DXL Frisco Bowl: San Diego State Aztecs vs Ohio Bobcats

Frisco Bowl Has Chance to be Quality Matchup

The fans at Toyota Stadium the San Diego State Aztecs and the Ohio Bobcats when they take their seats on Wednesday. They are the participants in the 2018 DXL Frisco Bowl.

TV: 8 p.m. ET, ESPN. LINE: Ohio -2.5; O/U: 49.5

These schools that finished their seasons going in opposite directions. The injury-plagued Aztecs sputtered to the finish line in Mountain West Conference play. They lost their final three games and four of their last five. They lost a 31-30 overtime heart-breaker to visiting Hawaii in their season finale. Ohio won five of its final six games to finish in a tie for second place in the Mid-American Conference's East Division. They had back-to-back blowout wins over East champion Buffalo (52-17) and Akron (49-28) to end conference play.

The game should be nicknamed the AARP Bowl. Ohio coach Frank Solich is 74 years old, while San Diego State's Rocky Long turns 69 on Jan. 27.

In a era where wide open passing attacks dominate college football, this will be an old fashioned "three yards and a cloud of dust" battle. Ohio ranks eighth nationally in rushing offense with an average of 262.2 yards per game. They rolled up 38 rushing touchdowns. The Bobcats will be going up against a San Diego State defense that ranks fourth nationally in rush defense. They are behind only Michigan State, Texas A&M and Clemson. The squad is allowing an average of 94.5 yards per game and 2.75 yards per attempt. They have allowed only 14 rushing TDs.

This & That and a Prediction

The Aztecs were 7-5 on the season and 4-4 in the Mountain West Conference. They haven't scored more than 31 points in a game this season. The offense hit the 30-point mark twice while ranking 109th nationally in total offense with an average of 354 yards per game. A big reason for that is that starting quarterback Christian Chapman. He was 50-of-87 in the air with 774 yards and four touchdowns on the season. He missed six games after suffering an MCL injury in the second game of the season. Star running back Juwan Washington had 870 yards and 10 TD's on 180 carries this season despite missed four games with a broken clavicle suffered in a 23-20 overtime win over Eastern Michigan. Both are back now with Washington rushing for 158 yards and two touchdowns on 31 carries in the season-ending overtime loss to Hawaii. Chapman and has split time with junior Ryan Agnew and has completed 104-of-199 passes for 1,525 yards, 10 touchdowns and five interceptions.

The Bobcats were 8-4 overall and 6-2 in the MAC. Running back A.J. Ouellette earned first team all-MAC honors. He also was named the MAC Player of the Year by the Touchdown Club of Columbus after rushing for 1,142 yards and 12 touchdowns. That included a career-high 196 yards in the win over Buffalo. Running back Maleek Irons had 831 yards and eight TD's on 126 carries. Quarterback Nathan Rourke had 816 yards on 125 carries and 13 TD's. He also topped the 800-yard rushing mark with Rourke, a second team all-MAC pick. He also passing for 2,228 yards and a career-high 22 touchdowns. Wide receiver Papi White had 58 receptions, 897 yards and nine TD's. He was also was a first team all-MAC selection. Linebacker Evan Croutch had a team-high 79 tackles and four sacks. He leads the Bobcats' defense and was a second-team choice.

PREDICTION: San Diego State 21, Ohio 17

DXL Frisco Bowl Odds & Trends

San Diego State:
Team record: 7-5 SU,3-9 ATS
Current Streak: lost 3 straight games.
San Diego State is 1-6 ATS in its last 7 games
San Diego State is 17-8 SU in its last 25 games
San Diego State is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games

Ohio:
Team record: 8-4 SU,7-5 ATS
Ohio is 5-2 ATS in its last 7 games
Ohio is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Ohio's last 5 games

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