Ohio vs. Wyoming Arizona Bowl Top Picks: Wyoming to Shut Down Ohio in Snooze-Fest
Ohio Bobcats vs. Wyoming Cowboys
Friday, December 30, 2022 at 4:30 p.m. ET at Arizona Stadium in Tucson, Arizona
Best Bet: Cowboys +1 at -108 with BetOnline
Wyoming's Dinosaur-Era Offense
Recruiting-wise, Wyoming lands good running backs.
Wyoming can do this because it gives running backs a unique opportunity to feature in their offensive attack.
But quarterbacks are harder to obtain.
Wide receivers might come, but they have proven difficult to maintain -- now that Joshua Cobbs has transferred out of the program, the Cowboys have lost their top wide receiver to the transfer portal in two consecutive seasons.
Their top remaining wide receiver, Wyatt Wieland, caught 21 passes for 289 receiving yards in nine regular season games.
To put this figure in perspective, Ohio had four players who easily accrued more than 289 receiving yards.
The Cowboy offense is hampered by anemic quarterback play.
Andrew Peasley transferred from Utah State to become this year's Cowboy starter.
He threw nine touchdowns and eight interceptions while completing just over half of his passes.
Peasley hasn't thrown a touchdown in any of his last four games, and he hasn't thrown for as many as 200 yards since the double-overtime contest in the second game of the season (against Tulsa).
Instead of passing, Wyoming likes to send its running back into an eight-man box.
The Importance of Running to Wyoming
On offense, the Cowboys are necessarily and philosophically run-centric.
They own the nation's 13th-highest run-play percentage.
To this end, running back Titus Swen was tremendously important. He was arguably the most important Cowboy player.
But Swen has been dismissed from the team -- after accruing 1,039 rushing yards on five YPC.
While Peasley was failing to do much for the offense, Swen would churn out monster games that could allow Wyoming to approach 30 points.
Granted, his play failed to help Wyoming score more than a combined total of 31 points in its last three games -- against Colorado State, Boise State, and Fresno State.
While Boise State ranks highly in the Mountain West in rush defense, Colorado State ranks ninth in the conference in rush defense.
The Cowboy ground attack has tapered off, averaging 22.3 fewer rushing yards per game than its regular season average.
Ohio's Run Defense
Given the centrality of running the ball to Wyoming's offense, it's obviously paramount to assess the quality of Ohio's run defense.
The Bobcats got to face the MAC's two leading rushers.
Against Ball State, they allowed running back Carson Steele to amass 96 yards on 6.9 YPC.
Kent State's Marquez Cooper amassed 240 rushing yards on 40 carries.
Swen's absence means a missed opportunity for Wyoming's offense in this game -- the Cowboys could have decimated the Bobcat front seven with a star like Swen.
Wyoming still does enjoy the services of Swen's backups, Dawaiian McNeely and DQ James.
McNeely gained 356 rushing yards on 5.7 YPC and James accrued 346 rushing yards on 8.6 YPC.
Both have proven to be big-play running backs who can be effective in a given game.
They will suffice to help Wyoming win, but they lack Swen's dominant stardom to help the "over" hit.
Ohio's Major Loss
While Wyoming's top cornerback is transferring out of the program, Ohio lacks the weaponry to take advantage.
Again, this bowl game features a missed opportunity to score points -- the Bobcats had an excellent quarterback in Kurtis Rourke who would have helped his offense exploit Wyoming's regressed cornerback group.
But Rourke suffered a season-ending knee injury -- he tore his ACL on November 15 against Ball State.
Rourke's absence his difference-making -- the star quarterback is irreplaceable.
His regular season numbers attest to his individual quality: he passed for 3,256 yards, 25 touchdowns, and four interceptions.
He also ranked 25th nationally in quarterback rating.
Rourke's Replacement
CJ Harris is Ohio's new starting quarterback.
Harris is completing all of 50 percent of his passes while, in 2+ games since taking over for Rourke in the Ball State, game, has thrown one touchdown and one interception.
This is a major drop-off in terms of quality and one that is decisive because Ohio lacks the efficiency in its running back group that it possessed in previous seasons.
Wyoming's Bowl Game Success
While both offenses will miss key pieces whose absence will ensure that this game stays low-scoring, Wyoming's bowl game success makes the Cowboys a great bet.
Under Coach Bohl, Wyoming has won three straight bowl game appearances.
Crucially, the Cowboys have thrived against MAC teams in the process.
In 2017, they beat Central Michigan 37-14.
Last season, they beat Kent State 52-38.
Expect their sufficiently strong running back group to overwhelm the Bobcats while Ohio lacks the resources on offense to counter.
Best Bet: Under 43.5 at -110 with BetOnline
Ohio Bobcats vs. Wyoming Cowboys
Friday, December 30, 2022 at 4:30 p.m. ET at Arizona Stadium in Tucson, Arizona
Best Bet: Cowboys +1 at -108 with BetOnline
Wyoming's Dinosaur-Era Offense
Recruiting-wise, Wyoming lands good running backs.
Wyoming can do this because it gives running backs a unique opportunity to feature in their offensive attack.
But quarterbacks are harder to obtain.
Wide receivers might come, but they have proven difficult to maintain -- now that Joshua Cobbs has transferred out of the program, the Cowboys have lost their top wide receiver to the transfer portal in two consecutive seasons.
Their top remaining wide receiver, Wyatt Wieland, caught 21 passes for 289 receiving yards in nine regular season games.
To put this figure in perspective, Ohio had four players who easily accrued more than 289 receiving yards.
The Cowboy offense is hampered by anemic quarterback play.
Andrew Peasley transferred from Utah State to become this year's Cowboy starter.
He threw nine touchdowns and eight interceptions while completing just over half of his passes.
Peasley hasn't thrown a touchdown in any of his last four games, and he hasn't thrown for as many as 200 yards since the double-overtime contest in the second game of the season (against Tulsa).
Instead of passing, Wyoming likes to send its running back into an eight-man box.
The Importance of Running to Wyoming
On offense, the Cowboys are necessarily and philosophically run-centric.
They own the nation's 13th-highest run-play percentage.
To this end, running back Titus Swen was tremendously important. He was arguably the most important Cowboy player.
But Swen has been dismissed from the team -- after accruing 1,039 rushing yards on five YPC.
While Peasley was failing to do much for the offense, Swen would churn out monster games that could allow Wyoming to approach 30 points.
Granted, his play failed to help Wyoming score more than a combined total of 31 points in its last three games -- against Colorado State, Boise State, and Fresno State.
While Boise State ranks highly in the Mountain West in rush defense, Colorado State ranks ninth in the conference in rush defense.
The Cowboy ground attack has tapered off, averaging 22.3 fewer rushing yards per game than its regular season average.
Ohio's Run Defense
Given the centrality of running the ball to Wyoming's offense, it's obviously paramount to assess the quality of Ohio's run defense.
The Bobcats got to face the MAC's two leading rushers.
Against Ball State, they allowed running back Carson Steele to amass 96 yards on 6.9 YPC.
Kent State's Marquez Cooper amassed 240 rushing yards on 40 carries.
Swen's absence means a missed opportunity for Wyoming's offense in this game -- the Cowboys could have decimated the Bobcat front seven with a star like Swen.
Wyoming still does enjoy the services of Swen's backups, Dawaiian McNeely and DQ James.
McNeely gained 356 rushing yards on 5.7 YPC and James accrued 346 rushing yards on 8.6 YPC.
Both have proven to be big-play running backs who can be effective in a given game.
They will suffice to help Wyoming win, but they lack Swen's dominant stardom to help the "over" hit.
Ohio's Major Loss
While Wyoming's top cornerback is transferring out of the program, Ohio lacks the weaponry to take advantage.
Again, this bowl game features a missed opportunity to score points -- the Bobcats had an excellent quarterback in Kurtis Rourke who would have helped his offense exploit Wyoming's regressed cornerback group.
But Rourke suffered a season-ending knee injury -- he tore his ACL on November 15 against Ball State.
Rourke's absence his difference-making -- the star quarterback is irreplaceable.
His regular season numbers attest to his individual quality: he passed for 3,256 yards, 25 touchdowns, and four interceptions.
He also ranked 25th nationally in quarterback rating.
Rourke's Replacement
CJ Harris is Ohio's new starting quarterback.
Harris is completing all of 50 percent of his passes while, in 2+ games since taking over for Rourke in the Ball State, game, has thrown one touchdown and one interception.
This is a major drop-off in terms of quality and one that is decisive because Ohio lacks the efficiency in its running back group that it possessed in previous seasons.
Wyoming's Bowl Game Success
While both offenses will miss key pieces whose absence will ensure that this game stays low-scoring, Wyoming's bowl game success makes the Cowboys a great bet.
Under Coach Bohl, Wyoming has won three straight bowl game appearances.
Crucially, the Cowboys have thrived against MAC teams in the process.
In 2017, they beat Central Michigan 37-14.
Last season, they beat Kent State 52-38.
Expect their sufficiently strong running back group to overwhelm the Bobcats while Ohio lacks the resources on offense to counter.
Best Bet: Under 43.5 at -110 with BetOnline
