If someone were to look in a glass ball before the season of the storylines surrounding the 2016 Bobcats, they'd shriek in horror.
Week one brought a 56-54 triple overtime loss to Texas State, the running back depth was depleted to near apocalyptic levels, and original starting quarterback Greg Windham was pulled midway through the season for inconsistent play.
And through all that, the Bobcats sit at 7-3, atop the Mid-American Conference East Division.
With a win over Central Michigan, or with a series of losses from Miami and Akron, Ohio will book a trip to the MAC Championship Game for the first time since 2011.
Breakdown
All season long, The Post has looked at film of the upcoming opponent for the Bobcats. However, with the team on a bye, The Post will breakdown film on what the Bobcats have done this season to find themselves one game away from a MAC East Division title.
Using this YouTube clip, we'll look at film on how Ohio beat Buffalo last Thursday to move to 5-1 in the conference.
At the 38:04 mark of the video, the Bobcats lined up in their typical pistol offense. With Jordan Reid and Sebastian Smith at the outside wideout positions and Papi White at the slot receiver position, the Bulls defense had to spread out. That has opened holes all season long for the running backs and their bruising style.
At the snap, quarterback Quinton Maxwell fakes the handoff to Maleek Irons. The pulling guard gives Maxwell enough time in the pocket to find Smith, the Bobcats biggest offensive weapon, over the middle.
Smith catches the ball inside the cornerback and the safety at midfield. The safety goes for the big hit, which Smith avoids with a slick spin move. He is finally brought down at the Bulls 35, but not before he gained 33 yards.
It's plays like that which have given Ohio offensive success this season, finding big plays as a result of the defense overplaying the run game.
But it's the defensive side of the ball that has given Ohio its legs this season. And there might not be a better two-play representation of that than at the at the 20 minute mark.
Even with sack-leader Tarell Basham on the sideline for the play, the Bobcats' front seven were still incredibly dangerous to face. It's been difficult to run the ball against that group almost all season.
With Toran Davis coming on a corner blitz from the right side of the line of scrimmage, the Bulls are now man-on-man blocking. Kurt Laseak fights through the left tackle's block and running back help to bring down the Buffalo quarterback.
And on the next play, the Bobcats hit pay-dirt.
Basham and Casey Sayles apply pressure to the Buffalo quarterback, who is forced to throw a pass with his feet not completely set. Hit as he throws, the ball flies deep in the air to the waiting arms of Javon Hagan. It was Ohio's 11th interception of the season and Hagan's third.
Hagan, who has been a revelation on defense this season, returned the ball 60 yards to the Buffalo 16-yard line.
Judgement
The Bobcats are exactly what everyone thought they'd be.
With a strong defense leading the way, Ohio has used its front seven and its 35 sacks — which is second in the country — to hold off teams enough to hit 7-3.
There's still work to be done, however.
Ohio still can't score terribly consistently, and its secondary has been a weak point all season. It hasn't clinched the MAC East just yet, and with two difficult games upcoming, there's no guarantee Ohio will be playing conference championship weekend.
But if he had known the in-season storylines just two months ago, coach Frank Solich would surely have taken how close his team is.
He might have even jumped for joy. Or maybe just smiled.
