Sports
Ohio Football: Season filled with highs and lows ends in historic moment for Ohio
By: Thomas Garverick
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BOISE, Idaho — In a season where Ohio’s vision never came to fruition.
“It was not easy for anybody in the program to accept what kind of happened to us in terms of not getting it done at the level that we believed we were going to get it done at,” head coach Frank Solich said. “It would have been very easy to kind of let things slide, not come out to practice with the same kind of enthusiasm and effort as if you’re going down the stretch battling for a MAC championship.”
But this Ohio team made sure to finish strong, the pain and heartache of the all the losses they endured this season fueled the Bobcats to go out on top.
“They didn’t let that happen. They came out every day with a lot of pride, ready to go,” Solich said. “If it was coming off a defeat, it was to bounce back. If it was coming off of a win, it was just to get better and win more.
And while Ohio still chases a MAC Championship, Solich’s tenure has still been defined by winning. 11 winning seasons in his 15 seasons as head coach. Ohio had just 10 winning seasons in 43 years prior to Solich’s arrival to Athens.
“I felt all along that it was a school we would be able to build, have some kind of repetition in terms of big wins and wins that will move your program forward,” Solich said.
“Although we weren’t able to win MAC championships while I was here, we were able to make history in a different way, win three bowl games,” quarterback Nathan Rourke said. “I’m proud to be a part of that.”