With the release of the Ohio football team's 2008 schedule yesterday, one game looms above the rest: a showdown with a certain national powerhouse located about an hour northwest of Athens.
Guess who?
That's right. The Ohio State Buckeyes will host the Bobcats on Sept. 6 for Ohio's second game of the season. The meeting will be the first between the two schools since the 1999 season when the Bobcats held a 9-3 lead in the first half before ultimately falling, 40-16.
Defensive coordinator Jimmy Burrow said a matchup with a perennial national title contender such as Ohio State provides the Bobcats with an opportunity to gauge where they are as a program.
It's a game that our guys will look forward to
he said. There's certainly a great tradition at Ohio State. It'll be interesting to see how we do match up.
In addition to providing some stiffer nonconference competition, the Ohio State game ' along with a road game against Northwestern on Sept. 20 ' will bring a substantial financial benefit to the Ohio athletic program, said coach Frank Solich. He could not comment on precise figures however. He instead focused on the national attention that such games could bring to Ohio football.
We're in tune to our program and doing anything to generate interest and support for the athletic program he said.Solich and company also worked toward that goal by scheduling three conference games that will be broadcast on ESPN's family of networks. Like last season, this will require Ohio to play on a weeknight twice, with Tuesday games against Temple and Buffalo in consecutive weeks.
Unlike last year, though, the Bobcats will not be splitting home and away games evenly. Instead, there are seven road contests and five home games on the schedule. Solich said he regretted not being able to schedule more home games, especially in consideration of the university's students and supporters, but added he was thankful that three of the last four games will be played in Peden Stadium.
One other oddity rests atop the new schedule: Ohio will not be opening at home against a Football Championship Subdivision opponent as it has the past two seasons. The Bobcats will instead travel to face Wyoming, a move that Solich credited to coincidence more than a conscious effort to avoid the pattern of previous seasons. The back end of a home-and-home agreement, the game will provide an opportunity for the Bobcats to avenge a 34-33 loss to the Cowboys last season.
It was just the way it all played out Solich said.
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