DETROIT — Ohio officials publicly voiced their thoughts about the Penn State scandal for the first time Tuesday at the Mid-American Conference Football Media Day.
Their messages didn’t reek of public relations pitches or prepared sentiments. Fans of the game themselves, Ohio personnel said the monstrosity struck a chord far beyond just a professional level.
The season-opening showdown will likely tug on Ohio’s heartstrings, but coach Frank Solich said the team’s focus will be on the two things it can control: how it practices and performs on the field.
“Everyone is concerned and heartbroken for the victims involved, but the only thing we can do is show up and play our best football,” he said.
That will be easier said than done for Ohio, which will catch its fair share of extra attention heading into the game.
The brunt of the scrutiny will be placed on their opponents, but stepping into the limelight — or the frenzy that will be Penn State’s Beaver Stadium on the first day of the season — will bring baggage not associated with a more routine first game.
The Bobcats’ recent season-openers have been against lower-profile opponents. They have performed accordingly, winning four of their last six.
The last time Ohio opened the season against a similar caliber of competition was in 2005, when it experienced varying results.
Losses to Northwestern and No. 4-ranked Virginia Tech sandwiched one of the program’s signature wins — an overtime triumph against Pittsburgh at Peden Stadium.
For the Bobcats, goal No. 1 is to keep potentially shaky hands and heavy hearts out of the picture in Happy Valley.
“It’ll be a challenge to really make sure we’re focused on what we need to be about,” Solich said.
Leading up to the NCAA’s Monday ruling that issued Penn State a $60 million fine, four-year bowl ban, and the loss of 40 scholarships over four years and 112 wins between 1998 and 2011, among other penalties, the Bobcats weren’t especially keen on keeping up with Penn State’s every move.
“Things were changing on almost a daily basis, that it was difficult to really get a feel for the direction it was going,” Solich said.
Solich and Tom Symonds, Ohio’s assistant athletics director for media relations, said contact with their opponents was not outside normal procedures.
Ohio’s front office view is no different. Director of Athletics Jim Schaus said he expects nothing different in the team’s readiness for the game than when the Bobcats beat New Mexico State this past season season or Wofford College the year before.
“It’s certainly a tragic situation they’ve gone through — we feel for those victims — but our focus is on the football game,” Schaus said. “Our focus is on playing the game, and to do that well, and not getting caught up in commenting or dealing with any of those outside issues.”
Schaus was responsible for scheduling the game four years ago and said the matchup, despite extraneous circumstances, fits both universities’ molds for the season’s first game.
He said Athens’ close proximity to State College, the fans’ willingness to travel for the game and the number of tickets the Nittany Lions opened up to the Bobcat fan base made the scheduling attractive for both parties.
The matchup makes financial sense as well. Penn State will pay Ohio “a quality amount” for the game, Schaus said, and the trip won’t require more than a six-hour bus ride.
If the Bobcats’ plans fall into place, as some fans are predicting on social media, the ride there may drag on longer than their return trip.
“It’s an exciting opportunity for us to play a Big Ten school,” Schaus said. “We try to have a game like that at least once a year. It’s enjoyable for the players and the fans.”
jr992810@ohiou.edu
