A late pass interference call separated Ohio from one final crack at Central Michigan on Saturday in the Bobcats’ wild 26-23 loss at Peden Stadium.
Two days later, Ohio coach Frank Solich spoke to the media about quarterback Nathan Rourke’s four turnovers from that game, the latest targeting call against the Bobcats, the challenges facing the team’s pass defense and more.
“It's a credit to our guys,” Solich said, “that despite four turnovers, despite having a touchdown called back, and despite having a field goal blocked that went the other way for a score we still had a chance to win it at the end.”
Rourke runs into trouble
As he did after Saturday’s game, Solich stood by his quarterback Monday, insisting that not all of Rourke’s turnovers were his fault.
Rourke, who’d racked up 13 total touchdowns without a turnover entering the game, lost three fumbles and threw an interception to the Chippewas. Each of his fumbles came as he tried to extend plays and escape pocket pressure, something he’s had success with often this season.
“You don't want to discourage him and take that (scrambling) away,” Solich said of Rourke, who has 223 rush yards and five touchdowns the past two games. “Obviously, when scrambling you need to have two hands on the ball when you're ready to penetrate the line of scrimmage. When you're ready to turn it into a running play, you need to get the ball tucked away.”
When asked if there was consideration to bring in quarterback Quinton Maxwell (the starter to begin the season) as the turnovers piled up, Solich didn’t exactly say no. But he emphasized, again, that Saturday’s struggles don’t fall solely on Rourke.
“I'm not saying we didn't consider it,” Solich said. “Looking at the big picture and what he was getting done during the game, I think we have five passes dropped. If you catch your fair share of those passes then it's a different ball game.”
Coach’s take on targeting call
For the third time in two weeks, Ohio was on the wrong end of a targeting call, which results in a 15-yard penalty and an ejection.
Against the Chippewas it was defensive lineman Kevin Robbins, who tackled quarterback Shane Morris on a running play in open field. Morris appeared to twist suddenly as he went to the ground, but the hit was ruled as helmet-to-helmet and the officials confirmed their call upon further review.
Solich watched the film afterward and said it was “probably targeting” according to how the rule is interpreted.
“But certainly unintentional targeting,” he said. “So what do you do? Unless you can detach your head from your shoulders and put it on your back, you’re gonna have a shot maybe of targeting.”
Porous pass defense
After Ohio’s defense was gouged for 403 passing yards against UMass two weeks ago, Solich said there would need to be changes in his team’s defensive formations and coverage.
The results were better against the Chippewas, who passed for 249 yards. But Solich indicated that the search for improvement is not over yet.
“We did do a few things differently last week in terms of our coverages in the hopes that was going to help,” he said. “There were a few things we didn't stay with that, in hindsight maybe we should have given more of a try … We're still examining that and trying to come up with the best answers for it.”
The Bobcats’ 276 pass yards allowed per game ranks second-worst among Mid-American Conference schools.
Odds and ends
– Running back Papi White, who hasn’t played since Sept. 16 against Kansas, started the week listed as “questionable” for this Saturday’s game at Bowling Green. White didn’t have a cast on his injured hand Monday and Solich said he will return to practice midweek.
– Running back Julian Ross left the game against Central Michigan after just one carry and did not return. Solich called Ross “questionable” for this coming week before quickly changing that designation to “doubtful.”
– Robbins will not be available for the first half against the Falcons this Saturday as part of the penalty for his targeting call. Solich acknowledged that his team’s defensive end depth is “not great” right now. When he was asked who might fill Robbins’ starting spot for the time being, Solich laughed and said, “Well, that’s a good question.”
