Posted at 10:15 AM EST. Odds subject to change.

Pinnacle +119  BET365 +120 Sportsinteraction +120 888Sport +120

Ohio +120 over San Diego St

Snapdragon Stadium – San Diego, CA

Streaming: FS1

7:00 PM EST. Market perception and bias is going to be a motif of Week 0 and Week 1, just like Week 2 is one of the better times to take advantage of overreactions to the first week of results. In the case of the Ohio Bobcats, we are focusing on the former, as conference bias and pedigree are clearly in play here. You see, Ohio (not to be confused with Ohio State) plays in what many consider the worst conference in college football: the good old MAC. San Diego State, though a mid-major in their own right, has far more curb appeal because of a strong pedigree over the years.

San Diego State has knocked off some Power Five opponents in recent memory. The Aztecs have also hovered around the Top 25 on pretty much a yearly basis. San Diego State is expected to circle around the 10-win mark annually and are always classed as a contender for the Mountain West Conference title, which has far more clout than winning the MAC. When all of this is factored into the broth, laying a short tag with SDSU looks incredibly appetizing here.

If you’re paying attention, you’ll hear that Ohio quarterback Kurtis Rourke (A 3,000-yard passer last year) is a big question mark, as he was nicked up with an ACL tear to round off 2022. You will also hear that Ohio has lost their last 10 regular season non-conference games, minus their Arizona Bowl win to end 2022 against Wyoming (another team from the Mountain West). Rourke wasn’t available for the affair, but quarterback CJ Harris was perhaps the best player on the field that day in Tucson last year. So even if Rourke isn’t available, his back-up is a senior and very capable. Furthermore, oddsmakers are very aware of the QB situation so if you think they overlooked that, you would be wrong.

Let us leave with you this: with all things considered with regard to Ohio’s non-conference woes dating back to 2018, the fact they are from the MAC, and the aforementioned questions about Rourke, not to mention SDSU’s great pedigree and market presence over the years, why on Earth are the Bobcats only taking back a field goal in spite of all of this? It’s because the bookmakers are taking a strong position here that not only can Ohio make a game of this thing, but they are very likely going to win outright. Ohio won 10 games and played for the MAC Championship under skipper Tim Albin after going 3-9 under him in his first year of tenure. With the same nucleus and a renaissance year, Ohio is primed to make some massive noise in 2023 and we’ll gladly put that to the test here against a beatable San Diego State squad.

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