Ohio vs Nevada: FAMOUS IDAHO POTATO BOWL NCAAF Picks and Predictions
Ohio vs Nevada
Friday, January 3, 3:30 p.m. ET at Albertsons Stadium in Boise, Idaho
Odds
Oddsmakers opened Ohio as six-point favorites and the spread has moved in Ohio’s favor by a couple of points.
A couple of books opened the total at 54 points. But now, the over/under sits at as high as 59.
Ohio Offense
Ohio’s offense revolves around quarterback Nathan Rourke, whose playmaking abilities and leadership are unquantifiable.
As evident by his increase in completion percentage, Rourke has developed his efficiency while making fewer mistakes.
The one complaint being his occasional lapse in accuracy, the mistakes that Rourke makes tend not to be costly as he’s thrown only five interceptions to 20 touchdowns.
One reason for Rourke’s low interception amount is that, as the numbers show, he excels under pressure.
He’s able to be cool under pressure because of his superb mobility. Rourke is the team’s second-leading rusher, having amassed 823 yards on 6.4 YPC.
Primarily, Ohio wants to run and its led on the ground by two different running backs who average at least six YPC.
Ohio Offense vs Nevada Defense
Nevada’s run defense has hardly been tested in the Mountain West.
In this conference, the Wolfpack faced teams like Hawaii, San Jose State, and Utah State, who primarily feed on their quarterback play, or other teams like New Mexico and San Diego State which possess very poorly ranked scoring offenses.
Ohio will present a new test for Nevada in several respects.
One respect is Rourke with his dual-threat capability and general playmaking skills.
Another respect is Ohio’s rushing prowess — the Bobcats rank 12th in averaging 5.3 YPC.
This success on the ground helps explain why the Bobcats boast the 20th-best scoring offense.
Despite not being tested much on the ground, Nevada ranks 62nd in opposing YPC.
Nevada’s pass defense is also terrible, ranking 113th in opposing passer rating, and it’s the biggest reason why the Wolfpack are allowing 33.8 points per game.
The Wolfpack’s pass defense will be further impaired thanks to the absence of two defensive backs.
Austin Arnold and Daniel Brown plus defensive lineman Hausia Sekona will be held out of this game because of their role in a brawl that transpired in the season finale.
These players, plus a linebacker who will miss the first half of the game, had played in 45 games combined this season.
Rourke likes to leverage his offense's rushing prowess to get more out of the passing game.
Deep threats are available to him in Shane Hooks and Isiah Cox, who average 19.8 and 16.4 YPC, respectively.
Nevada’s Offense
Nevada is a pass-first offense: it ranks 31st in pass play percentage.
Quarterback Carson Strong has solidified himself as the team’s starting quarterback.
Though he suffered partly injury induced bumps during his freshman campaign, he has really matured.
In his final two games against two pass defenses that rank in the upper half in opposing passer rating in Fresno State and UNLV, he combined for 505 yards and four touchdowns to zero interceptions while completing over 60 percent of his passes.
He’s become more comfortable behind his offensive line, more timely, more decisive, more confident. He makes fewer mistakes and shows better accuracy and general execution
Ohio ranks in the bottom half in opposing passer rating.
The Bobcats have struggled, allowing massive performances through the air to lesser MAC passers like Western Michigan’s Jon Wassink and Northern Illinois’ Ross Bowers.
Both rank outside the top five in the MAC — which is notoriously ill-reputed for its defense — in passer rating and both threw for over 300 yards as part of 30-plus-point scoring efforts against Ohio.
Best Bet: Over 58.5 (-110) with Bookmaker
Ohio vs Nevada
Friday, January 3, 3:30 p.m. ET at Albertsons Stadium in Boise, Idaho
Odds
Oddsmakers opened Ohio as six-point favorites and the spread has moved in Ohio’s favor by a couple of points.
A couple of books opened the total at 54 points. But now, the over/under sits at as high as 59.
Ohio Offense
Ohio’s offense revolves around quarterback Nathan Rourke, whose playmaking abilities and leadership are unquantifiable.
As evident by his increase in completion percentage, Rourke has developed his efficiency while making fewer mistakes.
The one complaint being his occasional lapse in accuracy, the mistakes that Rourke makes tend not to be costly as he’s thrown only five interceptions to 20 touchdowns.
One reason for Rourke’s low interception amount is that, as the numbers show, he excels under pressure.
He’s able to be cool under pressure because of his superb mobility. Rourke is the team’s second-leading rusher, having amassed 823 yards on 6.4 YPC.
Primarily, Ohio wants to run and its led on the ground by two different running backs who average at least six YPC.
Ohio Offense vs Nevada Defense
Nevada’s run defense has hardly been tested in the Mountain West.
In this conference, the Wolfpack faced teams like Hawaii, San Jose State, and Utah State, who primarily feed on their quarterback play, or other teams like New Mexico and San Diego State which possess very poorly ranked scoring offenses.
Ohio will present a new test for Nevada in several respects.
One respect is Rourke with his dual-threat capability and general playmaking skills.
Another respect is Ohio’s rushing prowess — the Bobcats rank 12th in averaging 5.3 YPC.
This success on the ground helps explain why the Bobcats boast the 20th-best scoring offense.
Despite not being tested much on the ground, Nevada ranks 62nd in opposing YPC.
Nevada’s pass defense is also terrible, ranking 113th in opposing passer rating, and it’s the biggest reason why the Wolfpack are allowing 33.8 points per game.
The Wolfpack’s pass defense will be further impaired thanks to the absence of two defensive backs.
Austin Arnold and Daniel Brown plus defensive lineman Hausia Sekona will be held out of this game because of their role in a brawl that transpired in the season finale.
These players, plus a linebacker who will miss the first half of the game, had played in 45 games combined this season.
Rourke likes to leverage his offense's rushing prowess to get more out of the passing game.
Deep threats are available to him in Shane Hooks and Isiah Cox, who average 19.8 and 16.4 YPC, respectively.
Nevada’s Offense
Nevada is a pass-first offense: it ranks 31st in pass play percentage.
Quarterback Carson Strong has solidified himself as the team’s starting quarterback.
Though he suffered partly injury induced bumps during his freshman campaign, he has really matured.
In his final two games against two pass defenses that rank in the upper half in opposing passer rating in Fresno State and UNLV, he combined for 505 yards and four touchdowns to zero interceptions while completing over 60 percent of his passes.
He’s become more comfortable behind his offensive line, more timely, more decisive, more confident. He makes fewer mistakes and shows better accuracy and general execution
Ohio ranks in the bottom half in opposing passer rating.
The Bobcats have struggled, allowing massive performances through the air to lesser MAC passers like Western Michigan’s Jon Wassink and Northern Illinois’ Ross Bowers.
Both rank outside the top five in the MAC — which is notoriously ill-reputed for its defense — in passer rating and both threw for over 300 yards as part of 30-plus-point scoring efforts against Ohio.
Best Bet: Over 58.5 (-110) with Bookmaker
