Early in Ohio’s week two home opener against Jacksonville State, graduate captain quarterback Nick Poulos rolled out of the pocket and decided to take it himself for a small gain.
While Poulos was sliding to avoid contact, a Jacksonville State defender took a cheap shot at Poulos. The hit knocked Poulos out of the game and forced him into concussion protocol, which caused him to sit out three weeks.
Three weeks later, Ohio faced off at home against Central Michigan on Homecoming weekend, marking the return of Poulos. The captain quarterback had a lot of hype surrounding his return, and he did not disappoint. Poulos led Ohio to a 31-0 lead at halftime over the Chippewas.
“It was awesome,” Poulos said. “Everyone has the heart of a little kid and wants to always be on the field. I wasn’t able to play for a couple of weeks, so being out there was great.”
Poulos started the first drive a little slow, relying heavily on his running game to help him march down the field while he still got back into the hang of it.
After the Bobcats’ defense got a stop to return the ball to the offense’s hands, Poulos hit sophomore receiver Riley Neer in stride for his first completion of the game, a 32-yard gain. That completion was seemingly all Poulos needed to settle himself back in and become comfortable, as he was near-perfect afterward.
“I would say there’s a little more jitters pregame when you haven’t played in a while,” Poulos said. “But once you get into the game, you’re ready to go.”
Poulos capped off drive two with a touchdown pass to Neer, making it 14-0. He did not let up there. Poulos ended the first half going 10-for-16 for 160 yards and three touchdowns through the air. This led to the Bobcats’ complete dominance in the first half.
“He’s so experienced and he’s been in the system for so long that it’s just an advantage to have him in there,” head coach John Hauser said. “The way he’s throwing and running it, it helped our offense a lot.”
Poulos wasn’t just effective in the air but on the ground as well, despite a run being the reason he missed the time that he did. Poulos ended the game with 16 carries for 52 yards. He tied for the most carries on the team and was third on the team in rushing yards.
“I didn’t see any hesitation with him and thought he ran just like he did through the first two weeks of the season,” Hauser said. “So, credit to him and our staff for getting him back and in a position where he felt comfortable running like he did.”
Ohio’s offense spent most of the second half just killing the clock, leading to a big 31-14 win for the Bobcats as they moved to 2-0 in MAC play.
ld004224@ohio.edu
