Jake Pruehs has plans Tuesday night. He doesn't know with who or where, but he knows exactly what he'll be doing.
At 7 p.m., Pruehs will be glued to his television. The most important game of Ohio's season will be taking place — and Pruehs, along with his teammates, will be helpless.
Kent State will travel to Akron for an end-of-season matchup, exactly a week after Ohio blew its best chance to clinch the Mid-American Conference East's Division.
“We’ve played both teams already, so we don’t have to look at it in a, ‘we’re going to play them’ standpoint," Pruehs, the Bobcats center, said. "We pretty much have to look at it as a fan and hope Kent State wins.”
After Ohio fell 37-34 last week, it lost all control of what could happen to the team in terms of the MAC Championship Game. With an Akron win Tuesday, the Zips will clinch the East's berth to the title game on Dec. 2.
The Golden Flashes are currently ranked last in the MAC East.
That fact isn't lost on some Bobcats, who know the odds the Golden Flashes are facing Tuesday night.
“We probably will go around and watch it, but the more I think about it … if they lose, if Kent loses, I’m just going to be pissed all day," safety Kylan Nelson said. "I haven’t decided yet.”
Nelson said that he's considering all options — including not watching the game — but he'll at least keep up to date with what is going on through highlights and stat updates.
“We might devise a plan here, but we’ll see. I think it would be cool to watch it all together, but at the same time, I’m not trying to see Akron win.”
If Kent State (2-9, 1-6 MAC) were to pull the upset, an Ohio win against Buffalo on Friday would mean that the MAC Championship would host the Bobcats for a second straight season — a first under coach Frank Solich.
But he still emphasized a mentality of focusing on Ohio's next game, the only one it can control.
"The game that we have no control over will come about," Solich said. "There will be a winner. Wherever that takes us, it takes us. We have to do our own job. Our job is to play Buffalo and win that game."
Nonetheless, the Bobcats still have a clear rooting interest for a team with MAC Championship dreams. And it isn't the Zips.
When asked if he had become a Kent State fan for the time being, Pruehs smiled and gave a brief answer.
“Pretty much, yeah.”
