The Western Michigan Broncos and the Ohio Bobcats meet Saturday in college football action from Peden Stadium. Western Michigan is fresh off a game versus Miami-OH. In that matchup the Broncos lost by 13 points to fall to 2-5 on the year. As for Ohio, they played Northern Illinois back on Saturday. The Bobcats ended up getting their win streak snapped by a 10-point defeat. Check back all season long for free college football picks at Sports Chat Place.

Western Michigan Broncos 

The Broncos’ season started out well with a 35-17 win over St. Francis PA in their opener. The next three games were all losses though, as Western Michigan fell to Syracuse 48-7, Iowa 41-10 and Toledo 49-31 in succession. After a 42-24 win over Ball State, Western Michigan lost again to Mississippi State 41-28 for a 2-4 record through six games. 

Back on Saturday versus Miami-OH, Western Michigan put up points in every quarter—but also gave up points in three of four—in a 34-21 defeat. QB Hayden Wolf finished with 99 pass yards and a running score, while Jalen Buckley led the rush with 61 yards. Buckley was also tops in receiving on 47 yards from three catches. 

Western Michigan Broncos Team Facts

• The home team has won seven of Western Michigan’s last eight games.
• Western Michigan has covered the spread in each of its last six road games against conference opponents.
• Western Michigan has won the first half in three of its last four games against conference opponents.
• Each of Western Michigan’s last five games have gone OVER the total points line.

Ohio Bobcats 

Over on the Bobcats’ side, they took a tough loss in their opener this year. That one ended up 20-13 versus San Diego State. Ohio caught fire from there however and started a win streak. The Bobcats took out LIU 27-10, Florida Atlantic 17-10, Iowa State 10-7, Bowling Green 38-7 and Kent State 42-17 in their next five games. 

Matched up against Northern Illinois in their last outing, the Bobcats held a 13-7 lead in the locker room. Ohio couldn’t score after that however and lost the game 23-13. Quarterback Kurtis Rourke had 159 yards and three interceptions with a rush TD. O’Shaan Allison put up 11 carries for 43 yards, and Sam Wiglusz caught four balls for 37 yards. 

Ohio Bobcats Team Facts

• Ohio has won each of its last nine games at Peden Stadium.
• Ohio has covered the spread in each of its last five games against conference opponents at Peden Stadium.
• Ohio has won the first half in 11 of its last 12 games against conference opponents.
• Each of Ohio’s last four October games as a home favorite against non-AP-ranked teams have gone OVER the total points line.

Matchup/League Facts

• Ohio rank 7th among FBS teams for points allowed per game this season (11.8).
• Western Michigan has suffered the equal-most road losses by a margin of 10+ points of any FBS team this season (4).
• Western Michigan has suffered the equal-most road losses by a margin of 30+ points of any FBS team this season (2).

ANDREW’S FREE PICK 

I’m probably going to stay with Ohio here. I’m much less confident about the Bobcats after the bad second half against NIU, though. Ohio ended up with three turnovers (all picks), seven penalties, 4.1 yards per play and 254 yards (159 passing) in the loss to the Huskies. The team wasn’t awful on defense (302 yards and 14 first downs allowed) but couldn’t generate any takeaways as the team saw their five-game win streak snapped. Ohio had put up a combined 80 points in their previous pair though, so the offense should rebound in this one. 

As for Western Michigan, they were still in the game late against a good Miami-OH team over the weekend but struggled sustaining drives on 5-of-16 in third-down conversions and 4.2 yards per play. The Broncos will probably hang around in this one as well, but I like Ohio to power out the cover.