Frisco Bowl 2018: SDSU vs. Ohio TV Schedule, Time, Odds
Two average Group of Five teams square off Wednesday in one of the more unique settings of the college football bowl season.
On the surface, the Frisco Bowl between San Diego State and Ohio at the home of Major League Soccer's FC Dallas isn't especially appealing, but if you dig deeper into the matchup, there's enough to get excited about.
The Bobcats roll into Toyota Stadium off two 20-plus point victories over Buffalo and Akron, and they deserve to be favored since the Aztecs enter on a three-game losing streak.
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Wednesday's contest in Frisco, Texas, is the second installment of the Frisco Bowl, which was played for the first time a year ago when Louisiana Tech beat SMU 51-10.
Frisco Bowl Information
Date: Wednesday, December 19
Time: 8 p.m. ET
TV: ESPN
Live Stream: Watch ESPN or ESPN app
Odds (via OddsShark): Ohio -2.5; Over/Under: 53.5
Preview
If you're sprinkling money on the Frisco Bowl—let's be honest you likely are if you're tuning into a Wednesday night mid-level bowl game—Ohio is the way to go.
The Bobcats are 8-4, but they've been competitive in most of their losses, as they fell to Cincinnati, Northern Illinois and Miami (Ohio) by a combined nine points, while its other defeat was by 14 points to Virginia.
Quarterback Nathan Rourke and running back A.J. Ouellette are the driving forces of the Ohio offense, and they will be expected to flow through a San Diego State defense that has given up 81 points in the last three contests.
However, the one thing going in favor of the Aztecs is its fourth-best rushing defense that has given up 1,134 yards on the ground, which equates to 94.5 yards conceded per game.
Even though the Aztecs struggled as a whole to finish out the regular season, they held Hawaii to 64 rushing yards in their Mountain West finale, but that effort went to waste with Hawaii throwing for 452 yards.
Rourke is capable of exploiting San Diego State's defensive weaknesses through the air, as he threw for 2,225 yards and 22 touchdowns.
If he's able to carve up the secondary of the Aztecs, he could then open their defense with his legs after running for 816 yards and 13 touchdowns, including four scores in the November 23 win over Akron.
The Bobcats could also simply overwhelm San Diego State from the start with the combination of Rourke and Ouellette doing damage on the ground.
If that occurs, the Aztecs will be in for a long night and will be on the way to their second consecutive bowl defeat.
While it seems San Diego State doesn't stand much of a chance to win Wednesday night, there is a way for the Aztecs to keep up with the Bobcats and challenge.
The path to victory for Rocky Long's team revolves around running back Juwan Washington, who ran for 158 yards and two touchdowns in the regular-season finale against Hawaii.
In his last four games, Washington averaged 89.25 and ran for five touchdowns, but if the Bobcats stop him, the Aztecs could be in real danger since their passing game isn't the most explosive.
The struggles at quarterback out of Christian Chapman and Ryan Agnew isn't the only thing San Diego State needs to be concerned about in the passing game, as Ohio boasts a defense with 22 sacks and 15 interceptions.
Prediction
Ohio 38, San Diego State 17
The biggest question surrounding your Frisco Bowl bets isn't who will win, it's if the two teams can hit the over.
Ohio wins the game by breaking out to an early double-digit lead behind its dynamic duo on the ground, while San Diego State attempts to cut into the lead with a few scores in the second half.
The Bobcats won't be stopped much by the Aztecs, and one final score at the start of the fourth quarter secures their win and hands bettors a good night by hitting the over.
Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90.
Statistics obtained from ESPN.com.
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