Coach Frank Solich addressed the media Monday to recap Ohio’s throttling of Western Michigan last week and preview the Bobcats’ rivalry matchup with Miami on Wednesday night.
“It was a good ballgame,” Solich said. “Certainly, we’re on a roll.”
— Solich loves how his team is playing right now. The Bobcats have blown out three straight teams and scored more than 48 points in each. But they aren’t looking backward. Solich likes where his team is.
“I think we’re a pretty smart football team,” he said.
— He’s not worried about the fact that Miami had an extra day to prepare than Ohio did — Ohio played Thursday and Miami played earlier in the week. Solich acknowledges that some things will be done differently for Ohio, but not much. The Bobcats are well-rested.
— Ohio’s secondary has been improving all season, but now it’s hitting a stride, as is the rest of the defense. As Ohio’s season has gone along, the defense has gotten stronger.
“Some of those guys were playing with inexperience,” he said. “We had a mixture of those guys.”
— Solich and Miami coach Chuck Martin have a mutual respect for each other, and the rivalry is good for everyone involved.
— Solich continues to stress that turnovers will get Ohio where it wants to go this season. The Bobcats have forced 23 turnovers through nine games.
“Guys that play in the MAC Championship game are guys that win the turnover ratio,” he said.
— Ohio’s special teams forced three turnovers in the win over Western Michigan. The Bobcats work on special teams nearly every day in practice, and Solich saw the results in the win.
“We spend a great deal of time with special teams in meetings and on field,“ Solich said. “If you feel it's that important, then you better spend time on it. We do that, and we have the talent to be good. With the work that we're giving them, it allows them to be the best they can be in that area.”
— Miami running back Kenny Young is a player Solich pointed out that Ohio will have to watch out for. Solich also had praise for Miami’s defense.
— This game will be Solich’s 14th against Miami. He knows the “Battle of the Bricks” better than anyone. It’s a rivalry he’s dominated, but he doesn’t take that for granted.
“(Rivalries are) huge to coaches,“ he said. “They're huge to your fans if the rivalry is a good enough rivalry. It's good to your school and community in general, and I think that's been the case with the Miami-Ohio rivalry for all the years. People understand the importance of it, the intensity of it and how hard the players fight to get it done."
