The Appalachian State Mountaineers will be making their first ever bowl appearance against the Ohio University Bobcats, Saturday in Montgomery.
The Bobcats started the season strong at 5-1, but then injuries to several key players began to plague the Bobcats as they lost three consecutive Mid-American Conference games by 24 points or more between Oct 17 and November 4. Ohio was able to get healthier and rebound by winning their final 3 games, including a 26-21 upset victory on the road over MAC runner-up Northern Illinois.
Appalachian State, is a balanced team that hasn’t shown a huge weakness on either side of the ball this season. The Mountaineers currently rank 11th in the nation for total defense and 29th in total offense. The two loses the Mountaineers suffered came 48-10 at Clemson, and 40-27 to Sun Belt conference champion Arkansas State.
Despite being 10-2, Appalachian State is only 6-6 against the spread, while Ohio is 8-4 overall and against the spread. The Ohio defense is very good when healthy. Although the Bobcats will be healthier for this game, the status of several players is still in the air.
Frank Solich will have Ohio ready to play, but I think Appalachian State is -7.5 is the better team.
(Appalachian State 34 Ohio 21)
Bet Sports Strong Rating C
***Bet Sports Strong Ratings***
A-Bet with confidence
B-Strong lean, but bet with caution
C-Slight lean, enjoy the game but be careful with your money
D-Prediction but not a good feel either way
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