Nathan Rourke’s first completion Saturday against Kent State went for 33 yards to Papi White. It was a promising sign for the Bobcats’ run-happy quarterback to connect with White, last year’s best offensive weapon who was playing for the first time in five weeks.
The problem: The completion came on Ohio’s first play of the second quarter.
An ugly, fruitless first quarter offered no hint at the Bobcats’ 48-3 drubbing that would follow. Despite starting slow in back-to-back weeks, they’ve shown they can wear teams down and flip the game’s script.
“Obviously, we’d like to (start better),” Rourke said. “We’re going to be going into the film room and figuring out what we've got to do. Because definitely everything that we did is fixable.”
Last week against Bowling Green, the Bobcats gained just 10 yards on their first three possessions and went three and out each time, while falling behind by six. In the first nine possessions, Rourke had eight passing yards and two interceptions.
Ohio’s first three drives against Kent State yielded a similar struggle: a lost fumble, two punts, a three-point deficit and zero passing yards. The Bobcats were hampered by an illegal formation penalty on what would’ve been a 15-yard run as well as a few dropped passes.
“I wanted to try to take (Kent State) out of the game as quickly as we could early,” coach Frank Solich said. “And that didn’t happen. I was a little frustrated, but I thought our guys played much better as the game went on and finished it playing really very, very well.”
Rourke’s completion to White started the Bobcats’ first scoring drive, which ended with a 34-yard field goal from Louie Zervos. Two plays later, they were back on offense thanks to linebacker Chad Moore punching the ball from the grasp of Kent State running back Justin Rankin. Rourke wrapped up a quick drive with his 13th rushing touchdown of the season.
When the second half began, the rout was on.
Several big-chunk rushing plays, including two touchdowns of more than 35 yards. The first deep pass Ohio completed, for 49 yards from Rourke to White, on the umpteenth try. Two red-zone touchdowns for redshirt senior tight end Mason Morgan, who previously had just one touchdown in his career.
Rourke said there weren’t many halftime adjustments but rather an improvement in the team’s execution. Ohio, which finished with 336 rush yards, has thrived this year on a steady diet of physical running plays that erode opposing defenses.
“We just had to go out and figure out what that was in the first half, in the first quarter,” Rourke said. “In the second half, we went out and they were doing the exact same thing.”
Ohio’s miserable beginning had no impact on the game’s result. But a slow start like that against a team other than Kent State, which entered averaging 11 points per game (last in the Football Bowl Subdivision), could turn out differently as the Bobcats keep pushing for a conference title berth.
