A shift has taken place at Ohio’s quarterback spot, as Ohio coach Frank Solich announced Monday afternoon that Nathan Rourke will start on Saturday against Eastern Michigan. Solich discussed that decision and more in his weekly press conference, heading into the Bobcats' first Mid-American Conference matchup of the season.
Rourke gains the reigns
Though Rourke led the offense out first against Kansas last week in a 42-30 win, Solich was hushed in the days leading up to the game about whether the starter would be Rourke or Quinton Maxwell, who started the previous two games.
Solich left no doubt on Monday.
“We’re prepared to play the guy that’s playing extremely well,” Solich said. “We’re hoping that it continues that we have two quarterbacks that play really well. That makes things easy on us.”
In three games, Rourke has completed 67.3 percent of his passes and has seven total touchdowns, while Maxwell has completed 61.9 percent of his passes, has two touchdowns, as well as two interceptions and a fumble that Ohio recovered.
Coming off busy weekend, Bobcats face bye-week Eagles
The Bobcats hosted nine official visits this past weekend, with most of the players and their families still in town until Monday morning.
“Because of that, we weren't able to have a normal Sunday, in terms of preparation,” Solich said. “So we're playing catch up right now. We did a lot of work this summer on Eastern, knowing this was going to be the case so we feel we have the opportunity to be well prepared.”
Eastern Michigan should also be well prepared, as a team coming off a bye week. The Eagles are two weeks removed from beating Rutgers for their first win against a Power 5 school in program history.
“They're very physical and they have talent along with that,” Solich said of Eastern Michigan. “That makes them especially dangerous … They’re not an easy team to displace and move around.”
Farkas flashes athleticism
For the second straight week, punter/kicker Michael Farkas executed a standout offensive play for Ohio.
Two weeks ago against Purdue, he rolled to his right on fourth down and, instead of punting, ran 16 yards for a first down. This past week, he took a snap from long snapper Jake Hale on an extra point try and threw the ball to Hale in the end zone for two points.
“He's a really talented guy,” Solich said of Farkas, a redshirt sophomore. “On a bad snap he can jump up and bring it down with one hand and get the ball off. He can throw the ball … He’s not a punter or a kicker, he's an athlete. We're able to use that athleticism in a lot of different ways."
Odds and ends
— Through three games, Ohio has been impressively efficient in the red zone, with 14 touchdowns in 15 trips. Solich said that red-zone productivity was an emphasis this past offseason.
“We spent time on it in practice,” Solich said. “We take the ball down in the red zone and drive that home.”
— Linebacker Quentin Poling, who played against Kansas after being a game-time decision, is expected to play this weekend. Same goes for linebacker Chad Moore, who missed last weekend’s game. Offensively, wide receiver Papi White will be out due to injury while fellow receiver Cameron Odom, who was limited against the Jayhawks, should play, Solich said.
