The anticipation around Syracuse is building with the Orange’s season opener just five days away. There are lots of storylines heading into week one, how Fran Brown will manage his first game as head coach, if Kyle McCord will live up to the hype, etc. But what about the team on the other sideline? Here are five things to know about Ohio ahead of Saturday.
Last year
The Bobcats finished second in the MAC East with a final record of 10-3, ending off the year with a win over Georgia Southern in the Myrtle Beach Bowl. Ohio also earned notable wins over Iowa State, Central Michigan, and FAU. The three losses for the Bobcats came to Northern Illinois, Miami Ohio, and San Diego State. Ohio has finished the last two campaigns with 10 wins, and they’ll be hungry for win number 2024 come Saturday.
Transfer Portal
While Syracuse might’ve benefited from the transfer portal, Ohio did not. The Bobcats lost star quarterback Kurtis Rouke who made a move to Indiana, and running back Sieh Bangura who is now with Minnesota. Ohio had 26 players leave the program overall, which led to them being ranked nearly worst in 2024 college football transfer activity returning production.
Like the offense, the Bobcat defense also lost out to the portal. Defensive lineman Rayyan Buello left for Colorado, and cornerback Torrie Cox Jr. transferred to Illinois. All of these players leaving the program have left an Ohio squad that is extremely inexperienced heading into this year.
Who’s on offense?
Grad student Parker Navarro is the man under center for the Bobcats in 2024. The Arizona native transferred to Ohio in 2022 and has only appeared in eight games for the Bobcats in two years. It’s not as if the inexperienced quarterback will be throwing to chiseled veterans either. Ohio’s top three wide receivers listed on the depth chart have a combined 112 career yards. That’s something that Syracuse defensive coordinator Elijah Robinson will have circled heading into gameday.
What about defense?
Like the offense, the Bobcat defense is also lacking experience and effectiveness. Redshirt senior Roman Parodile is moving to cornerback for 2024 after playing in other positions for the past three years. Staying on the theme of inexperience, Pardoile’s defensive counterpart Adonis Wilson is going into his third year with the Bobcats and has raked up just two pass breakups in 568 career coverage attempts. All of this shows that on both sides of the ball, Ohio’s roster is lacking in-game experience. The Orange are more than capable of taking full advantage on Saturday in the dome.
Matchup history vs Syracuse
All-time, the Orange are undefeated against the Bobcats. The two teams have only met three times, most recently in 2021. In that week one matchup three years ago, SU came out on top 29-9. Before that, the two squads hadn’t played since 1921. Syracuse has beaten Ohio by at least 20 in every matchup so far, and it still hasn’t let the Bobcats score a single point in the dome in two games.
