Milestone watch: Ohio can start 5-0 in the MAC for the first time since 1997 tonight at Akron

Ohio opens Tuesday MACtion tonight at Akron with a chance to do something the program hasn't done in almost 30 years. The Bobcats are 6-2 and 4-0 in the Mid-American Conference, their first 4-0 league start since 1997, and a win at InfoCision Stadium would make them 5-0 in the MAC for the first time since that season. Kickoff is 7 p.m. ET on ESPN2.

Akron is 1-7, 0-4 in the conference and on a six-game losing streak. After Sacramento State beat Kent State last week, the Zips are the only MAC team without a conference win. Both teams are coming off byes.

How they stack up

1. Scoring. Ohio averages 29.6 points and allows 21.9. Akron scores 19 a game, 127th in FBS, and allows 32.8, 128th.
2. Running the ball. The Bobcats run for 192.4 yards a game, 29th in FBS. Akron gives up 185.6 on the ground, 118th.
3. Turnovers. Akron is minus-8 in turnover margin, one of the worst marks in FBS. Brayden Roggow has thrown for 1,343 yards with seven touchdowns and nine interceptions.
4. Akron's best player. Senior running back Jordan Gant ran for 162 yards and two touchdowns against Kent State and has 618 yards and six scores on the season. Akron led that game 17-14 before Kent State scored 21 straight points.
5. The Ohio stars. Riley Neer leads the Bobcats with 497 receiving yards and five touchdowns. Michael Molnar had 18 tackles in the 24-20 win over Eastern Michigan, which Ohio won on Darren James-Hamilton's 100-yard kickoff return touchdown.
6. Series. Ohio has won seven straight against Akron and is going for an eighth. The teams didn't play last season.

The take

Ohio has no business losing this game, and a slip here would wreck a season built on beating the teams it should. Both of the Bobcats' losses came on the road, and they've had to grind out wins like the Eastern Michigan game. After tonight comes a trip to Miami (OH) next Tuesday. Ohio needs this one to look like a 6-2 team against a 1-7 team, and if Akron hangs around into the fourth quarter again, that tells you more about the Bobcats than about the Zips.

Watch whether Ohio can run on a defense that has given up big yardage all year. If Victor Rosa and the Ohio ground game get going early, 5-0 should follow.