The 2024 Cure Bowl will feature two conference champions the Ohio Bobcats (MAC) and the Jacksonville State Gamecocks (Conference USA). It will also be a game featuring teams with interim head coaches. Offensive coordinator and quarterback coach will lead Jacksonville State Rod Smith is stepping in for Rich Rodriguez who left to return to West Virginia. Associate head coach Brian Smith will coach the Bobcats. Ohio head coach Tim Albin is taking over the Charlotte job. Both teams will feature quarterbacks that are a big part of the rushing attack. The game will be played on Friday, December 12th at noon Eastern and will be broadcast on ESPN.
2024 Cure Bowl Preview
Ohio Bobcats
The Ohio Bobcats went 10-3 this season and defeated Miami (Ohio) in the MAC Championship Game 38-3. They feature the top offense and rushing attack in the MAC. Running back Anthony Tyus III rushed for 1,111 yards this season to lead the conference and he found the endzone nine times. Quarterback Parker Navarro was second on the team with 943 yards and scored 15 touchdowns. Navarro was solid through the air passing for 2,169 yards with 12 scores. When the Bobcats do throw the ball, All-MAC wide receiver Coleman Owen will be the go-to target. Owen caught 67 passes and led the conference with 1,105 yards. He found the endzone eight times.
Defensively, the Bobcats were almost as good as the offense. They led the MAC in scoring defense giving up 17.5 points per game. Ohio was second in yards allowed at 296.8 per game. The defense had stars like the offense as well. Defensive lineman Bradley Weaver was second in the MAC with eight sacks and linebacker Shay Taylor had three. The other linebacker Blake Leake led the team with 84 tackles. In the secondary, Tank Pearson was one of the best in the conference with four interceptions.
Jacksonville State Gamecocks
The Jacksonville State Gamecocks enter the 2024 Cure Bowl with a 9-4 record and defeated Western Kentucky 52-12 to win the conference. Like Ohio, the Gamecocks led their conference in rushing. Jacksonville State puts up 267.3 yards per game and is led by Conference USA leading rusher Tre Stewart. He rushed for a total of 1,604 yards and scored 23 touchdowns. Quarterback Tyler Huff is a dual threat behind center. Huff was fourth in the conference with 2,179 yards passing with 13 touchdowns. He was second with 1,343 rushing yards.
The strength of the Gamecocks’ defense this season was their ability to get to the quarterback. They ranked third in Conference USA with 22 sacks. Defensive end J-Rock Swain is one of the key players with three and a half on the year. Safety Antonio Cater led the team in tackles with 97 and had one interception. The defense will be missing linebacker Reginald Hughes who has entered the transfer portal. He led the team with four and a half sacks.
Jacksonville State has a couple of defensive backs worth paying attention to. Fred Perry also had 97 tackles on the season and picked up three sacks. Geimere Latimer led the team with three interceptions on the season.
Who Wins the 2024 Cure Bowl?
Both Ohio and Jacksonville State seem to be equally matched. That is particularly the case with how both teams use the quarterback in the run game. Ohio will have the advantage as the better passing team with Owen on the outside at receiver. The Gamecocks will need to create pressure on Navarro and pick up some sacks. The Bobcats were really good at limiting their opponents to just 95.8 rushing yards per game. The ability to pass the ball will be the reason for a Bobcat victory on Friday. It will be a close game, but Ohio will win 27-20 in the 2024 Cure Bowl.
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