The MAC East title and a berth in the MAC Championship Game are on the line, and our Bowling Green vs. Ohio college football betting prediction shows how close this race has become. Who has the biggest advantage, and where should you place your bets ahead of the de facto MAC East semifinal?
Bowling Green vs. Ohio Betting Preview
- Spread
Ohio (-7) - Moneyline
Ohio (-260); Bowling Green (+220) - Over/Under
56.5Â - Game time
7 p.m. ET - Location
Peden Stadium, Athens, OH - Predicted weather at kickoff
37 degrees, clear, 3-4 mph wind - How to watch
fuboTV, ESPNU
Top DFS Picks and Fantasy Plays
- QB Kurtis Rourke, Ohio ($11,500)
- QB Matt McDonald, Bowling Green ($9,800)
- RB Sieh Bangura, Ohio ($10,000)
- RB Taron Keith, Bowling Green ($6,600)
- RB Jaison Patterson, Bowling Green ($6,000)
- RB Jake Neatherton, Ohio ($5,400)
- RB Nolan McCormick, Ohio ($4,900)
- WR Sam Wiglusz, Ohio ($9,200)
- WR Odieu Hiliare, Bowling Green ($8,300)
- WR Jacoby Jones, Ohio ($7,300)
- WR Miles Cross, Ohio ($6,900)
- WR Tyrone Broden, Bowling Green ($6,500)
- WR James Bostic, Ohio ($6,200)
- WR CJ Lewis, Bowling Green ($5,200)
- WR Cavon Croom, Bowling Green ($5,100)
- TE Christian Sims, Bowling Green ($5,600)
- TE Harold Fannin Jr., Bowling Green ($5,500)
- TE Will Kacmarek, Ohio ($5,200)
Both quarterbacks are in play for your DFS lineups on Tuesday. Kurtis Rourke and the Ohio offense is the top-ranked unit in the MAC and the clear-cut answer for your Superflex position and the 1.5x points.
Matt McDonald has shortened his release this season and is in the middle of a career year because of it. He’s seeing the field beautifully and has started to deliver anticipatory throws across the landscape of MAC defenses.
While both quarterbacks are must-start options, they each have receivers who deserve their places in your lineup, if you can afford them.
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Odieu Hiliare has come out of relative nowhere, yet continues to get a lack of national respect. He’s a magician at the catch point and has some of the best routes this conference has to offer. Grab him and don’t look back in your DFS lineup.
For the Bobcats, Rourke’s top target is Sam Wiglusz. If you can afford Hiliare, Wiglusz, and both quarterbacks, you’re doing something right by finding value elsewhere, but mainly because this quartet may score you enough points to win the day regardless.
Finding that extra value is key, and that’s where perhaps Jake Neatherton is in line for a start from the Ohio backfield. Sieh Bangura is a must-start if you can squeeze him in. If you have to choose between Bangura and Wiglusz, good luck.
Neatherton, however, is in line for a potential breakout performance. With Nolan McCormick out last week, Neatherton saw nine carries but was largely bottled up. BGSU’s run defense allows the 10th-most yards per rush, and Neatherton should be the clear No. 2 running back with McCormick banged up.
Prediction for Bowling Green vs. Ohio
As great as these offenses have performed recently, the question in the MAC is always about whether or not they can consistently turn out high-powered games. For these two offenses, that seems to be the case for only one of them.
Kurtis Rourke has had the Bobcats’ humming offensively. He even got one of my votes for the Davey O’Brien Semifinalist list because of his play this season.
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More importantly, he’s won six games in a row for Ohio and is undefeated at Peden Stadium in 2022.
Among their peers, the Ohio Bobcats’ offense is a force.
Yards Per Play
Ohio – 6.49 (1st)
Bowling Green – 4.98 (10th)
Yards Per Game
Ohio – 442.4 (1st)
Bowling Green – 341.5 (10th)
Touchdowns Scored
Ohio – 42 (2nd)
Bowling Green – 30 (8th)
Passing Yards Per Game
Ohio – 304.6 (1st)
Bowling Green – 237.5 (3rd)
Rushing Yards Per Attempt
Ohio – 4.07 (6th)
Bowling Green – 3.07 (11th)
By the looks of it, Ohio is the bet, right? Well, not so fast, my MAC friend.
Ohio’s defense has done them in this season. Their defense has forced their offense to put up these points, not the other way around.
Entering the final game of the season, Ohio’s defense ranks dead last in yards allowed per game (456.1), completions allowed (281), passing yards per game (312.3), and are a middling team in terms of run defense.
That being said, Bowling Green has an incredibly favorable matchup for McDonald and Co. Does that mean they can sneak into the MAC Championship Game with a win? Maybe.
But it means it’ll certainly be a closer matchup than it is on paper, at least Vegas’ paper.
Prediction: Ohio 34, Bowling Green 30
