Ohio plays Tuesday night against Ball State.
As Ohio discovered last season, winning six games doesn’t guarantee an extended season.
Seven wins, however, provide a much easier path to bowl season, and a seventh win is exactly what Ohio is chasing Tuesday night against Ball State.
The Bobcats (6-4, 3-3 Mid-American Conference) play their home finale Tuesday when the Cardinals (3-7, 2-4 MAC) visit Peden Stadium. It will be the final career home game for 15 combined starters for the Bobcats on offense, defense and special teams.
“I think the bowl situation for teams that have six wins is very unsteady,” coach Frank Solich said. “I’m not very excited about having six wins at this point, but right now we’re just working toward a seventh and hopefully an eighth.”
Ohio enters Tuesday evening coming off its first MAC shutout in 11 years last week, a 27-0 rout of Kent State. The blowout snapped what had been a three-game losing streak, during which the Bobcats were outscored 152-55.
The win featured a pair of strong comeback performances for Ohio. Redshirt sophomore Quentin Poling played his first game in four weeks and totaled 10 tackles, including three for losses and an interception before sitting out the fourth quarter.
Redshirt senior quarterback Derrius Vick, meanwhile, showed off his ankle’s health in a way fans hadn’t seen previously this season, gaining 107 yards on the ground and adding a dimension to the Bobcats’ offense the Flashes never quite caught up with.
“I think (the Cardinals) know they have an undertaking here that is not going to be easy,” Solich said. “Our last two ball games are going to be critical games for us. They are a physical football team that runs the ball very well. Their quarterback is excellent. Defensively, they give all the different covers that you can imagine. We have to be ready to handle all of that.”
Ohio has two games left to achieve that seven-win mark, and a home game against Ball State will undeniably be an easier way to get there than a road game against Northern Illinois (7-3, 5-1 MAC), who will enter the last game of its season likely contending for a Mid-American Conference West title.
Ball State enters the evening with the 10th worst defense in the country after getting blown out 54-7 by Western Michigan in its most recent contest. Its offense, meanwhile, has established itself as balanced, if mediocre, ranking 70th in the country in passing and 87th in rushing. Despite the three-consecutive beat downs, the Bobcats remain 49th best in the country in pass yards allowed, while ranking down in the middle of the country, 61st, at stopping the run.
Ohio was able to answer the call last week in getting a necessary win. If it’s serious about its season lasting beyond 12 games, however, a win this week would be even more crucial.
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