Ohio is 4 - 4, 2 - 2 MAC, 3-1 at home, 1 - 3 on the road
WMU is 4 - 3, 2 - 1 MAC, 1 - 1 at home, 3 - 2 on the road
Common opponents in bold
OHIO
@KSU W 17 - 14
@Kentucky L 20 - 3
@Marshall L 44 - 14
Idaho W 36 - 24
E. Illinois W 34 - 19
@C. Michigan L 28 - 10
BGSU L 31 - 13
Akron W 23 - 20
WMU
@Purdue L 43 - 34
@Idaho W 45 - 33
Murray State W 45 - 14
@Virginia Tech L 35 - 17
Toledo L 20 - 19 OT
@Ball State W 42 - 38
@BGSU W 26 - 14
How do the teams stack up statistically? These are stats for ALL games, not just MAC.
http://www.mac-sports.com/custompages/st...nfldrs.htm
SCORING OFFENSE
4. WMU 32.6/gm
11. Ohio 18.8/gm
RUSHING OFFENSE
3. WMU 188.1 yd/gm 18 TD
6. Ohio 158.2 yd/gm 9 TD
PASSING OFFENSE
7. WMU 252.6 yd/gm 12 TD
11. Ohio 214.9 yd/gm 7 TD
TOTAL OFFENSE
5. WMU 440.7 yd/gm
9. Ohio 373.1 yd/gm
SCORING DEFENSE
3. Ohio 25.0 /gm
6. WMU 28.1 /gm
RUSHING DEFENSE
4. Ohio 142.6 yd/gm
6. WMU 169.1 yd/gm
PASSING DEFENSE
5. WMU 232.7 yd/gm 12 TD allowed
10. Ohio 285.6 yd/gm 16 TD allowed
TOTAL DEFENSE
3. WMU 401.9 yd/gm
6. Ohio 428.2 yd/gm
KICK RETURNS
1. WMU 23.7 Avg
4. Ohio 21.8 Avg
PUNT RETURNS
2. Ohio 10.2 Avg
13. WMU -0.3 Avg
SACKS BY
tie2. Ohio 8 gm, 17 sacks, 112 yd
11. WMU 7 gm, 8 sacks, 44 yd.
SACKS ALLOWED
5. Ohio 11 sacks, 92 yd
7. WMU 12 sacks, 59 yd
INTERCEPTIONS
4. Ohio 7 picks, 11.0 Avg
8. WMU 5 picks, 21.8 Avg
TURNOVER MARGIN
3. WMU +3, +0.43 /gm Gained 4 fmb, 5 int, Lost 2 fmb, 4 int
10. Ohio -5, -0.62 /gm Gained 2 fmb, 7 int, Lost 10 fmb, 4 int
RED ZONE OFFENSE
2. WMU 23-27, 85.2%, 16 TD, 7 FG
4. Ohio 21-25, 84.0%, 13 TD, 8 FG
RED ZONE DEFENSE
5. Ohio 21-26, 80.8%, 14 TD, 7 FG
6. WMU 22-27, 81.5%, 15 TD, 7 FG
So, what’s this all mean? Nothing by itself. Nothing.
Even in ‘normal’ years in the MAC, the difference btw most of the top and bottom MAC teams isn’t great statistically. I’ve seen some say this is a "wacky" year in the league. It’s not, really - we just don’t have a dominant team or teams that have a chance to crack the top 25 in the rankings. Lots of parity (and maybe parody, too!) But the MAC is a league defined by parity. Rarely do we see teams repeat as champions, with a few notable exceptions in recent years.
Matchups matter and are exploited. Key injuries happen and impact teams. There are a lot of variables that can affect stats and that make using them to compare teams difficult, like the SOS difference btw teams. When looking at Ohio and WMU, the schedules aren't necessarily that much different, except that WMU has played
only 2 home games to OU’s 4. The Broncos are road warriors but now need to put the hammer down at home and regain that home field advantage.
We’ve both played Idaho and BGSU so those are easy to compare. Then, Purdue and VaTech are similar to Kentucky and Marshall. We each played an FCS team. KSU might be comparable to BSU. While we played Toledo, they played CMU. Their extra MAC game was Akron, a truly schizophrenic team if there ever was one. But, overall I'd say that we've played tougher offenses than they have.
What I see is that Ohio’s offense has had trouble holding on to the ball, especially fumbling. Our D needs to be opportunistic, as a fumble can turn the game or at least the field position.
It is also apparent that our punt returns are a mess. Special teams need to be more special. Phillips has a healthy kickoff return average but is capable of breaking one at any time. Our place kicker has been a bit erratic, but so has Ohio’s.
We have a better rushing game but Ohio has a better rushing defense. When those two meet, the winner will be decided in the trenches and OU has a good D front. We’ll see if our guys can rise to that challenge.
We may not reach our offensive averages but I like the fact that we have many weapons on offense to counter what OU tries to do to our offense.
What are your thoughts on this matchup? Anything glaring that I missed? Any intangibles that don’t get reflected in statistics that you feel may play a big role in the outcome?
Edit: I forgot one that might be a factor Saturday.
TIME OF POSSESSION
3. Western Michigan 32:45 Avg
9. Ohio 28:20 Avg
WMU strikes both with the pass and the run, doing much damage through the air and with YAC. Braverman has another big day and Davis is unstoppable. Franklin pounds the interior and is often stopped for short gains but still breaks a few explosive plays. Scores twice. Defense is opportunistic and recovers two fumbles, leading to short fields and 10 points. Terrell and the offense play another turnover free game. Bobcats offense shoots its feet off. Game over, crowd happy.
Nice homecoming for WMU!