Regardless of whether Brad Bower or Theo Scott starts under center for the Bobcats tomorrow afternoon, there’s one thing the Bobcats are sure of: the tremendous pressure that either signal-caller will face from Eastern Michigan’s front four.

“They’re extremely strong,” offensive coordinator Tim Albin said. “Their four down guys will be the best four we’ve faced probably at this point of the year. We’ve just got to be smart with our protection schemes the best we can.”

Eastern Michigan (2-4, 1-1 Mid-American Conference) leads the MAC in tackles for a loss with 44 (139 yards), with 12.5 coming from defensive tackle Jason Jones. Ranked third in the nation with a 2.08 tackles for loss per game average, Jones sits atop MAC defensive stats and has 2.5 sacks, five quarterback hurries, a pass breakup and a blocked punt so far this season as well.

“He’s a penetrator, so we’ll have to find some way to handle him,” said Ohio offensive lineman David White, who is likely to start for the second straight week at center for the injured Tommy Stuck. Listed at 6-foot-1, 289 pounds, White added that he’d have to be very conscientious of his placement against the Eagles’ bigger tackles, Jones and Josh Hunt, who are 6-foot-1, 270 pounds and 6-foot-4, 296 pounds respectively.

“It’s going to be extra important for me to get my hands inside, because they’re taller, and they’ve got longer arms. So that’s going to be something I’ll have to concentrate on a lot,” White said.

Although the Eagles’ defense allows 27 points and 393.7 yards per game, coach Frank Solich emphasized that the Bobcats (2-4, 0-2 MAC) must hold the Eagles’ pass rush at bay continually if they hope to snap their current four-game losing streak.

“We’re not protecting the passer very well,” Solich said. “The number of sacks given up (16 for a loss of 106 yards) is not the whole picture, because there were an awful lot of hurries when our quarterbacks had to throw and some collisions immediately after the throw.

“That’s one thing we’re going to have to really adjust and do much better at this week,” Solich added. “They’re to get some penetration and make things work. That doesn’t match up well with how we’ve been playing and what’s showing for us.”

At the midpoint of the season, Ohio and Eastern Michigan are two of the worst offensive teams in the MAC. The Bobcats’ inconsistent offense sits at 11th in the conference, averaging 315.3 yards per game, while the Eagles are last with a paltry 265.2 yards per game.

The Bobcats backed themselves into a corner far too often on third down as well, where they have a MAC-worst 32.7 percent conversion rate. But the Eagles aren’t much better, second worst at 33 percent.

Because the Eagles give up an average of 192 rushing yards per game, Albin hopes the Ohio offense will finally get its running game on track and capitalize on more opportunities to move downfield.

“The biggest thing is staying out of third-and-long,” Albin said. “You’re going to be in some of those, but we’re in way too many, and that’s not taking business on early downs. The key is we’re going to have to run the football, and we’ve struggled doing that.”