As Miami wide receiver James Gardner tallied catch after catch and touchdown after touchdown Tuesday night, Ohio needed something to get back on track. Without an answer for the 6-foot-4-inch receiver, the Bobcats simply grasped at whatever they could to slow him down.
The answer, however, didn’t come from the secondary or even the defense. It came on the other side of the ball.
Ohio’s offense operated through quick strikes and long plays to put up six touchdowns, all courtesy of quarterback Nathan Rourke, en route to a 45-28 win over Miami.
"I thought this kind of game would be coming along," coach Frank Solich said. "It was good to see us being able to move the ball. ... Nathan again showed his running ability and his capability, which are all critical to being a good running and throwing team."
Gardner put up 10 catches for 166 yards and three touchdowns on the game, but he couldn't singlehandedly outscore the Ohio offense.
"There wasn't any magic we did to take things away from him," Solich said. "We did utilize more coverages and blitz some more, which helps to some degree. That takes away the deep throw. He is a great receiver, so he is going to have his moments in the game; you just hope he doesn't have four quarters of it."
The star of the night, however, was Rourke. He threw for 294 yards, a career high, and was 21-of-33 passing with three touchdowns and no interceptions. In Ohio's biggest game of the season, Rourke proved that he is one of the conference's best.
It was a welcoming sign for Ohio, too, as the passing attack struggled in recent weeks. Rourke went just 7-of-22 and 8-of-17 in the last two games and hadn't thrown for over 200 yards since the Purdue game Sept. 8.
Granted, he didn't have to be a star through the air. In those two weeks that the passing game struggled, Ohio rushed for 335 and 336 yards, respectively.
Getting the passing game on target against Miami was just a bonus.
"I knew that we were capable of being able to open up in the passing game; we just really haven't got it going in the last couple of games," Rourke said. "The Bowling Green game was a great example of that. Things kind of opened up today; I think we got into a rhythm, and the receivers played probably one of their better games this season."
Ouellette added 80 yards on the ground to compliment Rourke. Those two helped lead the way for Ohio's seventh 40-point scoring outing of this season.
"I think Miami coming in, if you look at us, we need to stop the running game, and I thought they worked at that and did a pretty good job of that," Solich said. "That opened up a few doors in the throwing game for us."
While the defense wasn't perfect, it still had its moments. Jalen Fox and Javon Hagan added crucial interceptions to change the momentum — both turnovers led to touchdowns. Quentin Poling also became the all-time solo tackles leader in Ohio history.
All of that added up for a defense that did, and has done, enough to let the offense shine. It might not be the defense that gets the recognition when compared to the conference's best offense, but that defensive unit is allowing just 21.4 points per game in MAC play.
That's pretty good for a defense that gets overshadowed each and every week.
