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FACTS & STATS: Site: Peden Stadium (24,000) -- Athens, Ohio. Television: SportsTimeOhio. Home Record: Ball State 2-1, Ohio 3-0. Away Record: Ball State 0-2, Ohio 1-2. Neutral Record: Ball State 1-0, Ohio 0-0. Conference Record: Ball State 1-1, Ohio 1-1. Series Record: Ball State leads, 13-8.

GAME NOTES: Ohio has been perfect at home this season and the Bobcats will look to continue their success in Athens when they host the Ball State Cardinals this Saturday afternoon in Mid-American Conference play at Peden Stadium.

The Cardinals were flying high to start the season, winning three of their first four games, with two of those wins coming against Indiana and Buffalo. However, since the win over the Bulls, the Cardinals have dropped two straight games, and have done so in ugly fashion, getting crushed by Oklahoma (62-6) and Temple (42-0).

The Bobcats also began their season on a high note, winning their first three games. Ohio outscored New Mexico State, Gardner-Webb and Marshall by a total of 118-34. However, things changed quickly for Frank Solich's squad, as the team has now lost two of its last three games, with the lone win being a narrow 17-10 decision over a weak Kent State team. That win was followed by a heartbreaking, 38-37 loss to Buffalo, dropping the Bobcats to 1-1 in league play.

In terms of the all-time series between the two schools, the Cardinals own a 13-8 edge over Ohio, but the Bobcats won the last meeting, defeating Ball State in 2010, 20-17.

The Cardinals have not scored a touchdown in their last 13 quarters of football, so needless to say the offense has fallen on hard times recently. The last touchdown for this unit came late in the third quarter against Army. Since then Ball State has been held to two field goals by Oklahoma and shut out by Temple.

In the loss to the Owls, the Cardinals finished with only 236 total yards and committed three turnovers. Keith Wenning had his second straight poor showing, as the quarterback threw for just 155 yards, was intercepted twice and sacked three times. The ground game was actually worse, as the Cardinals managed just 81 yards on 3.2 yards per carry.

If the team is going to be successful running the ball then Jahwan Edwards is going to have to be the main option. So far Edwards has rushed for 420 yards and six touchdowns, but he only has 88 of the team's 220 attempts.

Without a consistent rushing attack the pressure falls on Wenning, who has also had a problem with consistency. Wenning has only seven touchdowns on the year against five interceptions. The signal caller has completed nearly 65.0 percent of his throws, but he has to be more careful with the football.

The lack of offensive production is only half of the story for the Cardinals in the month of October. Since the calendar has chanced over to October the Cardinals have surrendered over 100 points in two games.

The main cause for the number outside the obvious level of competition is the poor effort given by the defense to stop the run. Opponents are gashing Ball State for 231. 2 ypg on the ground and over the last two matchups the defense has allowed 208 and 350 yards, respectively.

Ball State did not force a turnover in the contest and allowed Temple to convert 11-of-15 third down chances, and because of that this unit was worn down by playing over 36 minutes. Since the unit was on the field for over half of the game, a couple of players were extra busy. Travis Freeman racked up 16 tackles, while Kyle Hoke posted 11 stops. Freeman now has a team-best 61 tackles on the season.

Ball State's inability to stop the run might be just what Ohio needs to get back into the win column. The Bobcats have found plenty of success with pounding the ball and come into this game averaging 190.0 yards per game.

However, there is more than one horse in the stable for coach Solich. Ryan Boykin and Donte Harden have done a terrific job sharing time and come into this game with 326 and 306 yards, respectively. Boykin and Harden only have two rushing touchdowns though.

Quarterback Tyler Tettleton is a pass first gunslinger, and has been extremely efficient under center. The signal caller has completed 63.8 percent of his throws and comes into this game with 13 touchdowns against two interceptions. Five of those scores have gone to LaVon Brazill, who has been a tremendous weapon this year for Ohio.

Tettleton was not at his best though this past weekend, as the quarterback completed just 23-of-37 passes in the loss to Buffalo. The quarterback finished with only 203 yards and one score, but he was intercepted once and sacked four times.

The signal caller did add 66 yards and one score on the ground. Picking up for a soft passing attack was the ground game that finished with 239 yards. Along with Tettleton's production was Harden's 89 yards and one touchdown.

What coach Solich needs to figure out for this week is what happened to his defense. Ohio is usually very stingy defensively, but the unit was picked apart by a rather weak Buffalo passing attack.

Ohio was torched for 343 yards and two touchdowns in the loss to Buffalo, but that could prove to be an anomaly, because overall this unit has been strong in that area.

On the season the Bobcats are allowing just 209.3 ypg through the air and have collected 12 interceptions, while surrendering just eight touchdowns.

Ohio has forced 16 turnovers overall, but if the defense wants to perform better against the pass the team will need to improve on its pressure, because through six games the Bobcats have just 12 sacks, three of which have come from Nic Barber, who has played in just four games.

The Bobcats don't usually play that poorly defensively and coach Solich should have his squad much better prepared for this contest. Look for the defense to tighten up, while the offense should punish Ball State with the run.

Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Ohio University 34, Ball State 10