Ohio had everything on its side heading into its game against Northern Illinois. It left Buffalo with a big win on its resume, which is always needed in Mid-American Conference play.
The defense looked like it was taking the right steps in correcting its issues. It had its first home game since Sept. 21, when it lost in an ugly 45-25 contest against Louisiana-Lafayette. It was also Homecoming and the first of two consecutive home games.
But even with so many X-factors on their side, the Bobcats’ consistent downfalls eventually surfaced in their 39-36 loss to the Huskies. Here are The Post’s final thoughts on the end result and what it means for Ohio moving forward.
Let’s start with the bad:
The defensive microscope zooms in closer
For six quarters, Ohio’s defense looked like it had solved its lingering problems. It had a complete outing against Buffalo, and in the first half, it held the Huskies to just 138 total yards and three points stemmed from an offensive drive, as NIU scored a touchdown on a blocked punt.
And then the second half happened.
Marcus Childers’ 70-yard run got things going, and the Huskies scored on five of its six second half drives. NIU’s ground game found ways to hurt the Bobcats and because of that, its passing game took off.
Ohio looked defenseless, and it’s not going to get it to Detroit if it can fix the issues at hand.
Offensive absence didn’t help
Ohio’s offense had success in key moments of Saturday’s game, but its inability to carry that success into the third quarter didn’t help as NIU began to have success of its own.
After a 21-point first half that featured all sorts of quirky touchdowns – the “Philly Special” and a tackle eligible lateral – the Bobcats seemingly couldn’t find ways to continue its offensive dominance into the opening quarter of the second half.
Though the offense picked it up in the fourth quarter to turn the game into a shootout, there’s a higher chance than not had it not come out flat in the third quarter, Ohio is sitting with two conference wins even if it still has the same defensive problems.
While there was plenty of bad, there were also positives.
Shane Hooks and the young wide receivers had a day
The talk of the Bobcats’ youth in its receiver room has been up-and-down throughout the season, and as of Saturday, the talk should be higher in a positive direction.
Hooks had 131 yards on seven catches and scored a touchdown. Redshirt freshman Ty Walton made an impact in the run game with a few key blocks that allowed the ball carries to gain extra yards on the perimeter.
Along with the receivers, the tight ends continue to perform when called upon. Ryan and Adam Luehrman both had at least one reception for at least 10 yards, and Ryan had a touchdown.
Nathan Rourke is a generational Group of 5 player
Prior to the season, Rourke’s name popped up on just about every individual offensive player and quarterback award one could receive.
The senior once again put in an impressive performance with 340 total yards and three total touchdowns.
Rourke will surely end his career at Ohio as one of the best players in the program’s history and perhaps as one of the best quarterbacks, if not the best, under coach Frank Solich. Though the Bobcats have their issues that not even a blind eye could turn to, Rourke has kept Ohio in games, and for as long as he can, he will continue to do so.
What does it mean?
Well, that’s a loaded question. It means that halfway through the season, the Bobcats haven’t solved the problems that have put them in the spot that they’re in. At some point, Ohio (2-4, 1-1 MAC) is going to have to do something to figure out its defense. It’s shown flashes it can be better than what it has been. But if those flashes can’t turn into something more, it could quickly turn into a disappointing season.
