BOWLING GREEN — Ohio didn’t have much at stake when it took the field against Bowling Green Tuesday night at Doyt Perry Stadium for its second to last game of the regular season.
The Bobcats have been eliminated from a Mid-American Conference Championship Game berth for six days, but that didn’t stop them from bludgeoning the Falcons 66-24 for their most points scored in a game since 1976.
The victory also gave coach Frank Solich his 111th win as Ohio’s coach and made him the winningest MAC coach of all time.
The stats are as wild as the score might suggest.
Ohio finished with nine touchdowns, 609 offensive yards and 345 rushing yards.
Running back O’Shaan Allison rushed for 175 yards scored three touchdowns, both career highs, and plowed his way through the Falcons’ defense all night.
His night, however, only lasted for three quarters. So was the night for quarterback, Nathan Rourke, who finished 14-for-21 with 267 passing yards and three touchdowns.
Kurtis Rourke, Nathan’s brother, entered in relief to make his collegiate debut. The freshman didn’t throw a pass but ran three times for 20 yards.
Ohio hasn’t blown out an opponent all season. The Bobcats’ largest margin of victory thus far was their 41-20 victory over Rhode Island in Week 1. Since then, the work of the offense hasn’t always mattered and the defense has never pulled together a full four-quarter performance.
That defensive didn’t change Tuesday — the Bobcats struggled to stop the Falcons’ offense in the first quarter and allowed Bowling Green to score two quick touchdowns to open the game. After that, Ohio shut out Bowling Green.
The offense ensured those early slip-ups didn’t matter.
The result of the game may not matter much, either. The Bobcats’ best possible finish to the season is 6-6, which doesn’t guarantee a bowl game.
Ohio shouldn’t have too much trouble next week in its last game of the season against Akron, who has yet to win a game this season. That could be the Bobcats’ final game of the season, too.
It could also be the last game of Nathan Rourke’s career.
He won’t win a MAC Championship game with Ohio, but at least he played a part in the biggest offensive outburst Ohio will ever have.
