total defense, the Bobcats are second in the MAC in scoring offense (29.3 PPG) and total offense (434.8 YPG).
And the Bobcats are pretty balanced on offense. Star quarterback Parker Navarro has thrown for 1,786 yards, 11 touchdowns, and seven interceptions on a 67.6% completion rate and has rushed for 504 yards and four scores. Sieh Bangura leads the team with 728 yards and nine TDs. Chase Hendricks leads the Bobcats with 805 yards and six touchdowns on 57 receptions.
We could very well see this matchup again in the MAC title game, and maybe Miami would find a way to win that. But right now, I think the Bobcats will be tough to stop on offense and will ultimately find a way to win tonight.
