Frank Solich wants Ohio to emulate Central Michigan's success.
The Chippewas, after defeating Ohio 20-10 in the Mid-American Conference Championship Friday night, have won three of the last four MAC Championships and are the powerhouse of the conference.
What they've got a combination of is what everyone is after
he said. A great throwing quarterback that has excellent size and strength and can run... (Central Michigan's) got a good running game to go with what they're all about. In the passing game excellent receivers.
The Bobcats could learn a few things after the championship game if they wish to succeed where they've failed twice in the past four seasons.
Butch Jones, coach of Central Michigan, talked of how the Chippewas made a commitment at a team meeting to win the MAC Championship almost a year ago to the day of the game.
Their off-season workouts proved they intended to fulfill the promise. One workout involved a 12:01 run through the streets of Mount Pleasant, Mich., in which the team pushed an RV five miles.
All those little things of training showed tonight Jones said.
Central Michigan also showed a different mentality during the game.
While Ohio was unable to bounce back from mistakes, such as penalties killing offensive drives, the Chippewas limited the damage of costly mistakes.
One such mistake came from a Dan LeFevour interception at the goal line to Patrick Tafua early in the first quarter. The Chippewas held Ohio to a punt and then scored a touchdown on the following drive.
I think what you saw out there today is what we call 'championship character
' Jones said. We knew this was game in which we were going to have to persevere
and they persevered.
Solich saw enough out of his team in the game and during the season to have high hopes for the program.
I felt that we're not too far off
and we're going to get to where we want to get to
he said.
Third Down Woes
In a matchup of the MAC's best third-down efficiency ratings on offense and defense, the Chippewas showed the offense was too powerful.
In the first half alone, Central Michigan went 8-of-10 on third downs, a staggering number given up by the Bobcats. Before this game, the most third downs given up by the Bobcats for an entire game was nine to Northern Illinois.
They were driving the field that first half pretty easily on us
said linebacker Noah Keller, who set a MAC Championship game record with 16 tackles. It's kind of disheartening as a defense.
The defense recovered in the second half, allowing the Chippewas to convert only 2-of-7 third downs.
We were more resilient the second half than
definitely
the first half
Keller said.
Red Zone Defense
Not all was bad for the Bobcats.
Ohio held Central Michigan to 4-of-6 on red zone chances, which is no easy accomplishment against the Chippewas. Before the MAC Championship game, Central Michigan failed to convert only four times when in the red zone, going 50-for-54.
Our team battled very hard down in the red zone
