Five days ago, Ohio’s season seemed to be at a crossroads: a win on Homecoming could be the turning point for the Bobcats, but a loss would send them into a downward spiral.
Five days later, it seems as if the Bobcats have found their groove. A 49-14 win over Bowling Green stopped the bleeding, and a win over Ball State on Thursday would put Ohio in prime position to make a run to Detroit for the Mid-American Conference Championship Game.
Either way, Thursday’s game will be imperative to Ohio’s success the rest of the season. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m., and the game can be watched on CBS Sports Network.
Below you’ll find a guide to gameday with how to follow along, depth charts, who has the edge, five things to watch for, a reading guide and our predictions.
Following along
How to watch: The game was a scheduled midweek MACtion game and was picked up by CBS Sports Network earlier this week. It can also be seen online here. Ben Holden and Jay Feely will be on the call.
How to listen: The game can be heard on the Ohio IMG Sports Network — Russ Eisenstein and Rob Cornelius will be behind the mic. The broadcasts are available online through OhioBobcats.com and TuneIn.com/OhioBobcats.
How to find stats: Click here for stats.
Depth chart
Five things to watch for
Rourke’s first drive
In the first drive of his last four games, Nathan Rourke has gone a combined 2-of-5 with no touchdown passes and an interception, which was returned for a touchdown. After the first drive, Rourke is completing passes at a remarkable clip, and he’s proven himself as the MAC’s best quarterback. Quarterbacks coach Scott Isphording compared Rourke’s first-drive blues to a Hall of Fame baseball pitcher.
“One of the best pitchers of my youth was a guy by the name of Tom Glavine,” Isphording said. “They always used to say, ‘If you don’t hit him in the first inning, you ain’t going to hit him.’ And I’m sure he worked really, really hard at being good in the first inning. I think it just is something that we’ve got to keep working on. Get (Rourke) an easy completion.”
Hard hat appearance
After scoring one of his four touchdowns against Bowling Green on Saturday, Rourke was seen wearing a hardhat on the sidelines. It turns out that the headwear was part of a plan made by wide receivers coach Dwayne Dixon.
“Coach Dixon does a little sewing so sometimes he'll show up in his own garb every once in a while. Or an adjustment to our garb I guess,” coach Frank Solich said. “He was wearing the military hat and he looked at me just before the game, which isn't normally a good thing to do, but he said, ‘Is it all right if we use this for guys that do certain things, to get a mark on that hat and get to wear that hat?’ and I said OK. So Nathan had it on and a few other players may have too.”
Solich also said he likes anything that can be used as motivation for Ohio.
Ascending again
There was hype, there was disappointment and now there’s excitement again. That’s how fandom goes. Great teams are defined by the ways they play throughout the final stretch of games.
Ohio still has the opportunity to be a great team, one that people remember in 50 years as the team that broke the 50-year drought of Bobcat football championships. All that said, it’s hard to get too excited when the Bobcats are coming off a win against a team with a 1-7 record with no wins against Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) teams.
"You don't want to just start to reach out there and start to do things that are different in hopes that it's going to help you continue on a trend of playing good football,” Solich said. “We've been searching for this game where we played four quarters. “
Ohio’s front seven is key
Against Bowling Green, the Bobcats allowed just over 100 rushing yards. That’s the kind of front seven that Ohio’s become used to the last few seasons. It was the first time it’s happened this season.
The Bobcats can be more effective defensively when they don’t have to worry about stopping both sides of the Cardinals’ offense. It will be important to shut down running back James Gilbert early and often.
A good game to run the ball
Ohio always finds success when it runs the ball well. But this week, on short rest and likely in cold weather, wearing down Ball State early could be crucial. Forcing the Cardinals to come from behind in the second half with a worn-out defense could be a simple way to victory.
Running backs Maleek Irons and A.J. Ouellette seem to have hit their stride, too. If there’s a time to string together strong rushing performances, Week 9 would be a good one.
The edge
When Ohio has the ball: Ohio demolished Bowling Green’s defense on the ground, gashing the Falcons for 392 yards rushing. Nathan Rourke continues to be the best quarterback Ohio has seen since Tyler Tettleton in 2011 and 2012. The Bobcats are coming off a 49-point offensive outburst, and they don’t appear to be slowing down.
The Cardinals are giving up 405.9 yards per game. Not great.
Edge: Ohio
When Ball State has the ball: Quarterback Riley Neal and the Cardinals’ offense average 436.6 yards of total offense. They’ll spread the field and try to make quick throws, getting the ball to playmakers in space. Riley Miller is Neal’s favorite wide receiver — he has 582 receiving yards, which leads the team.
The Bobcats played their most complete defensive game of the season against Bowling Green, giving up just 14 points. All 14 of those came in the first 20 minutes of the game. Ohio was dominant. That trend will have to continue for Ohio to have success in mid-week games.
Edge: Draw
Special teams: As long as Michael Farkas and Louie Zervos are kicking footballs in green and white, Ohio will have the advantage. It is noteworthy, however, that Zervos hasn’t kicked a field goal since Sept. 29.
Edge: Ohio
Reading guide
- News and notes from Frank Solich’s weekly press conference
- What to know about Ball State
- With Saturday’s win, Ohio controls its own destiny
Predictions
Sports Editor Spencer Holbrook: I think Ohio will use the momentum it gained from the big win on Saturday and transfer it. Ball State presents some problems for the Ohio defense, but the Bobcats will have a big day offensively. Ohio wins 41-28.
Asst. Sports Editor Pete Nakos: Ball State is good, but I think Ohio’s better all-around. Rourke continues his streak of impressive performances, the defense continues to find ways to shut down the run and the Bobcats have the best special teams unit in the conference. Ohio wins 48-21.
