Ohio has faced NFL talent season long, routinely squaring off against players such as Tennessee's abundance of talent like Cameron Sutton and Joshua Dobbs, or Central Michigan's Cooper Rush.
But that will be nothing compared to what the Ohio defense will face on Friday in the Mid-American Conference Championship Game against Western Michigan.
Wide receiver Corey Davis is arguably the most talented player Ohio will face all season long. Davis has 5,068 yards receiving in his career, which is the all-time Football Bowl Subdivision record. Davis is ranked third on Mel Kiper's NFL Draft Big Board and is widely considered to be a first-round pick.
The man throwing him the ball, Zach Terrell, is just as big of a threat.
“Our quarterback, in my opinion, is the most valuable player to his football team in the country,” Western Michigan coach P.J. Fleck said two weeks ago. “Ninety-nine percent of the country would love to have Zach Terrell on their football team. I promise you that.”
He didn't stop there, even saying his quarterback deserved notice from the most prestigious award in college football.
“He’s my Heisman guy,” Fleck said. “I don’t even have a vote, but I’m voting for him.”
The Broncos rank 28th and 43rd in rushing yards per play and passing yards per game, respectively. Ohio will have to play its best game of the season defensively to stop Fleck from rowing his offensive boat.
Breakdown
Using this YouTube video, I looked at Western Michigan's last game against Toledo. Western beat Toledo 55-35 to advance to clinch the MAC West Division.
The 48:58 mark shows the perfect example of what Ohio must defend against.
The Broncos line up in the shotgun, with a flanker to the right. At the snap, they don't even fake a play action, they keep seven men in to block with the three wideouts running routes. Davis is at the bottom of the screen.
Davis is clearly the first read on the play, as Terrell takes a three-step drop and looks straight for Davis. Davis created separation on a seven-yard curl route, and after the catch, the 6-foot-2 receiver has to make one man miss.
He turned towards the middle of the field, and with a quick cut back outside, made the cornerback nearly fall over. Davis gained 13 yards on the play.
The Bobcats will have to play Davis tight, and it wouldn't be surprising to see them double team him. Ohio will have to hope its front seven can handle the rushing attack of Western Michigan so the secondary can properly cover Davis.
Judgement
Simply put, Ohio will have to play its best game of the season.
Davis and Terrell might be the best one-two punch Ohio will see all season long, so the secondary will have to step up in a way it hasn't been asked to all season.
The offense for the Broncos is running at a better clip than the Volunteers were when the Bobcats visited Tennessee in September. Ohio shut down Tennessee for a decent portion of the afternoon that day, but eventually folded as the game wore on.
If the Ohio defense doesn't come through like it has this season, Western Michigan will win this one in, well, a boat race.
