Ball State at Ohio

The Bobcats have played a soft schedule in the early going to post a 4-2 mark on the season. Last week they were stung on the road by a rather weak Buffalo team, allowing 38 points in the process to a poor offensive club. The defense allowed a combined 20 points to Marshall, Gardner Webb, and Kent State - arguably three of the weakest offenses in the country. They have been exposed vs. average offenses for big points, and as a better than a two TD favorite here, they are in dangerous territory. Ball State faced three very good defenses in Oklahoma, Temple and South Florida and scored a combined 13 points in those games. But vs. average defenses they have responded with 34.3 points per game. The Cardinals got shellacked last game losing 62-6, allowing Oklahoma to put up over 650 yards of offense. As a result, they could be underestimated here. They are 16-4 ATS in their last 20 road games following an embarrassing game in which they were outgained by 175+ yards. This team has posted a 20-8 ATS mark in their last 28 as a road dog, and clearly can score enough to get it done against Ohio. The Cardinals are a perfect 6-0 ATS the past three seasons after back-to-back ATS losses. This is a good bounce-back spot for Ball State and they are certainly a candidate for a backdoor cover at the very least.