Ohio is one of only 27 undefeated Football Bowl Subdivision teams in the nation, which has led to a cloud of hype surrounding every practice at Peden Stadium.
More media outlets from outside Athens are interested to see what’s happening with the Bobcats. Sports Illustrated staff writer Lars Anderson was on assignment in Athens leading up to the Bobcats’ game against Norfolk State last week. In the coming weeks, a story about the program will grace the magazine’s pages.
Since their win against Penn State in week one, the Bobcats have received votes in national polls that have ranked them as high as No. 29 in the country. Fans have to remember the Bobcats are still outside the nation’s Top 25, which, in actuality, doesn’t lend them an Associated Press ranking at all.
The ranking will not appear next to Ohio in any story, but it does generate well-deserved recognition for the program.
During the first four games of the season, Ohio’s opponents have mustered a combined 7-9 record.
And with the exception of Ball State, which has beat Indiana and South Florida so far this season, few of the teams remaining on Ohio’s schedule garnish much respect nationally, as they have a combined 10-20 record.
The Bobcats are going to need help in terms of teams ahead of them losing late in the regular season to crack the Top 25, assuming they continue to win at about their current rate.
For now, most fans should follow Ohio coach Frank Solich’s school of thought. In his weekly news conference Monday, Solich said he doesn’t search for his team’s ranking, although it is brought to his attention.
He prefers not to get wrapped up in the fact his team has not moved up in the rankings after the 44-10 drubbing of Norfolk State Saturday.
“I view it as nothing at this point,” he said. “Obviously that would be an important step for our program to get that done (and) break into the Top 25, but that shouldn’t happen right now. It will possibly happen if we take care of business, but that’s just looking too far ahead for us. I don’t pay any mind to that at this point.”
Solich doesn’t let his players get caught up in the hype, and they have been receptive to his message. Redshirt junior linebacker Keith Moore said each week the team’s mantra is to approach each game as if the team is nursing a 1-0 record and trying to stay above .500.
A lot of that mindset has been forged by Solich’s previous stop at Nebraska, where he developed his thought that coaches need to have depth and good athletes to put quality wins on their ledger, but more important is keeping those athletes’ focus on their next game at hand and not in the past or distant future.
In other words, ensuring a team’s most important game is the next one on its schedule.
“How we approached games one a time at Nebraska is what we are doing here,” he said. “You do have goals for the year, they know what those goals (are), (and) you’ve got to be ready to break it down to where it’s one game at a time and know the goals needed to win the game at hand.”
The ranking is a nice accessory, but putting stock in its influence is not the true measure of a team’s success. What this year’s Bobcats will be remembered for is their ability to accomplish the goals established before the season even started.
nr225008@ohiou.edu
