Sports

Both teams had very impressive showings in week one. The Aggies offense exploded for 49 points including 21 in the second quarter in a 49-14 romp over the Sacramento State Hornets of the FCS. New Mexico State sophomore quarterback Andrew Manley had an excellent day slinging the ball around, piling up 364 yards and 3 touchdowns on just 22 passing attempts. 

 

Manley threw touchdown bombs of 84, 54 and 50 yards in the win, including two of those to fellow sophomore wide receiver Austin Franklin, who had a monster game as well, with 8 receptions for 236 yards and the two touchdown receptions.

 

Ohio’s week one performance was also impressive, the ‘Cats hit the road to one of college football’s best environments and took an impressive 24-14 victory over Penn State back to Athens last Saturday. The backfield tandem of junior quarterback Tyler Tettleton and redshirt junior running back Beau Blankenship was unstoppable in the second half at Beaver Stadium. 

 

Tettleton lit up the Nittany Lion defense for 324 yards and two touchdowns through the air to go along with 47 yards rushing and a score on the ground. Blankenship ran hard all day and piled up 109 yards on 31 carries to complement his team leading seven receptions for 72 yards.

 

The Bobcats and Aggies met last season in Las Cruces, N.M. for the season opener. Ohio came away with a convincing 44-24 victory. Manley had a huge game and will look to exploit the Bobcats’ secondary for a second straight season as he flung it for 362 yards to go along with two scores and an interception last September.

 

Stopping the passing game will be a key for both defenses, and the team that defends the air assault better will have a great chance to start off the 2012 campaign 2-0. 

 

Ohio head coach Frank Solich has been working hard to stop the Bobcats from experiencing a Penn State hangover on Saturday. Ohio needs focus its whole attention on the Aggies. After Ohio’s nationally televised win over the Nittany Lions, the Bobcats expect big things for Saturday’s attendance. 

 

According to Dan Hauser, a spokesman for Ohio Athletics, there are only around 700 general admissions tickets available for the game. Most, if not all, tickets are expected to be sold by the 7 p.m. kickoff. The game will be televised on ESPN3.