Wednesday, Dec. 19 -- 8 p.m. ET
Toyota Stadium -- Frisco, Texas
The Bobcats, preseason favorites to win the MAC East, fell short -- even after drubbing East champ Buffalo 52-17. Of their four losses, only one was by more than four points.
The ‘Cats won five of their last six games, though, and that was more than enough to reach a post-season bowl game again. It’s Ohio’s 10th bowl appearance in the last 13 years.
Providing the opposition in another team that has enjoyed considerable success. San Diego State’s active streak of nine straight bowl games is tied for 12th nationally.
Here’s more on the matchup:
FRISCO … AS IN TEXAS
The Bobcats and Aztecs are meeting in Frisco TEXAS!, so there is nothing California about this bowl.
Frisco is located in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metro Area. Among the local sites is the National Videog Game Museum.
TIE-BREAKER
Ohio has played two previous bowl games in the state of Texas -- losing one and winning one. West Texas State edged Ohio 15-14 back in 1962. The Bobcats, however, prevailed over North Texas 31-30 (OT) in in 2009.
SAN DIEGO STATE (7-5, 4-4 MWC)
➤➤ SDSU’s fortunes faltered late in the season. The Aztecs lost their last three and four of the last five outings. The most recent was a 31-30 overtime setback at home against Hawaii.
➤➤ The Aztecs are members of the Mountain West Conference. They managed to reach bowl eligibility again despite having just 14 seniors on the team. Of the 10 players named to All-Mountain West teams, only four were seniors.
➤➤ Linebacker Kyahva Tezino and offensive lineman Keith Ismael earned First Team honors. The latter has the best run blocking grade in the league (per PFF) and committed just two penalties. He split time at guard and center.
Tezino, a sophomore, has has put together an amazing season, totaling 120 tackles, 14.5 TFL, 8.5 sacks and 15 quarterback hurries.
➤➤ SDSU has played 10 consecutive games decided by single digits. That is the longest such streak by any FBS team since at least 1980
➤➤ Quarterback Christian Chapman made 31 straight starts before suffering an MCL sprain. He came off the bench in the victory at New Mexico and has started the last two games.
➤➤ Chapman has completed 57.5 percent of his passes, while junior Ryan Agnew connected on 52.3 percent, tossing 10 TDs and five interceptions.
➤➤ Juwan Washington and Chase Jasmin are the Aztecs’ primary ball carriers. They have combined for 318 trips, 1,462 yards and 15 touchdowns.
➤➤ Fred Trevillion is averaging 27.2 yards per catch over 22 receptions. Kahale Warring has registered the most receptions (31 for 373 yards)Both players have three TD receptions.
➤➤ The 2018 Bobcats once again excelled on offense, They led the MAC with an average of 41.2 points per game. That figure was second-best in program history. Ohio also averaged 470.7 yards per outing,
➤➤ Junior quarterback Nathan Rourke is one of the MAC’s top quarterbacks. He is a dual threat who ran for 816 yards and completed 61.1 percent of his passes. His 2018 season has included career-highs in yards (2,228) and touchdown passes (22). In all, Rourke has accounted for 3,044 yards of total offense.
➤➤ Senior A.J. Ouellette leads the team with 184 carries for 1,142 yards. Both he and Rourke reached the end zone 12 times this year.
Maleek Irons is also a solid contributor to the ground game, picking up 831 yards on 128 carries and scoring eight touchdowns.
➤➤ Papi White tops the receiving corps with 58 catches for 897 yards and nine scores.
➤➤ Kicker Louie Zervos has hit all 65 extra point tries and 11 of 15 field goal attempts, with a long of 47.
➤➤ A victory over San Diego State would clinch Ohio’s second straight season with at least nine wins. It would also be the sixth season with at least nine wins during the team’s 14 years under head coach Frank Solich.