The Bears head back to the state of Ohio to take on a MAC opponent for the second straight season.
Morgan State (1-1) has not played many FBS foes in the last several years except for on the road at Akron in 2023. In that one, the Bears were on the cusp of victory with only a miracle play giving Akron a 24-21 win. With less than a minute to play and the ESPN ‘Win Predictor’ meter as close as possible to 100 percent in the Bears favor, Akron star defensive end CJ Nunnally IV stripped the running back of the ball and the Zips Brian McCoy scooped and scored on a 13-yard touchdown return for the comeback win.
The Bears didn’t seal the deal against the Zips but head to Ohio (1-1) after a year of growth to take another shot and see if they can close out the final minutes against another MAC foe.
With that, we will take a look at each squad starting with the visitors.
Game notes
- Time and date: Saturday September 14th, 2024 at 3:30 p.m. Eastern
- Location: Frank Solich Field at Peden Stadium in Athens, Ohio
- TV network options: The game will be streamed exclusively on ESPN+. A valid subscription is required.
- Radio options: Marty Bannister (play-by-play) and Rob Cornelius (color) will provide commentary for Ohio on WXTQ-FM 105.5. For Morgan State, the flagship station is WEAA-FM 88.9, with Lamont Germany (play-by-play) and Renard Stubbs (color) providing commentary.
- All-time series: First meeting
About the Morgan State Bears
The Bears will take the field on Saturday under the guidance of third-year head coach Damon Williams, a very successful coaching veteran of 25 years. Before joining Morgan State, Williams won three conference championships at Bowie State University.
At his press conference this week, coach Williams discussed two keys to victory, with the first one being to minimize self-inflicted wounds and the second one to match physicality.
“We must match the physicality involved,” Williams said in press availability. “These guys [Ohio] are really gonna get after it in all three phases and we must match their intensity.”
The lead Bear brings an experienced defense to Peden Stadium with seven returning starters from a squad that held the Zips last year to just 10 offensive points— even with one of those drives starting in the red zone.
The defense was stingy last week, allowing just 14 points to Towson while surrendering 28 to the Hampton Pirates in the season opener.
The Bears have performed well despite the loss of their star linebacker Eric Hunter, who is recovering from injury and has not played yet this season. The 2023 first-team all-MEAC player is not listed on the depth chart this week versus the ‘Cats.
The defense features star defensive end senior Elijah Williams, who has been a nightmare for opponents over the years with 22 career sacks and 39.5 tackles-for-loss. With seven more sacks, Elijah Williams would move into first place all-time in program history ahead of Christopher Robinson, who finished with 28.5 sacks. So far in 2024, he already has two sacks.
The Bobcats have surrendered some sacks and tackles-for-loss against good opponents early on so Williams should test Ohio’s growth in this area.
Another player to look for won’t be hard to find in linebacker Arturo Mattocks as he is a tackling machine, ranked fifth in the conference with 15 stops.
Offensively, so far, the Bears have managed 39 total points in two games, averaging 284 yards per contest with most of those being on the ground.
Morgan State planted a fair amount of seeds in 2023 that they hope will bear fruit this year.
The offensive line started four freshmen last year, three of whom return as starters with some upperclassmen rounding out the group.
2023 was a bit of a carousel, with four QBs playing throughout the season but the 2024 starter Tahj Smith emerged down the stretch last year to lock up the job.
Smith is a dual-threat guy that will definitely run the ball whether it is on scrambles or called plays averaging over ten totes per contest this year.
While the passing game hasn’t been especially prolific with 274 total yards, including 74 yards on a single play, it has also exhibited signs of growth. For instance, Smith finished the last year completing 41 percent of his throws but under new offensive coordinator Apollo Wright that number has jumped to 64 percent.
About the Ohio Bobcats
Photo by Peter Joneleit/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
The ‘Cats come off a 10-win season in 2023 reloading with a roster that saw a number of portal additions and subtractions.
Coming off a 27-20 win against a tenacious South Alabama squad last week, the Bobbies look to continue to improve as they march through the non-conference schedule.
There is a lot to like so far in all three in all phases with areas to grow to boot as all the parts come together and injuries heal.
Offensively, the outline of what the Bobcats will be in 2024 is pretty clear. If the Bears want to walk away from Athens as a winner, they will have to find a way to slow down Ohio’s rushing attack.
So far this year, Ohio has rushed for 462 yards and dominated the clock in stretches behind a trio of talented ball carriers: quarterback Parker Navarro and running backs Anthony Tyus III and Rickey Hunt.
The team has been adept in creating holes with the offensive line and other blockers while the backs have shown some real vision at other times in finding daylight.
In addition to rushing for over 100 yards so far, Navarro also has established a trio of wideouts in Coleman Owen, Chase Hendricks, and Rodney Harris II. Overall, Navarro has rung up 385 yards, with Owen leading the way with 15 catches for 170 yards.
Expect the ‘Cats to continue to grow in the area of pass catchers as additional wideouts and tight ends like Mason Williams get their chances.
Defensively, Ohio is still forging its identity as a glut of injuries at linebacker and defensive back forced Ohio to reach way down the depth chart for the next man up in the first few games. When Ohio’s starters return and with the experience gained by backups, the ‘Cats should continue to improve throughout the year.
Last week, the ‘Cats surrendered 339 total yards to an offense with good skill players. Despite the injuries, the bend-but-don’t-break Bobcats checked a lot of the boxes, allowing only 109 yards rushing total, about half of that on a single drive.
The “Cats are on track to have one of the better defensive lines in the MAC this year based on the depth at defensive end, where significant contributions are being made. Defensive end Bradley Weaver is the clear leader of the group but there are so many contributors like Marcel Walker-Burgess, who had a productive game last week with five tackles and a pass-defensed.
The back end is led by second-year starter at safety, Austin Brawley, who plays with a lot of physicality and leads the squad with 19 tackles.
Final Thoughts
“Games are won and lost in the trenches” and Ohio should prevail on both sides of the ball there despite players like Morgan State’s defensive end Williams who will make plays.
The Bobcats running game should be able to be very productive as they have a knack for creating and finding cracks in the defense so far this year.
Ohio’s defensive line is deep particularly at end and should stay fresh to continue their brand of attacking defense with plenty of movement.
Ohio 34-10.