Pegged by many at the beginning of the season to be the game that decides the Mid-American Conference's East Division, the "Battle of the Bricks" rivalry has taken on a slightly different meaning.
Miami hasn't been as sharp as predicted in MAC play with just a 3-5 overall record and a 2-2 conference record. Ohio is 3-1 in the MAC.
A win by the Bobcats next Tuesday, almost assuredly, puts the RedHawks out of the MAC East race before November hits.
With that in mind, coach Frank Solich addressed the media on Monday before the first weekend without a game this season.
Rivalry Talk
The rivalry game isn't lost on Solich at all.
"It's important to our fans, our student body and the community, as it is to Miami," Solich said. "When I got here, it was made clear that was our main rival, so I jumped on board. It made sense to do that."
Miami currently leads the all-time series 52-39-2. In Solich's tenure, however, Ohio is 10-2 with losses only in his first season and 2012.
"The Miami games seem to be really important to a lot of people so I made it important to myself," Solich said. "We've worked to uphold our end of the rivalry. It's always been a good, hard fought, physical football game that is always decided on a few plays here and there."
A Bobcats win would put them two games ahead, tiebreaker in hand, of the RedHawks with three games to play. In other words, the Bobcats have the chance to decimate their rivals chances on the first midweek game of the season.
Runnin' Wild
Ohio's rushing attack this season has been nothing short of remarkable. In the last two games, Ohio has averaged 335.5 yards on the ground.
The Bobcats also have three rushers over 400 yards, with running back A.J. Ouellette leading the way with 747. In just eight games, the team has 28 rushing touchdowns — quarterback Nathan Rourke leads the way with 13.
That boils down to not only the backs, but the offensive line dominating opposing front seven's.
"Nobody gets huge yards in a game without an offensive line that doesn't do their job," Solich said. "We have some of the best backs in the league, but if they can't get to the linebacker depth with blocking then they aren't going to have a very good game."
Ohio averages 243.4 yards per game on the ground — first in the MAC and 20th in the country. Because of its potent run game, Ohio is also 13th nationally in points scored with 40.8.
Odds and Ends
— The wide receivers are finally beginning to get healthy. Papi White returned to the lineup last weekend and it appears that Brendan Cope could return against Miami.
"Exactly when we'll get them back to practice is the question," Solich said. "We're hoping he can come back and practice three or four days leading up to the game."
— Miami quarterback Gus Ragland's status is still up in the air for next week. He has a lower-body injury and has missed the last two games. After a win at Buffalo, coach Chuck Martin said that Ragland's status was still unknown.
“If we played tomorrow, they couldn’t play,” Martin said. “We’ll see how they are as the week goes on. With a 10-day window, we have hope. There’s a chance Gus could play.”
— There was no update offered on former starting right tackle Jared McCray, who left the Central Michigan game with an injury. Senior right guard Durrell Wood, however, could be out "for possibly the rest of the season."
