Ohio finished its regular season Friday afternoon with a dominant 49-28 win over Akron. The Bobcats rushed for 381 yards, pummeling the Zips on the ground.
But now that the regular season is over, it’s bowl season, meaning it’s time for the Bobcats to travel to some exotic location to play a neutral-site game against a nonconference opponent it never would play otherwise. For example, Ohio had never played UAB before last year’s bowl game, and it had never played in the Bahamas.
Bowl games are weird like that.
At 8-4, the Bobcats are guaranteed to grab one of the best bowl games the Mid-American Conference has to offer. While they won’t find out where they will be traveling to or who they’ll be playing until next week, speculation has ensued on where they might go.
Keep in mind that they can’t go to the Bahamas Bowl like they did last season — that spot is already taken by Toledo, who will play Florida International.
Here are the bowl games Ohio has played in since 2010: R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl (2010), Famous Idaho Potato Bowl (2011), Advocare V100 Independence Bowl (2012), Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl (2013), Raycom Media Camellia Bowl (2015), Dollar General Bowl (2016) and the Bahamas Bowl (2017).
Two of the Bobcats’ last three bowl games have been in Alabama, but while possible, it doesn’t seem likely that the Bobcats will play in the Yellowhammer State again.
The two biggest possibilities for Ohio are the DXL Frisco Bowl in Frisco, Texas, and the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl in Boise, Idaho.
Let’s break down the two.
DXL Frisco Bowl — Dec. 19 | 8 p.m. | Toyota Stadium | Frisco, Texas
Built in 2005, Toyota Stadium is the home stadium of MLS’ FC Dallas. It’s hosted the Frisco Bowl since last year, when Louisiana Tech beat SMU in the inaugural game.
This game is a MAC tie-in game this year, meaning a MAC team automatically receives a spot in the game. This bowl game will pit a MAC team against an American Athletic Conference team.
The Bobcats are 0-1 against the AAC this season, having lost at Cincinnati on Sept. 22. But the Bearcats don’t seem to be heading to the Frisco Bowl, and UCF will likely be in a New Year’s Six game. That leaves Memphis, Houston, Tulane, Temple and South Florida as bowl-eligible teams from the AAC.
If the Bobcats are selected for the Frisco Bowl, it seems like Houston or Temple would be likely matchup.
Famous Idaho Potato Bowl — Dec. 21 | 4 p.m. | Albertsons Stadium | Boise, Idaho
Everyone knows Albertsons Stadium — even if you don’t think you do. It’s the Smurf turf, the blue-turfed home of the Boise State Broncos. Albertsons Stadium has played host to the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl since 1997.
This game is a MAC tie-in game as well, but this game pits a MAC team against a Mountain West participant. The Bobcats haven’t played a Mountain West opponent since the 2011 Potato Bowl, when they played Utah State.
The Mountain West’s bowl-eligible teams are Boise State, Utah State, Fresno State, Wyoming, Hawaii, Nevada and San Diego State. If the Bobcats wind up in Boise, they could play any of these teams, but Boise State seems unlikely to stay home for its bowl game.
Prediction
I think Ohio will end up in the Frisco Bowl against Houston. It’s a close game for Houston, who will bring fans north to Frisco, and it would feature two high-flying offenses. The bowl committee looks for matchups that make sense, and this one makes too much sense not to happen.
But I have been wrong before.
