Jake Pruehs didn't care what any Toledo player had to say. The game was over and Ohio had just beaten down the team everyone said was the cream of the Mid-American Conference crop.
The defense shined brighter than anyone could have imagined and the Bobcats dominated every facet of the game for nearly four quarters. But as the Rockets left the field, they told whatever Bobcats would listen that they would see them in a few weeks.
For Pruehs, it was music to his ears.
“After the game, they all were saying, ‘oh, we’ll see you in a few weeks,’ ” Pruehs said. "Who cares? Doesn’t matter. We just ran for 400 yards against you ... almost.”
Ohio's rushing attack was more dominant than it had been all season, to the tune of 393 yards rushing, in a 38-10 blowout over preseason MAC favorite Toledo at Peden Stadium on Wednesday night.
Everyone knew it was coming. They knew exactly what Ohio was going to do. And the only team supposedly good enough to stop it couldn't do a thing.
“It’s what we’re conditioned for," said Pruehs, Ohio's center. "It’s what we love to do, we like to put the game in the offensive line’s hands. We have that instinct in us, we want to get down the field and we want to score. The ground and pound football, they’re not used to it.”
In a game seen by many as the MAC Championship Game preview, Ohio benefitted from a fumble on Toledo's first drive on Ohio's end of the field. From there, it was all over.
Ohio rushed for nearly 400 yards against a defense that allowed 164.4 yards per game. Ohio held an offense that averages 39 points and 517.8 yards per game to 10 points and 316 yards. And the Bobcats, over 60 minutes in November, became the team to beat in the MAC.
The Bobcats really jumped on the Rockets in the second half, though, when the box score showed a 28-3 advantage for Ohio (8-2, 5-1 MAC). It was evident when the defense forced Toledo quarterback Logan Woodside into yet another check-down and it was clear when Ohio called 12 straight run plays to start the third quarter.
There wasn't anything Toledo could do.
“We did what we said we were going to do," Pruehs said. "I only say all those things because I believe in our offensive line and I believe in how our offense operates. I think we backed it up.”
With their statement win over the Rockets, the Bobcats proved that this year's team is perhaps the best team that coach Frank Solich has ever coached at Ohio. In his 13 years prior, Solich's teams only reached the 8-2 mark twice.
Toledo, if it wins its last two games, will likely get its chance to exact revenge in Detroit during the MAC Championship Game. But on Senior Night in Athens, the scoreboard told the only story worth telling.
"I wanted to crush these guys," middle linebacker Quentin Poling said. "I didn’t want to leave here with a loss.”
Logan Woodside threw for 263 yards and one touchdown, though most his yards felt like empty calories. Ohio's defense forced him into check-down after check-down as Toledo looked lost picking up exotic Ohio blitzes and stunts.
The first half showed an even game, but once the Rockets tied the game at seven, the Bobcats outscored them 31-3 to close out the second quarter and the rest of the game.
“Excellent quarterback, you can’t just sit back in coverage and let him pick you apart all day," Poling said. "Get after him, force some throws, let him make some mistakes and get him on the ground a few times to throw off his rhythm. That’s what we did, coach (Jimmy) Burrow did a great job defensively."
Ohio will still have to win at Akron next week to win the MAC East and punch its ticket to the MAC Championship Game. That game will carry more meaning than the one Ohio just played in, too.
But for anyone that has followed the MAC this season, there were two clear standouts that looked destined to collide in Detroit. There was Ohio, the steady hand in the MAC and the other, Toledo, the high-flying offense with an NFL-ready quarterback.
And the Bobcats just beat the other by four touchdowns.
