Ohio falls in its final non-conference game.
Ohio coach Frank Solich, at last Monday's press conference, said most teams in college football will have at least one setback during the season. The strength of the team, he said, is its response.
This weekend could arguably be considered Ohio’s first setback, after being undefeated going into Saturday's game.
Giving up a touchdown with 30 seconds remaining and failing to score on the ensuing drive, Ohio fell 27-24 to Minnesota in Minneapolis.
“Of course we could’ve played better,” Solich said about Saturday's loss. “That’s the thing. There’s plays we’d like to have back, there are plays they want to have back.”
Perhaps the most obvious play Ohio would’ve liked to have back wasn’t an actual play at all.
After Minnesota’s touchdown with 30 seconds left, the Bobcats started their next offensive series on the opposing 43-yard-line, thanks to a 56-yard kickoff return from senior running back Daz Patterson.
A seven-yard completion set up the Bobcats on Minnesota's 36, where redshirt senior kicker Josiah Yazdani was brought out for a game-tying 53-yard field goal.
Right before the snap, the Golden Gophers called a timeout, trying to "ice" Yazdani. The Albany-native kicker still had a practice attempt, which he missed.
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The referees called a penalty on Ohio for a delay of game — the official call that is made if a team attempts a field goal after a timeout. The penalty pushed the Bobcats back, making it a 58-yard attempt instead.
Ohio opted to throw a “Hail Mary” on the final play, but the ball was batted down at the line.
“This game is done,” Devin Bass, redshirt senior corner back, said. “It has no bearing on our overall goals, but as a unit and as a team, I think the display of commitment and how hard we played until the very end — anybody watching this game, they were like, ‘Damn, these boys can play.’”
So if this is Ohio’s first true "setback," it comes one week away from Mid-American Conference play, as Ohio finished the non-conference portion of its schedule 3-1.
While Saturday’s loss halts an undefeated record, it comes just as Ohio is able to start fresh against the University of Akron next Saturday. Ohio was predicted to tie second in the MAC East in a preseason coach’s poll.
If there was any indication that Ohio wants to start MAC play with momentum, redshirt junior tight end Malik Rodriguez summed it up on his Twitter.
“Don’t feel bad for us. Feel bad for Akron," Rodriguez said in a Tweet.
@Charliehatch_
gh181212@ohio.edu
