Sitting at 4-1, (1-0 MAC) near the midway point of the season, the Ohio Bobcats seem to be trending in the right direction as they zone in on their Mid-American Conference foes for the rest of the season.

But there’s still a glaring issue on this Bobcat team that could hinder them from defending their MAC East title. On Monday, Bobcats head coach Frank Solich acknowledged the obvious concern with his team so far: The defense.

“I was certainly pleased with the back-to-back road wins,” Solich said of his team’s victories at Eastern Michigan and Umass over the past two weeks. “We put a lot of points on the board, but we allowed [Umass] to put too many points on the board.”

Cliché as it sounds, Solich isn’t dancing around the fact that his defense allowed a winless Minutemen team to put up 50 points in what have should’ve been a tune-up game before shifting their focus to conference play.

Instead, Solich said that he and the coaching staff will be making changes to help out the defense.

“Maybe our coaching staff is throwing too much at our guys,” Solich said. “Maybe it’s just a day of them not executing the way we know they can. We are looking at everything from alignments to coverages, how we coach it to how we call our defensive formations and we will make some changes.”

The Bobcat defense will need to clean up it’s act against a Central Michigan (2-3) (0-1 MAC) team that historically has given Ohio fits. The Chippewas have won 24 of the 29 career meetings between the two schools, including the last three contests.

“I wish I had a good answer,” Solich said of the Chippewas having the Bobcats number. “They’ve been a good, physical football team when we’ve played them. You would think that would be a good matchup, but for some reason, we just have not gotten it done. We have another opportunity this week at home.”

This won’t be the same Chippewa team that the Bobcats are accustomed to seeing. They come in losers of three straight.

Over that three-game stretch, senior starting quarterback Shane Morris and this offense has only been able to generate 39 total points. That’s a recipe for this Bobcat defense to finally get back on track, especially at home.

If the defense does its part, the Bobcats should be able to cap off homecoming week with a bang as long as sophomore quarterback Nathan Rourke and redshirt junior running back A.J. Ouellette continue to drive what has been an offensive juggernaut in the first five games of the season.

Kickoff is set for 2 p.m. ET on Saturday at Peden Stadium.

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It was a grind-it-out game for the Ohio Bobcats (4-1,1-0) on Saturday afternoon as they left Massachusetts with a 58-50 victory over the UMass Minutemen (0-6). This was a back and forth battle from the opening kickoff to the final whistle, but Ohio prevailed despite losing two defensive players Cleon Aloese and Illyass Motley to targeting penalties throughout the game.

The Bobcats were led by quarterback Nathan Rourke, despite being limited in practice the entire week, and running back A.J. Ouellette right from the first offensive drive. Between the two of them, they contributed six touchdowns to the Bobcats offense and kept the Minutemen on their heels all afternoon.

It was the first time since facing Kansas last season, that two Bobcats rushed for over 100 yards in a game. Rourke finished with 181 yards passing while contributing 113 yards on the ground and Ouellette had 125 yards rushing on 12 carries and 26 receiving yards.

The Bobcats finished the game with 292 yards as a team on the ground after establishing the run right from their opening drive. In addition to the running game, the Bobcats got their pass game going with 181 yards through the air.

Wide receiver Brendan Cope had a career day with seven receptions, 125 yards, and one touchdown.

This was a big-time win for the Bobcats, facing a team that was hungry for their first victory of the season.

Despite giving up a season-high 50 points and 550 total yards, the Bobcats defense had some bright spots, forcing two turnovers in back to back possessions during the first quarter. Another highlight for the Bobcats was their special teams play.

Returner Julian Ross had a season-high 156 yards returning kickoffs in this game and kicker Louie Zervos was 3-for-3 in field goal attempts.

With this victory, the Bobcats finish the non-conference schedule with an impressive 3-1 record while averaging 45 points per game. Now that the non-conference part of the schedule is over, all that is left for the Bobcats is some MACtion.

The Bobcats play at Peden Stadium for the first time in three weeks next Saturday when they face off against Central Michigan. Ohio is looking for revenge after falling to the Chippewa’s 27-20 last season in Mt. Pleasant.

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Javon Hagan’s job as a safety for the Ohio Bobcats is to be the last line of defense and to ensure no one rips off long gains or touchdowns. However, he’s taken up a second, somewhat recreational job: stealing opponent’s towels.

Hagan’s shenanigans finally got noticed when he Tweeted out a video of himself nabbing a Kansas player’s towel. The tweet went viral with over 14,000 retweets and over 33,000 favorites. The second-year safety has been snatching towels long before his viral tweet.

“I’ve been doing it since last year. I do it in practice but it’s just to have fun. I give the towels back to the players who I take it from,” Hagan said.

Hagan takes his job very seriously as he’s been a reliable defender for the 3-1 Bobcats, helping secure their first Mid-American Conference win over Eastern Michigan with seven tackles. On the other hand, it’s nice to goof around and that’s preciously why Hagan steals the towels.

“Just having fun, for real. Just to add humor to the game, but I’m still focused on the field. I’m still keen on making plays,” Hagan said.

What started as an innocent joke on the practice field soon made its way into live game action. The first time he ever took a towel was last year versus Western Michigan. He took a random player’s towel and then took the towel of wide receiver Corey Davis, who later went on to be drafted in the first round by the Tennessee Titans. From there on out, Hagan just had to get his hands on opponent’s towels.

“It first started at Western Michigan and it was an immediate reaction and it just went on from there,” Hagan said. “I did it in a bowl game. I do it a lot but they don’t normally catch me on TV.”

The cameras finally caught up to Hagan. After the video went viral, Hagan was shocked at how fast it grew.

“It was crazy man. To see NFL players talk about it, it’s just crazy,” said Hagan.

Despite all the love and positive interactions Hagan’s has received from these antics, not all the players find it funny. Against Eastern Michigan this past weekend, Hagan finally found someone who was not too happy about his towel thievery.

“Dude pushed me, I tried to draw the flag but they didn’t throw it though. I was like “that’s a flag” and he pushed me and said stop taking my towel,” Hagan explained with a smirk on his face.

Hagan knows his limits though. If Ohio were to be on the wrong side of a big deficit, he knows it’s his job to focus on the game. But in the meantime, he’s been a self-proclaimed “thief in the night”, all just to bring some fun to the field.

This week, the humor goes on the road as Hagan and company travel up to Amherst, Massachusetts to take on the 0-5 UMass Minuteman. Kick-off is set for Saturday at 3:30 p.m.

 

 

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Ohio football (3-1,1-0) started conference play on a high note against the Eastern Michigan Eagles last Saturday with a 27-20 double-overtime victory. The Bobcats got revenge against the Eagles for last year’s 27-20 loss in Peden Stadium.

Ohio now travels to Amherst, Massachusetts, to go up against the UMass Minutemen (0-5) in their final non-conference bout of the season.

Besides a victory, there is something else on the line for Bobcats head coach Frank Solich as he goes for his 150^th career victory. Solich in his career as a head coach is (149-87) with a .631 win percentage.

“We’re going to be playing UMass now with the second road trip in a row for us. This is an important point in our season to play two very good games on the road,” Solich said in his press conference on Monday.

Solich and the Bobcats look to keep their perfect record against the Minutemen with the hope of taking a 3-0 all-time series lead when the final whistle blows Saturday. The last meeting between these two teams was back in 2013 when the Bobcats blew out the Minutemen 51-23 at Peden Stadium.

The only other matchup between the teams came the year before when the Bobcats traveled to Foxborough and came away with an exciting 37-34 victory.

This will be the first game between the two former conference rivals since UMass left the Mid-American Conference in 2015.

Ohio is primed to rely heavily on the run game once again. The Bobcats average 197 yards per game on the ground this season. Lead running back A.J. Ouellette is coming off another huge game, rushing for 145 yards on 26 carries against EMU, and winning his second consecutive offensive player of the week award.

“He has tremendous energy every time he steps out on the field. The line loves to block for him. He’s coming off a year that was difficult for him and difficult for us, and it’s hard to come off a year like that and play well, but that’s exactly what he’s doing,” Solich said.

Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. at Warren McGuirk Alumni Stadium.

 

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After an impressive 2-0 start to the season, the Ohio Bobcats will look to keep the early season success alive when they travel to take on the Navy Midshipmen this weekend.

“Progressively throughout the weekend we just got better,” senior assistant captain Mike Palasics said.  “From the first period on Friday to the last period on Saturday we could tell throughout the game we were getting better and better.”

Head coach Sean Hogan also thought the team played well in their first weekend series.  But as always he hammered home the importance of the team not forgetting the basics because that is essential to playing top-level hockey.

“The effort is there, the work ethic is there so far and the physicality is there but some of our habits aren’t there.” Hogan said. “We are trying to do too much individually at times so we are going to have to continue to hammer home the importance of our habits and playing the right way.

Once again the Bobcats are already showing they are a deep team once again, as 16 out of their 25 players on the roster recorded a point last weekend.  This will help the Bobcats moving forward because their opposition will not be able to focus on just one or two lines.

As for this weekend’s matchup, No. 3 Ohio will travel to the Naval academy to face Navy.  This will be the first time in Ohio hockey history they travel there to play the Midshipmen.

Every road game is a challenge for Ohio and Hogan knows his team will need to come out early and set the tone.

“The first period is the most important one for us in each game when you are on the road, we want to go out there, set the tempo and not make too many mistakes,” Hogan said. “We want to play at a fast pace and then as the game goes on we get better.”

Palasics echoed Hogan’s comments about setting the tone early, especially in a hostile environment.

“Wherever we go, as long as we set the tone right away and we execute our game plan, I think we’ll be fine no matter who the opponent is,” Palasics said after practice.  “If we don’t go out there and set the tone right away, it could be an interesting weekend.”

While going over the scouting report this week, Hogan and the assistant coaches found some areas where the Midshipmen could give the Bobcats trouble.  However a specific area of concern brought up is somewhere Hogan actually thinks his team could gain an advantage, if they play smart.

“[Navy] is aggressive, but I think we can take advantage of that,” Hogan said. “They are an aggressive team but we’re playing on a bigger rink this weekend so if we can be faster we’ll have the advantage.”

Especially on the power play Hogan is hoping that Navy’s aggressiveness will be something Ohio exploits, but that will only work if the team can make crisp passes and move the puck efficiently.

Even with the larger size rink in Annapolis this weekend, Hogan does not think it will take long for the team to adjust.

“It’ll take us a few minutes for sure,” Hogan said.  “It’ll probably take about a half a period to get up to speed, we just have to go out there and match their intensity because it is their home opener and will be a loud and exciting place to play so we just have to make sure to be ready.”

The team’s main focus is to go out each week and be better than the last game and win games.  However the hunger to not only get back to the national championship game but this time win it, is something that drives the team.  Especially the three seniors.

“It’s funny, me and [Jake] Faiella and [Drew] Crandall were talking about how we had a bunch of young guys and going that far in the tournament, gaining that experience and knowing what it takes to get there, it drives in every guy’s mind that we can make it back there with the guys we have,” Palasics said.  “We know what it takes to get there, we just have to go out there and play our game, if we do that, we’ll be fine.”

 

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A.J. Ouellette carried the Ohio Bobcats to their second straight win on Saturday, and he also carried himself to his second straight Mid-American Conference East Division Offensive Player of the Week Award.

After a 102 yard rushing performance against the Kansas Jayhawks in week three, the redshirt junior rumbled and hurdled his way to 145 yards rushing and 42 yards receiving in Ypsilanti over the Eastern Michigan Eagles.

“I don’t know if I have seen as many running backs that get as low as he gets going into contact. You can come in thinking you’re going to cut his legs out from under him, but his pad level is right where you’re coming. He’s able to stay on his feet, have great balance, and rack up some yards after contact” said Ohio head coach Frank Solich when asked about Ouellette.

The Covington, Ohio, native missed nearly all of last season due to injury. Ouellette has come back better than ever. Through four games, Ouellette has racked up 348 yards rushing and 2 touchdowns leading the Bobcats to a 3-1 record, including the crucial win over conference foe Eastern Michigan on Saturday.

Saturday marked Aj Ouellette’s seventh career 100-yard rushing performance for the Ohio Bobcats, and his second this season

Ouellette and the Bobcats will travel to Amherst, Massachusetts to battle 0-5 UMass this Saturday. Ouellette will have an opportunity for another big game against a Minutemen defense that allows 4.4 yards per carry.

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The Ohio Bobcats continued their hot start in conference play with a shutout victory, 3-0, over Central Michigan.

The first half was a back-and-forth affair with many chances for both sides. Central Michigan had two early on, the first one coming just five minutes into the game. Madison Costner dribbled her way past a few Bobcat defenders to find herself on the very left edge of the penalty area, where she made a low pass to the Chippewas’ all-time scoring leader, Lexi Pelafas. Pelafas drilled a low shot at goal, but Ohio goalkeeper Sydney Malham came up with a confident save. Two minutes later, the Chippewas’ Savannah Beecher sent in a looping cross from a corner kick, headed for the back post. A clean header was sent towards goal, but again Malham came up with a save to keep the game scoreless.

Ohio’s breakthrough came nine minutes into the game. Central Michigan was passing the ball around in their own territory, and senior striker Allie Curry came up with an interception on the edge of the penalty area. She passed the ball forward to fellow senior Hannah Jaggers, who took one touch to set herself up on the right side of the penalty area. Her shot was a beautiful curling ball across the goal and landing on the inside netting, just inside the post, giving Chippewa goalkeeper Zoie Reed no chance to save it.

The Chippewas would have another great opportunity to score when Madison Costner found the ball at her feet inside the penalty area with only the goalkeeper to beat, but Malham would not be beaten today making a great save on the powerful shot, one of her seven saves on the day. Ohio would have another good opportunity before the end of the half as well. Sarina Dirrig was on the receiving end of a great ball on the right side of the penalty area, and after a few dribbles, she put a low shot to the left side of the goal. Reed came up with a great save, diving to her right and pushing the ball wide of goal with an outstretched arm.

In the second half, things were less fast-paced and back and forth, but there were still plenty of goal-scoring chances. Four minutes into the half, a bouncing ball was fought for by both Jaggers and Reed on the edge of the 18-yard box. Reed slid into the legs of Jaggers and Jaggers went to ground. Referee Jamie Duling pointed to the spot and gave a yellow card to Reed. Curry stepped up to take the penalty kick for Ohio, and she powerfully placed the ball in the top left corner for a 2-0 Bobcats advantage.

The third and final goal for the Bobcats came in the 70^th minute when Courtney Daugerdas worked her way around the Central Michigan back line and had only the goalkeeper Reed to beat. Reed came away from the byline towards Daugerdas, and Daugerdas unselfishly pushed the ball across the face of goal where Sara Kattainen was waiting for the tap-in, her first goal of the season for the Bobcats.

The Bobcats (5-5-0, 2-0-0) travel to Muncie, Illinois to take on Ball State next Friday, and the Chippewas (5-4-1, 0-2-0) head home to Mount Pleasant, Michigan for a Friday matchup with the Akron Zips.

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After losing six straight, four of them being sweeps, the Ohio volleyball team (7-9, 1-1 MAC) have been looking for some kind of answer these last three weeks. The team, who had just been defeated by Buffalo the night before, were given another opportunity, this time against East Division rival Akron (5-9, 1-1 MAC), who were coming off their first conference win against Kent State on Friday.

In the end, it would be the Bobcats who’d come out of the James A. Rhodes Arena victorious, taking the match in four sets and earning them their first win in league play this season.

In their match against Buffalo the night before, it was Sophomore outside hitter Lizzie Stephens and Freshman middle blocker Tia Jimerson who’d led the team with 13 kills apiece. Tonight, it was the same old story, with Stephens getting the first started on her first of many kills. Despite a relatively close match early on, OU quickly took matters into their own hand, pulling away after going on a 9-2 run which came as a result of efforts from redshirt Senior Ali Lake who knocked in three kills, another two from both Jimerson and Junior setter/outside hitter Stephanie Olman, as well as a service ace from Sophomore libero Meredith Howe. From there, the Zips had no chance for a comeback, falling to OU in the first set, 25-15.

The Zips had no problem responding back in the second set, keeping their distance from OU for nearly the entire set. The Bobcat’s offense was locked down, tallying up only six kills, committing 10 attack errors and finishing the set with an attack percentage of only -.148. Akron’s Kayla Gwozdz would lead the team with four kills in their second set win, 25-18.

Recently, the Bobcats have often had trouble getting back into games following set losses of that magnitude. In the third set, the Bobcat’s got things started early, pulling away quickly off an 8-4 run in the beginning following back-to-back service aces from Stephens, a pair of kills from Lake and another kill from Sophomore middle blocker/outside hitter Sara Januszewski. From there, the Zips would make sure not to fall behind like in the first set, slowly making their comeback. At 22-all, it was OU who would take over, in the end, thanks to back to back kills from Jimerson and Januszewski, followed by a kill from Stephens who’d put the nail in the coffin, giving the Bobcats a 2-1 advantage on a 25-23 third set victory.

The fourth set of the match remained close in the beginning with both teams trading points all the way until 10-all. At that point, however, OU would go on a frenzy offensively, going on an 8-2 run and pulling ahead by a score of 18-12. Just like the third set, the Zips would slowly begin to make their comeback, coming within one after OU’s attack errors began to catch up to them. With the Bobcats up 24-23, it was none other than Tia Jimerson who delivered the final blow with a match point kill, giving the team their first win in league play.

Once again, the team was led offensively Stephens who finished with a match-high 19 kills and a pair of service aces, along with Jimerson who ended her night with 16 kills along with four blocks and hitting .609. Lake also reached her season-high on Saturday night with 11 kills, as well as Olman who finished with nine. It is also worth mentioning that Freshman setter Vera Giacomazzi led the team with 53 assists. She has been a huge factor for the Bobcats this season, who now has 583 of the team’s 683 total assists.

The Bobcats, who now improve to 7-9 for the season, still sit comfortably in third place in the MAC East. This may change, however, when the team hosts second-place East Division rivals Miami (OH) (9-6), next Friday at the Convo.

 

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Two games, two convincing wins.  That is how the No. 2 ranked Ohio Bobcats began their season this weekend as they swept the John Carroll Blue Streaks at Bird Arena.

Unlike last night, Ohio’s offense wasted little time getting on the board.  Gianni Evangelisti lit the lamp just 1:53 into the game.  However, John Carroll would respond midway through the period with a goal of their own to tie the game 1-1.

Late in the opening period, Ohio’s Jake Faiella and Evangelisti each cashed in on a power play chance of their own, which extended the Bobcats lead to 3-1 over the Blue Streaks.

After the two teams remained scoreless in for the first five minutes of the second period, John Carroll’s Jacob Kuzma scored a power-play goal of his own.  This cut the Ohio lead to 3-2.

“We always want to have a good power play,” Evangelisti said.  “I think last year our power play was just okay so maybe having a better power play this year will help us go a little further in the national tournament and maybe lead to a national championship.”

However, Ohio quick to respond, as just 62 seconds later sophomore Austin Heakins pushed the puck past John Carroll goaltender Wes Deacon to make it 4-2 in favor of the Bobcats.

Just like in the first period, Ohio would strike score two quick goals on John Carroll late in the period.  Freshman Shawn Baird made it 5-2 in favor of Ohio and then Brock Rumbaugh would put the ‘Cats up 6-2 just 49 seconds later.

Heading into the final 20 minutes of play, it appeared as if the ‘Cats were on their way to a 2-0 start to this young season.

John Carroll made things interesting early on when they scored to cut the lead to 6-3 just 21 seconds into the period.  But despite their best effort, the Blue Streaks would score no more and the Bobcats would tack on three goals in the final eight minutes of the game to win 9-3.

Evangelisti had himself a great weekend as he scored three times and also recorded one assist.

“I am not too concerned about leading the team in points or anything like that,” Evangelisti said.  “Obviously I am going to try and contribute and help the team win and with all the seniors leaving it gives some of the younger guys a chance to step up and play.”

Tonight also marked the first career start for Mason Koster, and overall Hogan was happy with what he saw from his freshman goaltender.

“I thought he played well,” Hogan said.  “I think for the first time playing in front of a big crowd like that, I think he did a great job.”

The opening games in every sport are typically feel out games and teams look to build chemistry.  Ohio looked good overall but the team knows they still have work to do.

“This weekend most importantly we battled through a ton of adversity,” Hogan said.  “That was my message to the guys, between it being hot and the ice being terrible and facing a team that was hacking and whacking at us I think we battled through it.”

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The Ohio Bobcats (3-1) overcame their first hurdle in booking consecutive trips to the Mid-American Conference title game Saturday with a 27-20 double-overtime road victory over the Eastern Michigan Eagles (2-1).

A season ago, Brogan Roback led an Eagles comeback by tossing two touchdowns in the fourth quarter to hand Ohio its first conference loss of 2016. This season, sophomore Nathan Rourke flipped the script, leading two touchdown drives in consecutive overtime periods to seal head coach Frank Solich’s seventh straight 1-0 start in MAC play.

Rourke solidified his starting role on Saturday by playing every snap. After three weeks of quarterback drama, Solich decided on the sophomore and it paid dividends.

Rourke’s ability to extend plays showed throughout the afternoon. Escaping collapsing pockets and scrambling when needed are becoming trademarks of the dynamic Canadian, and a 21-yard completion across his body to Jerrid Marhefka on third and 18 exemplified this trait. He finished the outing with 197 passing yards and a pair of touchdowns.

The Eagles defense kept Rourke and his comrades pretty quiet for most of the game, however, as Ohio didn’t score an offensive touchdown in regulation. The Bobcats put a lot of emphasis on the rushing attack in the second half and had success, amassing 123 yards in the back half alone.

Running back A.J. Ouellette tacked on another 100-yard performance, his second in a row. The captain totaled 145 yards and caught one pass for 42 yards.

Ohio’s defense also played well, bailing out the offense on more than one occasion Saturday. When Louie Zervos missed a field goal with 1:50 remaining in regulation, the Bobcats forced a three-and-out to give Ohio another crack on offense.

Last season, Roback gashed the Ohio secondary for 347 yards and three scores on the way to victory. Even though Roback totaled 305 yards this time around, the results weren’t nearly as costly, and the Bobcats’ secondary got its long-awaited redemption.

Ohio’s Bradd Ellis is a playmaker in an improved secondary, and he is slowly becoming the best cornerback in the MAC. The former walk-on came into the contest leading the conference with six passes defended. Ellis neutralized Sergio Bailey II, the biggest threat in EMU’s passing attack, shadowing the star wideout for most of the game.

Not to mention he provided the biggest play of the first half when he jumped an out route along the sideline, returning it 46 yards untouched for Ohio’s only touchdown in regulation.

Eastern Michigan falls to 2-1 on the season with the loss. The Eagles entered the conference opener coming off a bye week and will travel to Kentucky a week from now.

Ohio improves to 3-1 on the season and now sets their sights on a road date with the UMass Minutemen next Saturday.

Kickoff is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. from Warren McGuirk Alumni Stadium.

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Ohio Bobcats Women’s soccer opened up Mid-American Conference play with an overtime victory over Eastern Michigan, 2-1.
Both sides were held scoreless in the first half. The story of the game was largely a battle in midfield, with both sides struggling to create chances. It seemed that whenever one team would start something, the other team would have the perfect response. Ohio’s closest opportunity came midway through the first half, when Hannah Jaggers got past all Eagles defenders and made her way into the 6-yard box. As she got to a one-on-one with Eastern Michigan goalkeeper Kaylin Williams, she opted to put the ball across the goal for one of her teammates. Her pass was intercepted and the ball was cleared harmlessly, leaving fans scratching their heads. The best chance of the half for Eastern Michigan came in the 41st minute, on an Eastern Michigan corner kick. Ohio goalkeeper Sydney Malham attempted to intercept the cross, but she dropped the ball. Luckily, her back line was able to get the ball clear without any harm done, and the game was scoreless at the half.
The second half started off much like the first: both teams showed proficiency in advancing the ball to the attacking half, but neither team could create decent chances. Then, with only twenty minutes left in the game, Lindsey Shira drilled a shot from the edge of the 18-yard box into the back of the net to give the Eagles a one-goal advantage. Eight minutes later, the Bobcats had a corner kick opportunity. They took it short, and Paige Knorr put a great cross into the box, which was dropped by Williams. After a few attempts to clear it, the ball fell to Alivia Milesky at the edge of the penalty area, but her attempt sailed over the goal.
It all seemed out of reach for the Bobcats as time was winding down. With 90 seconds remaining in regulation, Ohio was awarded a free kick in a good position on their attacking half. However, there was confusion in the Bobcats side as many players lined to be on the receiving end of the free kick to put the ball in goal, but no one stepped up to take the free kick. Eventually, Sydney Leckie stood over the ball, and lobbed a beautiful cross towards the back post, where multiple people fell towards the ball. Allie Curry had the defining hit, as her header rolled across the goal line, evening the score at 1 and sending the game into overtime.
In overtime, the Bobcats picked up right where they left off: scoring. Hannah Jaggers dribbled her way around a defender after a blocked pass found her, and while she had teammates running in for support, she made no mistake this time. Her shot was a screamer from close range, soaring over the crouching Williams and into the top of the net.
The Bobcats (4-5, 1-0) will continue MAC play at home against Central Michigan on Sunday, while the Eagles (3-6-1, 0-1) will travel to Kent State on Sunday for a matchup with the Golden Flashes.

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Behind a stellar performance from goaltender Jimmy Thomas in goal and two goals from Tyler Harkins, the No. 2 ranked Ohio Bobcats cruised to a 6-0 victory over the John Carroll Blue Streaks in their home opener on Friday night at Bird Arena.

Ohio took a bit of time to get into their normal style of play, and for nearly the first 14 minutes the Bobcats and Blue Streaks remained tied 0-0.  Senior captain Jake Faiella broke the scoreless draw when he ripped a shot from the top of the zone past the JCU goaltender Charlie Denner.

However, that was the only goal that the Bobcats would score in the opening 20 minutes of play. The Blue Streaks kept the No. 2 team in check for the majority of the period.

“We were going 100 miles per hour and guys were just shaky, it was the first game,” Hogan said. “In the second period, we started playing our game.”

The Bobcats penalty kill passed their early tests in the first 20 minutes as they faced and successfully killed off three penalties.

Whatever head coach Sean Hogan told the team during the first intermission worked wonders because in the second period Ohio dominated every facet of the game.

“I told [the team] to calm down and to breathe, and they came out in that second period and played better.”

Ohio’s offense outshot John Carroll 29-3 in the second period and cashed in four of those shots to extend the lead to 5-0. Harkins lit the lamp twice in the period and said it was a good feeling to get on the score sheet in the first game.

“Wherever coach plays me I’ll play,” Harkins said. “We are a deep team so I think whoever I am with will help me get some point production but as long as the team is winning that’s what matters.”

Seemingly overwhelmed, the Blue Streaks attempted to turn up the physicality, which the Bobcats had no problem matching.  However, things turned chippy and a scuffle broke out near the Ohio net after the whistle. Both sides had to be separated by the officials.

The message from coach Hogan to the team was to stay calm and collected when a team, such a John Carroll did, tries to throw the Bobcats off their game by bringing extra physicality.

“It is just about staying level-headed,” Harkins said. “Our coach preaches it and says don’t let [the physicality] get the best of you and that is why I think we are a top team because we can overlook that stuff and we’re not a team that will retaliate all the time and I think that gives us an edge.”

As a result of the scuffle that broke out, Ohio’s Grant Hazel was sent off the ice with a 10-minute misconduct penalty.  The Bobcats would be without one of their best defenseman for a lengthy period of time.

“When you’re 18-23 years old and a guy is jabbing you, your first instinct is to jab back,” Hogan said.  “So we need to continue to work on being disciplined and being hard to play against, but it is going to be a learning process for sure.”

With the game already in hand entering the third period, Ohio looked to simply complete a solid night of all-around good hockey in the final 20 minutes.  Midway through the period the ‘Cats added their sixth goal of the evening, as Matt Rudin cashed in his first goal of the season.

The final 10-plus minutes went by without much incident and the Bobcats cruised to their first victory of this brand new season. Thomas picked up right where he left off last season, recording a shutout against the Blue Streaks.  Hogan credited Thomas postgame and said he really bailed the team out a lot throughout the game by making some timely saves.

Overall, Hogan was happy with the way his team played in their first game but sees room for improvement going forward.

“I like where we are going,” Hogan said.  “But we have to do it again tomorrow night and take things one game at a time.”

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The Ohio University volleyball team (6-8) will face off against division rival Buffalo (7-4) Friday night in upstate New York to kick off the start of conference play. The Bulls are coming into this game at the top of the Eastern Division, while OU sits in the third spot.

The Bobcats will look to put an end to their five-game losing streak Friday night.

Last time these two teams went head to head was back in October of last year in which the Bobcats came out victorious with a four-set win.

During last year’s matchup, Ohio had seven service aces while holding the Bulls from getting a single one. The Bobcats also led that game in assists (51-44).

The Bulls did lead the match when it came to blocks (12.0-7.0) as well as digs (56-47), but it was not enough to earn them the victory.

Both teams have a strong front row with Buffalo averaging 12.25 kills per set, while OU trails by with a mere 12.02 kills per set.

Ohio University sophomore outside hitter, Lizzie Stephens (#11), has been a leader this season, tallying up 185 kills for the team and will be looking to carry that momentum into tomorrow’s match.

For Buffalo, Polina Prokudina (#19) has had a similar impact on her team with 180 kills this season, setting up for a good matchup between the two sophomores.

Despite both teams heading into this game coming off losses, it is still expected to be a great rivalry match for opening night on Friday.

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Last season the Bobcats went on a thrilling run in the American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA) national tournament that saw Ohio go all the way to the national championship game.  Ohio will look to build off that successful run this season under fourth-year head coach Sean Hogan.

This season will be Ohio’s 60th season, which starts on Friday night at Bird Arena when they take on the John Carroll Blue Streaks.

Ohio’s roster will have a different look than last year, as only three seniors are on the roster this year.  The Bobcats will be a younger team. However, the majority of the players on the team have the experience of going to the national championship game, which is something Hogan hopes will help the team this year.

“Those guys [on the roster] have a lot of national tournament experience,” Hogan said. “They have a lot of experience in playoff-type hockey games and that should bode well for us as long as we use that experience the right way.”

Senior captain Jake Faiella echoed Hogan’s comments and said the experience the team gained from last year’s run is one of their biggest advantages heading into this new season.

“The biggest thing [for this season] is that three-quarters of our team has national championship experience,” Faiella said. “Now think about that, it is pretty impressive and  not many other teams can say that.”

The Bobcats schedule features 36 regular season games, 24 of which will be at the friendly confines of Bird Arena.

Ohio enters the season ranked No. 2 in the ACHA, which will put a bigger target on the back of the team.  According to Hogan though, that is not something that will phase the team one bit.

“We know we will definitely have to play harder, we are always a big name on team’s schedules,” Hogan said.  “That just means we have to be ready to play every night, and in my four years here that is the hardest thing to do, to be ready every single night, especially during the long season.”

As for their first opponent, John Carroll,  Ohio has had their number in past seasons. But Hogan stressed the importance of not overlooking them this weekend.

“I want our team to be hard to play against,” Hogan said.  “I don’t want us to try and do things individually, I think we need to stick to our systems and if we do that we play really well. I want us to be aggressive, fast and look quick and do a lot of the little things because that is what builds great teams.”

For the several new additions to the team, Hogan hopes they are amped up to play and he wants to see them use that pent-up energy to their advantage against John Carroll this weekend.

“We want them to bring the juice, I want our guys out there playing with super high energy, playing fast and being in that moment,” Hogan said. “Obviously as the season goes on and we get to the playoff games, we want our guys to take a breath and get composed but for game one we want them coming out with high energy.”

With the combination of this being the 60th year of the hockey program here at Ohio as well as the team’s run to the championship game last year there will be a lot of extra attention on the team this year.

Although there will be that attention, Hogan and the team are not phased and welcome the extra attention because it is something they have sought out for quite some time.

“We want eyes on our program,” Hogan said. “We know we have something special here and we want people to come see what we’ve got.”

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After four consecutive home games, Ohio field hockey hits the road to North Carolina this weekend to battle Appalachian State Friday and Davidson Sunday.

Appalachian State ( 2-4 0-2 MAC) are looking to bounce back after falling to Miami (Ohio) last Sunday 6-2. They are led by Midfielders Meghan Smart and Taylor Cimbalist. The Mountaineers are dangerous on the offensive but they do have one weakness: goalkeeping. The Mountaineers have given up a whopping average of 5.8 goals a game. Coach MacMillan has stated ASU’s game against Miami “showed {him} their fatal flaw.” If the Bobcats can capitalize on the Mountaineers horrendous defense, they will be able to kiss their losing streak goodbye.

Davidson (0-6, 0-2 MAC ) enters the weekend still in search for their first victory and recovering the 10-0 beatdown they received from the North Carolina Tar-Heels. However, don’t let that loss deceive you; unlike the Mountaineers, the Wildcats strength is their goalkeeping, ranking top 20 in the nation in saves per game with 7.0.  This may be one of the few games this season that the Bobcats are favorited but Coach knows, “a team searching for their first win can be dangerous.”

Ohio lost a practice this week so they could travel to Carolina but they will be ready for the challenge that awaits them. Alex Pennington and her 33 saves look to shut down the Mountaineers and Wildcats and Kendall Ballard looks to increase her five goals this season. The trip is long but the team will have plenty to do according to coach, “they’ve bought in to watching film and they are improving…I look forward to seeing them succeed.”

 

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A.J. Ouellette is beginning to look like the A.J. Ouellette of old.

The redshirt junior was named MAC East Player of the Week this week after running for a season-high 102 yards on only 10 carries in a 42-30 win over the Kansas Jayhawks this past Saturday.

This marks Ouellette’s best rushing performance dating back to 2015, as his 2016 season was lost in the first game due to a Lisfranc injury. Ouellette accounted for over half of the team’s 196 total rushing yards on the afternoon.

After Ouellette struggled in the Bobcats’ loss at Purdue, where he only ran for 38 yards, it was a welcome sight to see Ouellette and this offensive line be able to run the ball effectively early and often.

Ohio’s offensive line set high expectations in training camp to have one of the best rushing attacks in the MAC, and Saturday was a step in that direction.

Ouellette and the rest of his teammates return back to action this Saturday when they take on Eastern Michigan in Ypsilanti, kickoff is scheduled for 2 p.m.

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The quarterback battle between Quinton Maxwell and Nathan Rourke is far from over as both shined in the Ohio Bobcats (2-1) 42-30 victory over the Kansas Jayhawks (1-2).

Rourke started the game under center, but senior running back A.J. Ouellette set the tone early with an explosive 63-yard run up the middle, resulting in a 41-yard field goal off the foot of Louie Zervos. Even though the defense closed up holes on Oullette, he finished the game with 103 yards and a touchdown on 10 carries, while Dorian Brown rushed for 70 yards on just 12 carries.

The next drive was where Rourke really began to show head coach Frank Solich why he deserved the start.

Rourke did a brilliant job keeping plays alive with his legs throughout the game. The sophomore showcased shifty feet while breaking a few tackles to find the end zone on a 3-yard scamper capping off Ohio’s second drive of the game. On the Bobcats next trip down the field, Rourke found senior tight end Troy Mangen for a 10-yard touchdown, his first of the season. Rourke was told earlier in the week he’d be the starter but didn’t let it affect his preparation.

“Didn’t think too much of it because we were still going to play both quarterbacks. So just had the same approach as I did the other two weeks,” Rourke said.

Rourke had one poor drive prompting the insertion of Maxwell for his first action of the game and he didn’t disappoint. Maxwell connected on a deep ball to senior wide receiver Brendan Cope for 58 yards and later found Mangen for his second touchdown catch of the day, capping off the drive going 4-of-4 with 87 yards passing. Maxwell threw a pick in the red zone later in the game and only come back in to milk the clock in the fourth quarter. The redshirt sophomore finished the game 5-of-6, for 102 yards, one touchdown, and one interception.

Rourke started and played most of the second half, finishing 11-of-16, for 152 yards, and three total touchdowns.

While the Ohio offense was clicking, the run defense continued their struggles from last week’s tilt with Purdue. Kansas running back Khalil Herbert kept the Jayhawk offense afloat, rushing 19 times to the tune of 140 yards and two touchdowns. However, the passing attack was a non-factor until late in the game when Kansas quarterback Peyton Bender was able to put together a few scoring drives in garbage time. Bender finished the day 30-of-47 for 343 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception.

With a clean performance throughout the game, Solich was happy to bounce back after a tough loss against Purdue last week.

“I was pleased with what we got done today. There’s still somethings we gotta get better at, need to improve at but it was a good win for us,” Solich said.

There was one glaring downside for the Bobcats.

Wide receiver and return man Papi White is out for a few weeks with a hand injury. White won’t be dressed when the ‘Cats travel up north next Saturday to take on the Eastern Michigan Eagles, their first conference game of the year.

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Ohio University’s men’s and women’s cross country teams will be in action this weekend. The Virginia Tech Alumni Invite in Blacksburg, VA will play host to the Bobcats this weekend.

The women will be racing in a 6k while the men race in an 8k. The 6k event will host 16 teams, including MAC school Akron, while the 8k plays host to 11 schools, where once again Akron will be the only other MAC school competing with OHIO.

For both teams, success will be found in how well they strategize the meet. The Bobcats will have to make sure that while they get off the line fast, they do not over-exert themselves and run out of gas before the event is over.

Virginia Tech does play host to one of the more challenging courses and the hills of Blacksburg will make for an adjustment.

“This course is a bit more challenging, it’s one of our tougher ones on the year, as far as the topography goes, it is one our more hilly courses,” said Head Coach Clay Calkins.

Due to the challenging nature of the course, training has been geared in such a way as to prepare for the obstacles the course presents.

“The training has been geared on the men’s side for some acclimation to the hills, they were up in The Ridges yesterday doing some training just to get the body used to that terrain,” said Calkins.

Virginia Tech Alumni Invite will draw a strong field which will present both teams with good teams to gauge their competition with. Both teams recording third-place finishes last weekend, the teams roll into Friday night’s meet with the confidence.

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Coming off a disappointing loss at the hands of the Purdue Boilermakers, the Ohio Bobcats get another chance against a Power 5 team.

The Bobcats (1-1) take on the Kansas Jayhawks (1-1) Saturday at Peden Stadium.

The Bobcats are licking their wounds after a 44-21 loss to the Purdue Boilermakers last Friday night. Ohio gave up 24 points in the second quarter. That scoring outburst by Purdue was aided by two fumbles from Ohio running backs. AJ Ouellette fumbled for the first time in his career and Dorian Brown coughed up the football on Ohio’s side of the field.

Despite the turnovers, Ohio’s biggest issues came on defense. Purdue running back Tariq Fuller rushed for 142 yards in the game and had over 100 yards at the half.

“We are a gap-oriented defense. We didn’t take care of our gaps, our gap responsibilities and that will cause big runs to occur,” Ohio head coach Frank Solich said. “We wanted to play physical, we tried to play physical, but when you have those breakdowns being physical isn’t enough. That ended up hurting us big time, but those breakdowns came in both the run and pass game, which normally hasn’t been the case for us.”

This weeks opponent, Kansas, averages 110 yards per game on the ground. Dorm Williams leads Kansas running backs with 105 rushing yards and three touchdowns.

Ohio is in the middle of a quarterback competition. Quinton Maxwell got the start against Purdue but didn’t come close to proving he’s the guy Ohio needs. In just two series, Maxwell went 1-6 for 12 yards. Nathan Rourke came into the game and played the rest of the way. Rourke threw for 211 yards and rushed for 36.

Solich did not name a starter at his weekly press conference but did say both quarterbacks will play.

“You’ll know a lot of that when it’s time to kick the ball off,” Solich said. “We are going to need two quarterbacks to play for us, there’s no question about that so we are going to prepare both really hard.”

Many around the team expect Rourke to make his first career start as a Bobcat. He got the majority of the first-team reps at practice this week and has been the better player through two games.

On the other sideline, Peyton Bender will be under center for the Jayhawks. Bender averages 343.5 passing yards per game and has four touchdowns and four interceptions. His top target, tight end Ben Johnson, already has 10 catches through two games.

Johnson could cause matchup issues for Ohio if linebackers Quinton Poling and Chad Moore are held out of the contest due to injury. Solich said Poling is “questionable” and Moore did not practice on Wednesday.

Ohio defeated Kansas 37-21 in Lawrence last season. Solich is 7-0 all-time against the Jayhawks and this year marks the 50th anniversary of Ohio’s first victory against Kansas.

Kickoff is set for noon and the game will be broadcast on ESPNU.

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This weekend, the Ohio volleyball team (7-5) traveled south to compete for the Jefferson Cup in Charlottesville, Virginia for their third invitational of the season. Despite winning the first of their three matches, the Bobcats would fail to take any more sets in their final two matchups, finishing 1-2 in the tournament.

The team took Friday’s opener with a 3-1 (25-19, 17-25, 25-21, 25-23) victory over Howard (2-8) in a match that was certainly much closer, despite the result. After taking the first set, finishing on a 6-2 run, the Bison would bounce back for the second set holding OU to a .067 hitting percentage. By, tallying up only nine kills and seven errors, Howard would lead for the entire set, making it 1-1 halfway through. Despite trailing early in the third set by three, the Bobcats quickly pushed ahead of the Bison, with freshman middle blocker Tia Jimerson leading the way on five kills and two blocks, coupled with two service aces from sophomore outside hitter Allyson Vaughn, taking the third set.

In the game’s finale, it was an even match all the way to the very end. At 21-all, the Bobcats were able to snag a victory off a 4-0 run on back-to-back service errors, along with kills from sophomore middle blocker/outside hitter Sara Januszewski and junior setter/outside hitter Stephanie Olman. OU would finish the match hitting .246, totaling 56 kills and seven service aces. Jimerson would end her day with a team-high 17 kills, mixed in with two digs and assisted blocks.

Unfortunately, the Bobcats were unable to carry the momentum from last night’s win into their Saturday morning matchup with VCU (9-2), falling to the Rams in three quick sets (25-11, 25-12, 25-22). OU were certainly feeling the pressure early on after falling in the first set by a margin of 14. VCU were a powerhouse offensively, hitting .500 with 10 kills in the first set, and then adding on another 10 in the following set. After falling to the Rams in the second set by 10, the Bobcats fell to a -.069 hitting percentage, their worst of the season. Fighting on the brink of being swept, the Bobcats’ resiliency certainly showed off in the third set. Stephens and Jimerson led the way with three kills apiece, followed closely by senior middle blocker Ali Lake who had two. However, the Rams would finish out on a 7-2 run, completing the sweep.

In the third and final match of the Jefferson Cup, the Ohio volleyball team would face off against tournament host Virginia (4-5), who were looking for their first win of the weekend. While the Bobcats did make it close in every set (27-25, 25-21, 25-17), the luck just wasn’t on their side, resulting in their second straight sweep this season. In the first set, OU had as 25-24 lead, but were unable to secure the set point. Two kills and one service ace from the Cavaliers would be enough to complete the comeback, giving them a 1-0 lead. In the following set, OU would once again find themselves on the brink of their first set of the day, trailing 21-22. Virginia would close it out once again, taking the second set, and eventually the third by a margin of eight. The Bobcats would finish the game with hitting .118 (32 kills-19 errors-110 total) with a strong performance coming from Stephens with 12 kills and three service aces.

By the end of the weekend, the Bobcats would finish hitting .115 (117 kills-71 errors-355 total attacks) Stephens led the Bobcats with 36 kills, 31 digs, and four services, followed closely by Jimerson with 33 kills and six digs.

The Ohio volleyball team will travel to University Park, Pennsylvania, as part of the Penn State Classic next weekend, taking on Wake Forest (7-2), Yale (4-2), and #3 Penn State (7-0).

 

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This past weekend was a difficult stretch for the Ohio Soccer team as they dropped both of their match-ups against Marshall University (1-0) and the University of Kentucky (3-0) and extended their losing streak to three games.

In their first game this past Friday against Marshall, Ohio put up a strong fight the whole 90 minutes but just could not catch a break and find a way to get the ball into back of the net. The first and only goal of the game occurred during the 33^rd minute and came from Marshall’s Gabby Powers. Powers received a low tap from teammate Ashley Seltzer and took full advantage of the opportunity as she powered the ball into the upper 90 of the net to beat Ohio goalkeeper Sydney Malham.

For the rest of the game Ohio had multiple opportunities to score the coveted equalizing goal but in the end could not pull it off. Ohio’s best scoring opportunity came in the 74^th minute when Celeste Fushimi-Karns headed a ball that looked to be the game-tying goal Ohio had been working for the whole game. However, Marshall goalkeeper Megan Bonelli would dash away Ohio’s hopes as she was able to get a touch on the ball and clear out her defensive lines. The game would end with an almost identical stat sheet between the two teams as each team had six shots on goal and recorded three corner kicks. Marshall would barely beat out Ohio in the saves column as they recorded six saves compared to Ohio’s five.

While their game against Marshall displayed what a equal, back-and-forth contest was like, Ohio’s game against Kentucky was on the other end of the spectrum as Ohio lost by a score of 3-0. In their match-up Ohio’s defense was dominated by the offense of Kentucky as Ohio would allow a total of 19 shots, nine of them on goal. The first score of the game came in the 29^th minute as Kentucky’s Jessica Lazo hit the ball all the way from the left side of the box and into the right upper corner of the goal, giving Kentucky a 1-0 lead and Lazo her first goal of the season. From that point on Ohio would make numerous efforts on the offensive side of the pitch but Kentucky, similar to the Marshall game, would not show any openings in their defense as Ohio only managed to muster up a total of six shots, only three shots on goal.

Kentucky would ice the game late in the second half as Eva Mitchell received and scored her third goal of the season off a pass from the left side of the box from teammate Taya Edwards in the 78^th minute. Only three minutes later in the 83^rd minute, Kentucky midfielder Katy Keen made her own impact on the game as she got the ball at the top of the box and scorched a ball that went right past Ohio’s Sydney Malham and into the back of the net. The goal would be Keen’s first of the season and secured Kentucky’s win with a score of 3-0.

As Ohio looks forward to moving on from this difficult stretch of games this past weekend, the Bobcats need to sharpen up on both sides of the ball if they want to compete in their match-up this upcoming Friday against the University of Dayton Flyers. Ohio will need to step up their play from this weekend if they want their three game losing streak to come to a halt after Friday’s game.

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It was a beautiful weekend at Pruitt field. Unfortunately for the Bobcats, they were not able to shine; falling to the Virginia Commonwealth Rams 3-1 and 2-1 on Saturday and Sunday respectively.

Ohio (1-5) came into their Saturday home-opener looking to end a three-game losing streak, while VCU (4-1) was looking to pick up a tough road win.

Virginia Commonwealth dominated the first half and had the Bobcats on their heels. Emily McNamara would make sure the Rams strike first, scoring on a penalty corner with 19 minutes left in the first half. The Bobcats had trouble responding due to the Rams daunting defense and would enter the half down 1-0.

Ohio came out ready to take back the momentum. More aggression and precise passing would produce a Kendall Ballad goal and a tied ball game with 21 minutes left. VCU would respond though, in the form of Spencer Tossone and Svea Strum; their two goals in the final seven minutes would ice the Bobcats chances of a comeback.

The Bobcats came into Sunday determined to prevent a sweep but VCU had other plans.

VCU would jump out first with a McNamara goal after the Ram’s third consecutive penalty corner. The Rams defense would again put the clamps on the Bobcats, allowing one shot the first half of the game.

Ohio would again have to play the comeback game and it seemed as if they cracked the VCU defense after a Ballard goal in the 38th minute. The momentum now belonged to the Bobcats.

Unfortunately for the ‘Cats, the Rams would snatch it right back with a thrilling goal by Colleen Rodgers in the 60th minute. That goal would be the nail in the coffin for OU; completing the sweep for VCU.

The Bobcats don’t have to hang their heads though, they battled a tough, much more experienced VCU and had impressive moments throughout. Junior Goalkeeper, Alex Pennington, recorded 5 saves over the weekend, putting her at 21 on the year.

It also seems the Bobcats have found a reliable scorer in Kendall Ballard who scored the ‘Cats only two goals over the weekend.

Falling to 1-5, the Bobcats look to bounce back against rival Miami (Ohio), Friday, September 15th, 3:00 at Pruitt Field.

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Ohio University’s men’s and women’s cross country teams traveled to the University of Kentucky for the Kentucky Bluegrass Invitational on Saturday. Both teams came away with third place finishes.

The lady Bobcat had all five runners who scored, finish in the top 20 as they would score 69 points on the afternoon. At the 5K course, the leading time was 17.54.7 by Senior Ellen Isaac who finished in 10th. Isaac was followed by Freshman Hailey Bowes in 11th place. Three other lady Cats, Junior Madison Surry, Sophomore Abby Miller and Junior Emily Deering would finish 13th, 17th and 18th.

For the Bobcat men, who ran an 8k course, all five of OHIO’s scorers would finish in the top 25 en route to scoring a strong 61 points. Junior Kyle Bussard would pace the Cats with a 7th place finish, recording a time of 24:13.7. Senior Brad Miller would finish right behind in 8th for OHIO with a time of 24:14.7. Sophomore Griffin Butler, senior Matt Evans and junior Zach Zimmerman would round out the scoring with finishes of 18th, 21st, and 23rd.

Both men’s and women’s teams will next be in action on Sept. 15th at the Virginia Tech Alumni Invitational in Blacksburg, Va.

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Ohio Football left Peden Stadium last Saturday after a 59-0 thrashing of the Hampton Pirates but apparently forgot to get on the bus to West Lafayette, Indiana, where they were dismantled 44-21 by the Purdue Boilermakers.

The Bobcats quickly felt the force of Purdue’s ground-and-pound attack at Ross-Ade Stadium. the Boilermakers rumbled for 263 yards on the ground, highlighted by Tario Fuller’s 16 attempts for 142 yards and his first career touchdown.

The Bobcats struggled throughout the night as Purdue out paced them but that didn’t seem to faze senior Ohio linebacker, Chad Moore.

“They’re human beings just like us. We can tackle them. They were nothing special, we just couldn’t execute,” Moore said in his postgame interview.

Nathan Rourke replaced Quinton Maxwell at quarterback early in the first quarter and provided a spark to the offense. That allowed senior running back A.J. Ouellette to find the end zone for the first time this season, making it a 10-7 game in favor of Purdue. It felt like the momentum had shifted a little bit for head coach Frank Solich’s squad.

Unfortunately for the green and white, a gassed Ohio defense wasn’t able to stop the dynamic run game of Purdue. Fuller continued to race down the field with ease, making the game 17-7 after a 1-yard rushing touchdown. Ohio began a decent drive of their own, but the first fumble of Ouellette’s career brought it to a screeching halt.

With that, the Boilermakers dusted off their book of tricks and Purdue quarterback David Blough found Cole Herdman for a 62-yard score off a double flea-flicker, making it a 24-7 game.

Towards the end of the first half, Dorian Brown committed the second Ohio fumble on the night, setting up Purdue with decent field position and 29 seconds to play with.

21 more than they needed.

Blough hit a crossing Anthony Mahoungou to make it 34-7, putting the game on ice before halftime. The junior completed six-of-seven passes for 172 yards in the first half alone and finished the night 11-for-13 through the air for 235 yards and three scores.

While the offense was having a hard time finding chemistry, it’s hard to stop a team that establishes the run like Purdue did.

“Once they got the running game going, and we were not able to control that at all, that led to everything else going pretty good for them,” Solich said in his postgame comments.

The one bright side for the Bobcats was quarterback Nathan Rourke who looked solid throughout the night. The sophomore broke several tackles and picked up first downs on plays that had no business staying alive. The Canadian finished the game 16-for-23, with 236 yards passing and a late touchdown to redshirt freshman wide receiver Cameron Odom. One could argue that Rourke earned an opportunity to start next week for the ‘Cats, but it’s not on his radar:

“I’m not really worried about that. I’m more worried about getting better,” Rourke said outside the locker room following the game.

The Bobcats have an extra day of rest ahead of next Saturday’s matchup against the Kansas Jayhawks, a team they beat 37-21 last year. Kickoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. at Peden Stadium.

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The Ohio Bobcats still have a lot to prove after their week one drubbing of the Hampton Pirates. Luckily for them, a nationally televised game against a Power 5 school brings the chance to prove to themselves, and the nation, that they belong.

Ohio travels to West Lafayette, Indiana, to battle Big Ten member Purdue this Friday night at 8 p.m. The game will be televised on Fox Sports 1 and it’s the first game under the new lights at Purdue’s Ross-Ade Stadium.

“It’ll be a great atmosphere and I think it is great exposure for our football team, program and Ohio University as a whole,” said Ohio Head Coach Frank Solich when asked about the implications of Friday’s game.

The Bobcats opening game of the season couldn’t have gone any better as they shutout Hampton 59-0. However, critics were quick to point out that the Pirates are a middling FCS team that doesn’t represent the level of competition the Bobcats face in the Mid-American Conference.

“It’s not about who you play, it’s a matter of who you are and how you show up and play. I was pleased with our play” said Solich about the win. Saturday’s game was only the third shutout for Ohio under head coach Frank Solich. The Bobcats are now 12-0 against FCS opponents under Solich.

If Ohio thinks Purdue is a similar challenge to Hampton, they are in for a long night.

The 2017 Boilermakers are a much different squad from Purdue teams of the past, new head coach Jeff Brohm showcased what teams under his leadership are capable of in a hard fought 35-28 week one loss to the 16th ranked Louisville Cardinals.

Purdue showcased some new talent on the outside with redshirt freshman Jackon Anthrop. the wide receiver tallied 82 yards receiving and caught two touchdowns against the Cardinals. If Anthrop is allowed to run rampant it could spell disaster for the Bobcats.

“You have to be smart on how you handle him. He is out of the slot a lot and you are looking at a guy that has quickness, hands and runs great routes” said Solich about Anthrop.

MAC East Offensive Player of the Week Nathan Rourke will not start at quarterback. Instead, Quinton Maxwell is set to begin the game under center with Rourke filling in when Solich sees fit.

“There is no real solid plan on to when we will put Nathan Rourke in. He will go in sometime in the first half and get snaps,” said Solich in Monday’s press conference. “Most likely they will both play in the second half, but we will see.”

Rourke brought an explosive dynamic to the offense against Hampton. Ohio fans should be excited to see how the Canadian performs against a Big Ten opponent.

Ohio is 0-7 versus Purdue all-time but if they can push that record to 1-7, in hostile territory against a Power 5 school; Ohio will have little left to prove.

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