Sports
Ohio Football Receives 2 Votes in Coach’s Poll
By: John Jarosik
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The Ohio Bobcats (8-2, 5-1) received two votes in the USA Today Amway Coaches poll, a ranking of the top teams throughout the country. This is the first time since 2012, when they started the year off 7-0, that the Bobcats have received votes in the poll.
After beating undefeated Toledo (8-2, 5-1) 38-10 last Wednesday, the polls and the rest of the country are starting to take notice of the season Ohio is having. With the victory against Toledo, the Bobcats control their own destiny as they attempt to book a trip to Detroit and the Mid-American Conference Championship game.
The Bobcats are coming off two huge victories against Miami and Toledo in back-to-back weeks as they head into another big matchup against Akron on Tuesday night.
If the Bobcats are able to prevail over Akron this week, they will clinch the MAC East Division title and return to the MAC Championship Game for the second consecutive season.
“We won’t vary things very much. You have to make sure you’re not trying to build too much hype into a game because there’s another game after that. Sometimes too much hype can lead to you not playing well,” head coach Frank Solich said during his weekly press conference.
Ohio looks to have the same performance in the run game against an Akron team that is giving up 185.8 yards per game on the ground this season. The Bobcats are coming off a season-high 393 rushing yards and four touchdowns against a Toledo team that was ranked second in the MAC in rushing yards allowed.
“When guys are pounding down on you play-after-play; defensive lineman have to take on a physical offensive lineman, and then here comes a running back that is a good size and physical. Play-after-play of that can wear you down,” Solich said.
Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. at InfoCision Stadium and can be seen on ESPN2.