OSU's dominance of MAC will continue

Ohio University – or Ohio as it prefers to be called now – is the oldest university in the state of Ohio. It was founded in 1804, which is 66 years before Ohio State came into existence in 1870; 68 years before the first students enrolled at the University of Toledo and 106 years before Bowling Green opened its doors. Ohio State is not alone in being somewhat of a latecomer to the party. When it comes to Big Ten universities and the question of who was the first university in the state in which they are located, only three of the Big Ten's 18 teams can claim first-born status. Michigan (1817), Minnesota (1851) and Washington (1861) are the only Big Ten schools to welcome students to their classrooms before any other university in their state. Even in non-sports competition, Rutgers can't catch a break. The New Jersey school began classes in 1766. But the Ivy League's Princeton, located a few miles away from Rutgers in New Jersey, had already been open for 20 years by then. If being the first to open went hand in hand with athletic success, the Big Ten might have McKendree College instead of Illinois, Carroll University instead of Wisconsin, Willamette University instead of Oregon, Loras College instead of Iowa, and Peru State College instead of Nebraska. No. 1 Ohio State (2-0) and Ohio (1-1) will be playing each other for only the fourth time when the Bobcats come to Ohio Stadium for Saturday night's game. OSU won the other three games in the series in 1999, 2008 and 2010 by an average of 23 points a game and is favored by 31 points this time. Ohio State climbed to the No.1 ranking in the polls with its 14-7 win over Texas and routed Grambling 70-0 last Saturday. Ohio defeated West Virginia 17-10 last Saturday, which was the first time in 13 games between those two schools that the Bobcats won. In its opener, Ohio fell behind Rutgers by 17 points in the first half, tied the game but then lost 34-31 on a fourth-quarter field goal. Most of the names that pop for Ohio are on offense, led by quarterback Parker Navarro. Navarro led Ohio to the Mid-American Conference championship last season when he passed for 2,423 yards and 13 touchdowns and ran for 1,046 yards and 18 touchdowns. In two games this season he has passed for 486 yard and 4 touchdowns and rushed for 180 yards and 1 touchdown. Navarro is a fifth-year player, which might help him deal with the crowd and atmosphere of the game. But he apparently can be bothered by defensive pressure at times, such as last week when he threw three interceptions in the win over West Virginia. Running back Sieh Bangura was a 1,000-yards rusher in 2023 as a freshman and gained 811 yards as a sophomore. A transfer to Minnesota didn't work out as well as he hoped, so he is back in Athens and has averaged 76 yards rushing a game in the first two games. Wide receiver Chase Hendrick has 17 catches for 236 yards and a touchdown. Ohio's offense is good, but is not on the same level as Ohio State, which will be by far the best offense the Bobcats' defense has seen this season. And Ohio State has the best defense by far that West Virginia has seen. One more thing. Beating West Virginia was historic but the Mountaineers have been predicted to finish somewhere between tenth and fourteenth in the Big 12. The Bobcats are a sturdy opponent. It might be close for a while but Ohio State will continue its streak of never losing to a Mid-American Conference team since that league was created in 1946. The prediction: Ohio State 38, Ohio 10.