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Ohio quarterback Nathan Rourke sprints into the end zone for a touchdown during the Bobcats’ 52-14 win against Ball State on Thursday.

Football: Ohio shows strengths at right time, mauls Ball State 52-14

The game was out of reach and had been for some time. 

Nathan Rourke and A.J. Ouellette chatted on the sidelines as they saw their teammates continue to dominate Ball State on the field. Ohio punched Ball State with touchdowns and a stifling defense. Continuous punches have been missing this season, though.

Except on Thursday, the Bobcats didn’t stop. The Cardinals never had a chance to regain their footing after a Maleek Irons touchdown in the second quarter snowballed into 52 straight points. Ohio finished with 411 rushing yards, muscling and stomping its way to a 52-14 win at Peden Stadium.

"To be able to dominate like that, it starts with the guys up front,” Ouellette said. “We dominate, we control the ball, we drive down the field. We just got smart players.”

Coach Frank Solich wondered when his high-powered offense would start looking like a high-powered offense. Last week, it put up 49 points, but it seemed like an outlier. 

But on Thursday, the Bobcats continued to maul opponents on offense. 

After the Irons touchdown, Ohio continued to put drives together. The aggression didn’t stop, either. The Bobcats scored a touchdown with two seconds left in the first half, a 21-yard pass from Rourke to Andrew Meyer. 

Instead of running the ball to go into the half, Ohio hit the gas even harder. It was a way to assert dominance. It was a way to continue to dish out the frustration the Bobcats have felt from the start of their season. 

The passing game wasn’t even the strength of the offense, though. Ohio broke 400 yards on the ground for the first time since 2005, and Ouellette got over the 100-yard mark for the first time this season. 

Ohio got back to the foundation of its program: running the ball down opponent’s throats until the final whistle blows. 

“We needed to make sure that we focused on (running the ball) so we could get back to where we're supposed to be,” offensive linemen Joe Lowery said. “Now, we're back to where we're supposed to be.”

Along with the high-power offense missing early in the year, a run-stopping defense was absent, too. 

But it continued to improve against Ball State, allowing a season-low 242 total yards and forcing two turnovers. Ball State also had a turnover on special teams. The Cardinals’ rushing attack was nearly nonexistent, finishing with 80 yards. 

Ohio was tasked with shutting down All-MAC running back James Gilbert and did so, allowing him just 52 yards on nine carries. 

The Bobcats lost four key members of their front seven at the end of last season. At the beginning of the season, teams had no problem running and throwing the ball all over Ohio’s defense. 

In Week 9, Ohio started to look like the run-stoppers that its defense is centered on.

“Yeah, we’re playing our best football right now in terms of defensive football,” Solich said. “It’s critical timing for it to be unfolding like that. We have to keep it up.”

Twelve days ago, Ohio’s season appeared to be at a crossroads. Fresh off a loss at Northern Illinois, the Bobcats were looking at a schedule that didn’t show any more room for failure, and their identity seemed to be still undetermined. 

On Thursday night, Ohio won its second straight game and improved to 3-1 in the Mid-American Conference.

Twelve days ago, Ohio needed to come up with answers. Now, it seems as if the answers have become some of the strengths of this Ohio team.

Ohio’s about to start the last month of its season, and the Bobcats have started to perform at the level that was expected all along. 

For now, Solich and the Bobcats seem much more excited about what lies ahead. 

"We're just going to continue to try to play our best football,” Solich said. “Last year was last year. I don't think there was a person involved in our program that wasn't disappointed. We had a chance to get to that MAC Championship Game, and all we had to do was win a game, and we couldn't win it. That sits with us. 

“All we can do is move on this year. We're doing that right now, and we need to extend that."

@Pete_Nakos96

pn997515@ohio.edu

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